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US 6,635,101 B2Granted
Rapid surface cooling of solder droplets by flash evaporation
AssigneeFry's Metals, Inc.
InventorGerard R. Minogue
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A mist of liquid coolant is introduced into the path of atomized, molten, solder droplets. The mist and other conditions within the chamber are engineered to enable the liquid coolant droplets in the mist to contact the surfaces of molten solder droplets and be flash vaporized upon contact, thereby rapidly extracting heat from the molten solder droplets and accelerating cooling and solidification to produce an enhanced solder ball as a product of this process.
Claims12
A method for producing solder balls comprising the steps of:
- atomizing molten solder to form a spray of molten solder balls;
- and
- generating a mist of liquid coolant droplets in the path of the molten solder ball spray, the liquid coolant having a temperature and droplet size that enable the coolant droplets to contact the molten solder balls and be flash vaporized upon contact with the solder balls.
A method for producing solidified metal balls or particles comprising the steps of:
- atomizing molten metal to form a spray of molten metal droplets;
- and
- generating a mist of liquid coolant droplets in the path of the spray of molten metal droplets, the liquid coolant having a temperature and droplet size that enable the coolant droplets to contact the molten metal droplets and be flash vaporized upon contact with the molten metal droplets.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.