Patent Number: 
Section: claims

1. A method for assessing the performance of a flux in a soldering process performed using a process oven with a predetermined temperature-time profile, comprising the steps of:providing a conductance probe comprising two metallic traces disposed within a predetermined area on a substrate of a dielectric material;providing a temperature probe for measuring a temperature of the conductance probe during the soldering process;applying a predetermined quantity of the flux over at least a portion of the predetermined area;heating the conductance probe with the applied flux in the process oven according to a the predetermined temperature-time profile;measuring the electrical conductance between the metallic traces of the conductance probe as a function of the temperature of the conductance probe during the soldering process so as to generate a conductance-temperature time profile; andanalyzing the conductance-temperature time profile to determine the performance of the flux in the soldering process. 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the flux is applied within the predetermined area on at least a portion of each of the metallic traces and the dielectric substrate therebetween. 3. The method of claim 1, wherein the flux is included in a solder paste and the solder paste is applied within the predetermined area on at least one of the metallic traces but not on the substrate between the metallic traces, and the step of measuring detects electrical shorts occurring between the metallic traces. 4. The method of claim 1, wherein the flux is applied by a method selected from the group consisting of stenciling, syringe dispensing, dip coating, spraying, brushing and printing. 5. The method of claim 1, wherein the process oven is a reflow oven or a preheat oven. 6. The method of claim 1, wherein the electrical conductance between the metallic traces of the conductance probe is measured as a function of temperature from a current response to a voltage applied across the two metallic traces. 7. The method of claim 6, wherein the voltage applied across the two metallic traces is an ac voltage of a predetermined frequency. 8. The method of claim 7, wherein the steps of applying, heating, measuring and analyzing are repeated for a plurality of predetermined frequencies. 9. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of analyzing is performed using a computer. 10. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of analyzing includes generating a data curve of conductance as a function of time or temperature. 11. The method of claim 10, wherein the step of analyzing further includes extracting a feature from the data curve selected from the group consisting of slope, peak area, peak area ratio, peak height, peak height ratio, and time during which the conductance remains above a predetermined value. 12. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of:monitoring the output from an environmental sensor attached to the conductance probe or a circuit board rack containing the conductance probe. 13. The method of claim 12, wherein the environmental sensor is selected from the group consisting of oxygen concentration sensor, relative humidity sensor, and pressure sensor. 14. The method of claim 12, wherein the steps of applying, heating, measuring, monitoring and analyzing are repeated for a plurality of outputs from the environmental sensor. 15. A device for assessing the performance of a flux in a soldering process performed using a process oven with a predetermined temperature-time profile,comprising:a conductance probe comprising two metallic traces disposed in a predetermined area on a substrate of a dielectric material;a temperature probe for measuring a temperature of the conductance probe during the soldering process; anda conductance meter for measuring the electrical conductance between the two metallic traces of the conductance probe,wherein the flux is applied over at least a portion of the predetermined area and the conductance probe is heated in the process oven according to the predetermined temperature-time profile while the electrical conductance between the metallic traces of the conductance probe is measured as a function of the temperature of the conductance probe so as to generate a conductance-temperature time profile, which is analyzed to determine the performance of the flux in the soldering process. 16. The device of claim 15, wherein the two metallic traces form an interdigitated comb pattern. 17. The device of claim 15, wherein the dielectric material comprises a polymer. 18. The device of claim 15, wherein the dielectric material comprises a ceramic. 19. The device of claim 15, wherein the temperature probe comprises a thermocouple and a first voltmeter. 20. The device of claim 19, wherein the thermocouple is in physical contact with a portion of the conductance probe. 21. The device of claim 15, wherein the conductance meter comprises a voltage source and a current-measuring device. 22. The device of claim 21, wherein the voltage source is an ac voltage source. 23. The device of claim 21, wherein the current-measuring device comprises an electrical resistor and a second voltmeter. 24. The device of claim 15, wherein the process oven is a reflow oven or a preheat oven. 25. The device of claim 15, further comprising:a circuit board rack for testing multiple conductance probes at the same time. 26. The device of claim 25, wherein the thermocouple is in physical contact with a portion of the circuit board rack. 27. The device of claim 15, further comprising:a voltage amplifier to increase the signal-to-noise ratio for the thermocouple probe. 28. The device of claim 15, further comprising:a current amplifier to increase the signal-to-noise ratio for the conductance meter. 29. The device of claim 15, further comprising:an analog-to-digital converter; anda computer,whereby analysis of the conductance-temperature time profile used to determine the performance of the flux in the soldering process is facilitated. 30. The device of claim 15, further comprising:a wireless data link for transmitting data signals from the conductance probe and the temperature probe, and from any other sensors employed, to a data collection and handling system. 31. The device of claim 15, further comprising:an on-board data link for collecting and storing data that may be downloaded after the soldering process is completed.