Patent Description:
The present disclosure relates to an apparatus and process for dispensing material, and more specifically to an apparatus and process for dispensing solder paste in a dispenser.

There are several types of dispensing systems used to dispense precise amounts of liquid or paste for a variety of applications, such as those disclosed in <CIT>, <CIT>, <CIT> and <CIT>. One such application is the assembly of integrated circuit chips and other electronic components onto circuit board substrates. In this application, automated dispensing systems are used for dispensing dots of liquid epoxy or solder paste, or some other related material, onto circuit boards. Automated dispensing systems are also used for dispensing lines of underfill materials and encapsulents, which may be used to mechanically secure components to the circuit board. Exemplary dispensing systems described above include those manufactured and distributed by ITW EAE of Glenview, Illinois under the brand name CAMALOT®. In a typical dispensing system, a pump and/or dispenser assembly is mounted to a moving assembly or gantry for moving the pump and dispenser assembly along three mutually orthogonal axes (X-axis, Y-axis, Z-axis) using servomotors controlled by a computer system or controller. To dispense a dot of liquid on a circuit board or other substrate at a desired location, the pump and dispenser assembly is moved along the coplanar horizontal X-axis and Y-axis until it is located over the desired location. In one embodiment, the pump and/or dispenser assembly is then lowered along the perpendicularly oriented vertical Z-axis until a nozzle/needle of the pump and dispenser assembly is at an appropriate dispensing height over the electronic substrate. The pump and/or dispenser assembly dispenses a dot of liquid, is then raised along the Z-axis direction, moved along the X-axis and the Y-axis directions to a new location, and is lowered along the Z-axis direction to dispense the next liquid dot. In another embodiment, material is jetted from the pump and dispenser assembly without lowering and raising the nozzle/needle of the pump and dispenser assembly. For applications such as encapsulation or underfilling as described above, the pump and dispenser assembly is typically controlled to dispense lines of material as the pump and dispenser assembly are moved in the X-axis and the Y-axis directions along the desired path of the lines.

The use of an IR temperature sensor to monitor the temperature of a supply cartridge of solder paste in a stencil printer is known, motivated by the need to ensure that the paste was up to the proper temperature to proceed with a print deposition. Similarly, the application of material temperature sensing in a pump and dispenser assembly of a dispensing system is known, motivated by the need to ensure that material stored at a temperature lower than a proper application temperature had indeed warmed to the proper temperature for deposition.

One aspect of the present disclosure is directed to a dispensing system according to claim <NUM>.

According to the claimed invention, the dispensing system further includes the non-contact sensor being positioned above the electronic substrate on the pre-heat station to ensure that the electronic substrate is at a proper temperature before moving the electronic substrate to the dispense station. The non-contact sensor is mounted on an adjustable mechanism that moves towards and away from a target of the temperature measurement. The non-contact sensor may be positioned above the dispense station to ensure that the electronic substrate is at a proper temperature at the dispense station. The non-contact sensor may be mounted on an adjustable mechanism associated with the dispense station. The non-contact sensor may be positioned above the electronic substrate on the optional post-heat station to ensure that the electronic substrate is at a proper temperature at the optional post-heat station. The non-contact sensor may be mounted on an adjustable mechanism that moves towards and away from a target of the temperature measurement. The non-contact sensor may be an infrared temperature sensor.

Another disclosed but not claimed aspect of the present disclosure is directed to a dispensing system configured to dispense a viscous assembly material on an electronic substrate. In one embodiment, the dispensing system comprises a conveyor configured to move electronic substrates through the dispensing system, a dispense station including a dispensing unit configured to dispense viscous assembly material on an electronic substrate, and a sensor coupled to the dispensing unit, the sensor being configured to measure a temperature of the electronic substrate.

Embodiments of the dispensing system further may include the sensor being a non-contact sensor. The non-contact sensor may be an infrared sensor. The non-contact sensor may be secured to the dispensing unit by an adjustable bracket. The adjustable bracket may be configured to orient the non-contact sensor at an angle with respect to an orientation of the electronic substrate.

Yet another aspect of the present disclosure is directed to a method of printing an assembly material on an electronic substrate. In one embodiment, the method comprises: delivering an electronic substrate to the claimed dispensing system; positioning the electronic substrate in a print position; dispensing viscous assembly material on the electronic substrate; and measuring a temperature of the electronic substrate.

Embodiments of the method further may include providing temperature feedback of the electronic substrate as part of a temperature regulation system. Providing temperature feedback may include, when an electronic substrate has reached a desired target temperature, the temperature control system turns off the heat to the electronic substrate, and when the temperature drops below a low temperature limit, the temperature control system turns the heat on. Measuring a temperature of the electronic substrate may be achieved by a sensor. The sensor may be a non-contact sensor. The non-contact sensor may be an infrared sensor. The method further may include positioning the non-contact sensor with respect to the electronic substrate by an adjustable bracket.

For the purposes of illustration only, and not to limit the generality, the present disclosure will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying figures. This disclosure is not limited in its application to the details of construction and the arrangement of components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the drawings. The principles set forth in this disclosure are capable of other embodiments and of being practiced or carried out in various ways. Any references to examples, embodiments, components, elements or acts of the systems and methods herein referred to in the singular may also embrace embodiments including a plurality, and any references in plural to any embodiment, component, element or act herein may also embrace embodiments including only a singularity. References in the singular or plural form are not intended to limit the presently disclosed systems or methods, their components, acts, or elements. The use herein of "including," "comprising," "having," "containing," "involving," and variations thereof is meant to encompass the items listed thereafter and equivalents thereof as well as additional items. References to "or" may be construed as inclusive so that any terms described using "or" may indicate any of a single, more than one, and all of the described terms. In addition, in the event of inconsistent usages of terms between this document and documents incorporated herein by reference, the term usage in the incorporated reference is supplementary to that of this document; for irreconcilable inconsistencies, the term usage in this document controls.

The present disclosure is directed to sensing not only the temperature of the material to be deposited, but also the temperature of the electronic substrate upon which the material is to be deposited. For example, it is well-known in the SMT assembly industry that the electronic substrate in a dispenser is often preheated before deposition of underfill materials. Typical applications utilize what is known as a pre-heat "chuck" (an area or zone for heating an electronic substrate to a pre-determined temperature), before the electronic substrate is transported into a dispense zone to receive the material to be dispensed. A problem with the preheat zone is that there is typically only one feedback sensor to measure the temperature of the entire pre-heat chuck, which is typically <NUM> x <NUM>. This feedback from a single sensor generally senses the temperature at one location, and the result is assumed to represent the temperature for the entire pre-heat zone, and does not necessarily reflect the actual temperature of a specific location of interest, for example the temperature of a critical component. Furthermore, without feedback of the actual temperature of specific location of the electronic substrate, the time allocated to pre-heat the electronic substrate is often selected to ensure that at least a sufficient time has passed for the temperature of the electronic substrate to stabilize. This may mean that valuable time is wasted waiting for an excessively long "sufficient" time period.

Embodiments of the present disclosure include a non-contact sensor positioned above the electronic substrate on the pre-heat chuck to confirm that the electronic substrate is indeed at the proper temperature before proceeding with the dispensing operation, without the need to wait longer than necessary to ensure that the electronic substrate is up to temperature. By mounting the non-contact temperature sensor over a particular location on the electronic substrate, the actual temperature of a critical location can be measured. Furthermore, by mounting the sensor to the dispensing unit (or other mechanism, such as a vision probe in a printer) that can move in the X-axis and the Y-axis directions over the electronic substrate, the temperature of any specific spot can be measured. The sensor also may be mounted on a mechanism that moves towards and away from the target of the temperature measurement or the target can move in the X-axis, the Y-axis, and the Z-axis directions relative to the sensor. Such a configuration permits the effective spot size of the sensor to be adjusted or tailored to the needs of the application. For example, the sensor may be mounted on a vertical stage, and oriented to look down at an electronic substrate. By moving the vertical stage and sensor lower and thus closer to the electronic substrate, the temperature of a smaller localized spot may be measured. By moving the vertical stage and the sensor up and thus further from the electronic substrate, the temperature to be measured may effectively be averaged over a larger area. This can also be achieved by moving the target relative to the sensor to specific locations and to achieve specific spot sizes. Such an arrangement permits the sensing of a temperature averaged over a controllable size region in which the size of the sensing area may be optimized for the application requirements. Thus, by mounting the sensor to a Z-axis stage which is in turn mounted to an X-Y positioning system, for example from a pump mounting bracket, both the location and the size of the spot can be controlled.

By implementing the principles of the present disclosure, a deposition system can monitor the temperature of the materials to be dispensed by the piece of equipment, as well as the temperature of critical locations on the electronic substrate upon which the material is to be dispensed, ensuring that all the participants in the deposition process are at the desired temperature. Each of these measured temperatures may be utilized to confirm that process variables are within a preset range prior to proceeding with the deposition process. Additionally (or perhaps alternatively), these measurements may be shared or stored for data collection purposes, such as Statistical Process Control (SPC), wherein the quality or yield of a process may be correlated with measured variables in a process, for the purposes of process optimization.

For purposes of illustration, embodiments of the present disclosure will now be described with reference to a dispensing system, generally indicated at <NUM>, according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. Referring to <FIG>, the dispensing system <NUM> is used to dispense a viscous material (e.g., an adhesive, encapsulent, epoxy, solder paste, underfill material, etc.) or a semi-viscous material (e.g., soldering flux, etc.) onto an electronic substrate <NUM>, such as a printed circuit board ("PCB") or semiconductor wafer. The dispensing system <NUM> may alternatively be used in other applications, such as for applying automotive gasketing material or in certain medical applications or for applying conductive inks. It should be understood that references to viscous or semi-viscous materials, as used herein, are exemplary and intended to be non-limiting. The dispensing system <NUM> includes several dispensing units, for example, first and second dispensing units, generally indicated at <NUM> and <NUM>, respectively, and a controller <NUM> to control the operation of the dispensing system. It should be understood that dispensing units also may be referred to herein as dispensing pumps and/or dispensing heads. Although two dispensing units are shown, it should be understood that more than two dispensing units may be employed.

The dispensing system <NUM> may also include a frame <NUM> having a base or support <NUM> for supporting the electronic substrate <NUM>, a dispensing unit gantry <NUM> movably coupled to the frame <NUM> for supporting and moving the dispensing units <NUM>, <NUM>, and a weight measurement device or weigh scale <NUM> for weighing dispensed quantities of the viscous material, for example, as part of a calibration procedure, and providing weight data to the controller <NUM>. A conveyor system (not shown) or other transfer mechanism, such as a walking beam, may be used in the dispensing system <NUM> to control loading and unloading of electronic substrates to and from the dispensing system. The gantry <NUM> can be moved using motors under the control of the controller <NUM> to position the dispensing units <NUM>, <NUM> at predetermined locations over the electronic substrate. The dispensing system <NUM> may include a display unit <NUM> connected to the controller <NUM> for displaying various information to an operator. There may be an optional second controller for controlling the dispensing units. Also, each dispensing unit <NUM>, <NUM> can be configured with a Z axis sensor to detect a height at which the dispensing unit is disposed above the electronic substrate <NUM> or above a feature mounted on the electronic substrate. The Z axis sensor is coupled to the controller <NUM> to relay information obtained by the sensor to the controller.

Prior to performing a dispensing operation, as described above, the electronic substrate, e.g., the printed circuit board, must be aligned or otherwise in registration with a dispensing unit of the dispensing system. The dispensing system further includes a vision system <NUM>, which, in one embodiment, is coupled to a vision system gantry <NUM> movably coupled to the frame <NUM> for supporting and moving the vision system. In another embodiment, the vision system <NUM> may be provided on the dispensing unit gantry <NUM>. As described, the vision system <NUM> is employed to verify the location of landmarks, known as fiducials, or components on the electronic substrate. Once located, the controller can be programmed to manipulate the movement of one or more of the dispensing units <NUM>, <NUM> to dispense material on the electronic substrate.

In one embodiment, the dispense operation is controlled by the controller <NUM>, which may include a computer system configured to control material dispensing units. In another embodiment, the controller <NUM> may be manipulated by the operator. The controller <NUM> is configured to manipulate the movement of the vision system gantry <NUM> to move the vision system so as to obtain one or more images of the electronic substrate <NUM>. The controller <NUM> further is configured to manipulate the movement of the dispensing unit gantry <NUM> to move the dispensing units <NUM>, <NUM> to perform dispensing operations.

Referring to <FIG>, a dispensing system is generally indicated at <NUM>. As shown, the dispensing system <NUM> includes a dispense station, generally indicated at <NUM>, a pre-heat station, generally indicated at <NUM>, provided upstream before the dispense station, and a post-heat station, generally indicated at <NUM>, provided downstream after the dispense station. The pre-heat station <NUM> defines a pre-heat zone, the dispense station <NUM> defines a dispense zone, and the post-heat station <NUM> defines a post-heat zone of the dispensing system <NUM>. A conveyor <NUM> is provided to move an electronic substrate, such as substrate <NUM>, from the pre-heat station <NUM> to the dispense station <NUM> and to the post-heat station <NUM> (left-to-right in <FIG>). As shown, the conveyor <NUM> includes two lanes 208A, 208B to enable substrates to enter the dispense station more efficiently and at a greater rate. The pre-heat station <NUM> is configured to heat the electronic substrate to an acceptable temperature for dispensing at the dispense station. The pre-heat station <NUM> can be configured to increase the temperature of the electronic substrate between a range of <NUM> to <NUM>. The post-heat station <NUM> is configured to reduce the temperature of the electronic substrate prior to being passed along to another processing station downstream from the dispensing system <NUM>. As with the pre-heat station <NUM>, the post-heat station can be configured to reduce the temperature of the electronic substrate between a range of <NUM> to <NUM>.

In one embodiment, the pre-heat station <NUM> and the post-heat station <NUM> can be part of the dispensing system <NUM> that includes the dispense station <NUM>. In another embodiment, the dispensing system <NUM> can be configured to include the dispense station <NUM> only, and the pre-heat station <NUM> and/or the post-heat station <NUM> can be separate units that are assembled with the dispensing system, with the conveyor <NUM> extending through all three stations.

The pre-heat station <NUM> includes an adjustable bracket, generally indicated at <NUM>, that is mounted on the conveyor <NUM> in an elevated position over the lanes 208A, 208B of the conveyor. As shown, the adjustable bracket <NUM> is positioned over the electronic substrate as the electronic substrate travels along the lanes 208A, 208B of the conveyor <NUM> through the pre-heat station <NUM>. For each lane 208A, 208B, an infrared sensor <NUM> is mounted on the adjustable bracket <NUM> and is positioned to be directed toward the electronic substrate as the electronic substrate travels under the adjustable bracket and the infrared sensor on the lane of the conveyor. The adjustable bracket <NUM> of the pre-heat station <NUM> can be configured to move each infrared sensor <NUM> in the X-axis, Y-axis and Z-axis directions.

In one embodiment, the adjustable bracket <NUM> includes a first rail member <NUM> that extends over lane 208A and a second rail member <NUM> that extends over lane 208B. The first rail member <NUM> includes a first support member <NUM> that is configured to ride along a track formed in the first rail member. A first thumb screw <NUM> is provided to secure the first support member <NUM> to the first rail member <NUM> to lock the first support member in place. The infrared sensor <NUM> is mounted on a free end of the first support member <NUM>. Similarly, the second rail member <NUM> includes a second support member <NUM> that is configured to ride along a track or slot formed in the second rail member. A second thumb <NUM> screw is provided to secure the second support member <NUM> to the second rail member <NUM> to lock the second support member in place. The infrared sensor <NUM> is mounted on a free end of the second support member <NUM>. The locations of the infrared sensors <NUM> can be adjusted by unlocking the thumb screws <NUM>, <NUM> and moving the respective first and second support members <NUM>, <NUM> to desired locations.

For each lane 208A, 208B, by mounting the infrared sensor <NUM> over a particular location of the electronic substrate as the electronic substrate travels along the lane, the actual temperature of a critical location of the electronic substrate can be measured. The adjustable bracket <NUM> is configured to move each infrared sensor <NUM> towards and away from the target of the temperature measurement in the Z-axis direction and to position the infrared sensor in the X-axis and the Y-axis directions. Such a configuration permits the effective spot size of the infrared sensor to be adjusted or tailored to the needs of the application. As mentioned above, the infrared sensor <NUM> can be oriented to look down at the electronic substrate. By manipulating the adjustable bracket <NUM> to lower the infrared sensor <NUM> closer to the electronic substrate, the temperature of a smaller localized spot may be measured. Conversely, by manipulating the adjustable bracket <NUM> to raise the infrared sensor <NUM> away from the electronic substrate, the temperature of a larger spot may be measured, thereby effectively being averaged over a larger area. Such a configuration enables the sensing of a temperature averaged over a controllable size region in which the size of the sensing area may be optimized for the application requirements.

Similarly, the post-heat station <NUM> includes an adjustable bracket, generally indicated at <NUM>, which is identical to adjustable bracket <NUM> of the pre-heat station <NUM>, and is mounted on the conveyor <NUM> in an elevated position over the electronic substrate, such as electronic substrate <NUM>, as the electronic substrate travels along the lanes 208A, 208B of the conveyor through the post-heat station. For each lane 208A, 208B, an infrared sensor <NUM>, which is identical to the infrared sensors used in the pre-heat station <NUM>, is mounted on the adjustable bracket <NUM> and is positioned to be directed toward the electronic substrate as the electronic substrate travels under the adjustable bracket and the infrared sensor. The adjustable bracket <NUM> of the post-heat station <NUM> can be configured to move each infrared sensor <NUM> in the X-axis, Y-axis and Z-axis directions.

As mentioned, in one embodiment, the adjustable bracket <NUM> is identical to adjustable bracket <NUM>, and includes a third rail member <NUM> that extends over lane 208A and a fourth rail member <NUM> that extends over lane 208B. The third rail member <NUM> includes a third support member <NUM> that is configured to ride along a track or slot formed in the third rail member. A third thumb screw <NUM> is provided to secure the third support member <NUM> to the third rail member <NUM> to lock the third support member in place. The infrared sensor <NUM> is mounted on a free end of the third support member <NUM>. Similarly, the fourth rail member <NUM> includes a fourth support member <NUM> that is configured to ride along a track formed in the fourth rail member. A fourth thumb screw <NUM> is provided to secure the fourth support member <NUM> to the fourth rail member <NUM> to lock the fourth support member in place. The infrared sensor <NUM> is mounted on a free end of the fourth support member <NUM>. The locations of the infrared sensors <NUM> can be adjusted by unlocking the third and fourth thumb screws <NUM>, <NUM> and moving the third support member <NUM> and the fourth support member <NUM> to desired locations.

In one embodiment, the dispense station <NUM> further includes an infrared sensor <NUM> mounted on a carriage <NUM> that supports a dispensing unit <NUM> or on the dispensing unit directly. Thus, the infrared sensor <NUM> is moved by the gantry in the X-axis, Y-axis and Z-axis directions. The infrared sensor <NUM> can be operated to ensure that the electronic substrate as it is positioned within the dispense station <NUM> on lane 208A or 208B of the conveyor <NUM> is at a suitable temperature for dispensing. As described above with respect to the pre-heat station <NUM> and the post-heat station <NUM>, the dispense station can be configured to increase, maintain and/or decrease the temperature of the electronic substrate between <NUM> and <NUM>.

Alternatively, in another embodiment, the infrared sensor <NUM> can be mounted on the vision system gantry, such as the vision system gantry <NUM> of dispensing system <NUM>, to move the infrared sensor in the X-axis, Y-axis and Z-axis directions. As with dispensing system <NUM>, the dispensing system <NUM> can include more than one dispensing unit, with the infrared sensor <NUM> being mounted on one of the dispensing units.

Thus, infrared sensing is used for non-contact temperature tracking over components on the electronic substrate carried by the conveyor. Temperature sensing enables the operator to monitor and record the temperature of the substrate in each process zone (up to six) within the machine. Pre-heat and post-heat dispense zones use the infrared sensors mounted to the adjustable brackets in which the infrared sensors are positioned and locked in place. The dispense zone(s) uses the infrared sensor mounted to the carriage and/or the dispensing unit so the configuration is flexible as to the location as set in the process program.

For each process zone, the operator selects a target temperature and tolerance range that the product needs to reach in order to be considered "ready. " "Ready" can mean that the product can move to the next conveyor zone or if in the dispense zone "ready" for the dispense process to begin. The other objective is to keep the substrate in the "ready" state, so when at temperature the machine automatically adjusts heat settings to keep the product within the desired tolerance range.

Referring to <FIG>, which shows graphic user interface or GUI <NUM>, infrared or IR sensing for electronic substrate temperature can be configured for all three zones, i.e., the pre-heat zone, the dispense zone, and the post-heat zone, through dedicated software. Within these zones, IR sensing is achieved with the non-contact heat sensors and electronic substrate clamping and can be configured for both single and dual-lane machine through execution software.

Referring to <FIG>, which shows GUI <NUM>, both pre-heat and post-heat sensing can be configured with non-contact heat sensing. The dispense station configuration includes an option to enable IR sensing.

The operator can program temperature settings for each program individually under a temperature tab while creating a new process program. The operator checks option "Use Temperature Settings from Process Program" to override the temperature settings from the machine configuration under the temperature tab. An alarm status changes from "Using Machine Config Parameters" to "Using Process Program Parameters. " If a process required heat, then a "Heat Required" option can be checked to ensure no process program running without proper heat. The software can be configured to issue an alarm in this case.

Referring to <FIG>, which shows GUI <NUM>, a maximum temperature limit for IR sensing is <NUM> for all three zones, i.e., the pre-heat zone, the dispense zone, and the post-heat zone. The operator has an option to enable IR sensing ON/OFF for each zone within the process program. Default values for "Min. Temperature," "Max. Temperature," "Soak Time," "Timeout" and "Polling Rate" are displayed for each zone, which are represented in Table <NUM>.

Referring to <FIG>, which shows GUI <NUM>, if IR sensing is disabled for the pre-heat and/or post-heat zones, then the heating chucks associated with these zones should be heated up with a timer. A pre-heat and/or post-heat duration timer is initiated to heat the chucks. Once the timer expires, cycle station air should be switched back and forth ON/OFF based on values entered.

The actual readings for the IR sensors are displayed real-time on the GUI through a data display panel as well as being a traceable MES function desired behavior of electronic substrate handling in each zone as explained below.

In the pre-heat and/or post-heat zones, the process includes receiving an electronic substrate and start heating. Once at minimum temperature, a soak time is started. While soaking or waiting to move, heat is cycled ON/OFF when the temperature hits a minimum or maximum predesignated temperature. Once the soak time has expired and the next zone is free, the electronic substrate is moved, and if the electronic substrate does not get in range before timeout time expires, then an alarm is triggered. For recovery, the steps are retry, abort, or release to next zone. During an error state, if the operator does not perform any error recovery, the electronic substrate may heat up and reaches the maximum temperature value. To avoid this effect, the software is configured to post an alarm, pause the machine, cycle the station air and keep measuring the electronic substrate temperature until the operator performs error recovery.

In the dispense zone, the process includes receiving the electronic substrate and measuring a temperature of the electronic substrate. If not within range, heating is started until within range before timeout expires. Measuring the temperature is continued until within range. If within range, processing is started right away. At an end of the dispense cycle, the electronic substrate is moved to a next station as soon as possible. During error state, if the operator does not perform any error recovery, the electronic substrate may heat up and reach a maximum temperature value. To avoid this effect, the software is configured to turn off station air, post an alarm, pause the machine, and keep measuring the electronic substrate temperature until the operator perform error recovery. The process program can have multiple IR sense commands, and IR sensing is batched with dispense pass. The ability to sense electronic substrate temperature multiple times within dispense pass. There will only be a minimum temperature (no maximum temperature). When an IR sense command is actuated, dispensing is suspended until a minimum temperature is reached. The alarm time applies to each IR sense command as with pre-heat and post-heat sensing.

The infrared temperature sense command can be programmed at a desired electronic substrate location multiple times within the same process program on the electronic substrate. A chuck temperature, IR sensing state timer, electronic substrate temperature, IR sensing state (ramping, soaking, maintaining), station air ON/OFF are listed on a data display for easy process monitoring. Station air light on data display turns green when ON and turns red when OFF. The status is displayed only when process program is running.

Referring to <FIG>, which shows GUI <NUM>, when IR sensing is enabled, the timer tells the duration of the IR sensing state (i.e. how long the temperature ramps up, soaking or maintaining). The timer resets when the state changes.

Different states of IR sensing are shown in Table <NUM>.

Referring to <FIG>, which shows GUI <NUM>, when "Maintain Temp" is selected by the operator, the IR sensor continue to read the temperature and maintain the temperature within minimum and maximum by cycling the air. It acts the same as pre/post heat stations do presently.

Generally, when the electronic substrate comes into the pre heat zone, IR sensing state changes as follows: Ramping → Soaking → Completed → Maintaining.

Referring to <FIG>, process <NUM> includes ensuring that the temperature is maintained until the next station is free to accept electronic substrate. As shown, a determination is made at <NUM> as to whether a downstream station is free to accept an electronic substrate. If yes, then the IR sense command is complete at <NUM> and the operation ends. If no, then the temperature is detected at <NUM> by a non-contact sensor, and a determination is made at <NUM> as to whether the temperature is within a predetermined range. If yes, the process goes back to whether a downstream station is free to accept an electronic substrate. If no, air is cycled ON/OFF at <NUM> until the process goes back to whether a downstream station is free to accept an electronic substrate.

Referring to <FIG>, which shows GUI <NUM>, the operator should place the IR sense command in the main process program if "maintain temperature" is required. If the IR sense command is located inside a call, this feature can be ignored. When using "pass," the operator should assign the last pass to the IR sense command.

Referring to <FIG>, which shows GUI <NUM>, when idle, all heat is powered off. The operator can choose to power off all heat which includes chucks and needle heating based on programmed time in minutes. This functionality lies under a temperature tab in a machine configuration and works only in a dispense AUTOMATIC MODE. The operator can also check option to disable the power off heat function during production run.

Referring to <FIG>, which shows GUI <NUM>, at start-up, heat controllers are powered on. If the operator checks this option , then heat controllers which includes up to six chucks and two needle heaters will be powered on after startup. All heaters will start ramping up as left enabled by the operator during last machine shut down only after server startup. If somehow the server startup is not automatic, then heat controllers will not power on. In that case an operator must manually start the server to power on the heat controllers. This functionality lies under the temperature tab in the machine configuration and works in all dispense modes.

In one embodiment, a distance that the non-contact sensor is spaced from the electronic substrate depends on the type of non-contact sensor selected. For example, for one type of sensor, the sensor can be spaced from the electronic substrate a distance of <NUM> millimeters (mm) to <NUM>. In one embodiment, a sensing spot size generated by the non-contact sensor corresponds to a spacing of the non-contact sensor from the electronic substrate. Thus, by increasing a distance of the spacing of the non-contact sensor from the electronic substrate, the sensing spot size is increased. Accordingly, a range for use within the print head assembly of embodiments of the present disclosure is a distance of <NUM> to <NUM>. In one embodiment, a distance of <NUM> is selected.

The non-contact sensor is configured to detect a temperature of the electronic substrate to confirm whether the temperature is correct for the particular application, using criteria pre-determined by a user setup process in which the operator of the dispensing system inputs settings for the dispensing system before a dispense operation. The non-contact sensor is connected to the controller, and is configured to immediately notify the operator if the electronic substrate is not ready for deposition. Additionally, temperature data of the electronic substrate or multiple electronic substrates can be collected by the controller. The data collected can be fed back to the dispensing system for additional actions, or it can be sent to a data collection system, such as downstream machines or either internal or remote statistical processing.

In certain embodiments, the non-contact sensor is an infrared sensor to detect the temperature of the electronic substrate. The infrared sensor is an electronic sensor that is configured to measure infrared light that radiates from an object positioned in a field of view of the sensor. Objects having a temperature above absolute zero emit heat in the form of radiation. In a certain embodiment, the infrared sensor is a T-GAGE™ M18T Series Infrared Temperature Sensor offered by Banner Engineering Corporation of Minneapolis, Minnesota. The T-GAGE™ sensor is a passive, non-contact, temperature-based, sensor that is used to detect an object's temperature within a sensing window and output a proportional voltage or current, depending on the configuration of the sensor.

A non-contact sensor, such as non-contact sensor, positioned above the electronic substrate on the pre-heat chuck can be utilized to confirm that the electronic substrate is indeed at the proper temperature before proceeding with the dispensing operation, without the need to wait longer than necessary to ensure that components of the system are at an adequate temperature. By mounting the non-contact sensor over a particular location on the electronic substrate, the actual temperature of a critical location can be measured. Furthermore, by mounting the sensor to the dispensing unit (or other mechanism, such as a vision probe in a printer) that can move in the x-axis and y-axis directions over the electronic substrate, the temperature of any specific spot can be measure within the dispense station. The non-contact sensor also may be mounted on a mechanism that moves towards and away from the target of the temperature measurement or the target can move in the x-axis, y-axis and z-axis directions relative to the sensor. Such a configuration permits the effective spot size of the sensor to be adjusted or tailored to the needs of the application. For example, the non-contact sensor may be mounted on a vertical stage, and oriented to look down at an electronic substrate. By moving the vertical stage and sensor lower and thus closer to the electronic substrate, the temperature of a smaller localized spot may be measured. By moving the vertical stage and sensor up and thus further from the electronic substrate, the temperature to be measured may effectively be averaged over a larger area. This can also be achieved by moving the target relative to the sensor to specific locations and to achieve specific spot sizes. Such arrangements permit the sensing of a temperature averaged over a controllable size region, wherein the size of the sensing area may be optimized for the application requirements. Thus, by mounting the sensor to a Z stage, which is in turn mounted to an X-Y positioning system, both the location and the size of the spot can be controlled.

Additionally (or perhaps alternatively), measurements may be shared or stored for data collection purposes, such as statistical process control (SPC), wherein the quality or yield of a process may be correlated with measured variables in a process, for the purposes of process optimization.

In another embodiment of the present disclosure, an infrared non-contact temperature sensor is used to provide temperature feedback of the electronic substrate temperature as part of a temperature regulation system. In particular, when an electronic substrate has reached a desired target temperature, commonly referred to as a set-point temperature, the temperature control system turns off the heat to the electronic substrate. Subsequently, when the temperature drops below a low temperature limit, the temperature control system turns the heat on. In some embodiments, the operation of turning the heat on or off may entail enabling or disabling power to the heaters. In other embodiments, this operation may entail enabling or disabling a heat transfer mechanism. For example, in one embodiment of the present invention, air is circulated past a heated surface and then to the substrate. When the airflow is enabled, the transfer of heat from the heater to the substrate is enhanced. When the airflow is disabled, the transfer of heat from the heater to the substrate is inhibited. This simple limit-cycle approach may provide sufficient temperature control accuracy for many applications.

In other embodiments of the present disclosure, an infrared non-contact temperature sensor is used to provide temperature feedback of the electronic substrate temperature as part of a closed-loop temperature control system. In such a system, the controller uses the measured temperature and the desired set-point temperature as inputs to a control algorithm. The algorithm may also have proportional control of the heater, which provides the ability to not just enable or disable heat, but rather to enable the heater at a number of smaller steps between full on or full off. In one embodiment of the present disclosure, a digital proportional/integral/derivative controller, commonly referred to as a PID controller, uses the output of a PID algorithm, through Pulse-Width Modulation (PWM) means to vary the on/off duty cycle of a heater. This combination of a PID controller and digital proportional control of the heater can achieve temperature regulation that may be more precise and more closely regulated that that achieved with a limit cycle regulator.

Claim 1:
A dispensing system (<NUM>) comprising:
a pre-heat station (<NUM>) configured to receive an electronic substrate;
a dispense station (<NUM>) configured to dispense material on the electronic substrate received from the pre-heat station (<NUM>);
a post-heat station (<NUM>) configured to receive the electronic substrate from the dispense station (<NUM>);
a first non-contact infrared sensor positioned above the electronic substrate on the dispense station (<NUM>), and
a second non-contact infrared sensor positioned above the electronic substrate on the pre-heat station (<NUM>) to ensure that the electronic substrate is at a proper temperature before moving the electronic substrate to the dispense station (<NUM>) characterized in that the second non-contact infrared sensor is mounted on a first adjustable mechanism that moves towards and away from a target of the temperature measurement.