Abstract: A novel method and apparatus improves the physical and electrical soldering bond between two electronic components by fluctuating the pressure of a non-oxidizing gas in a chamber which houses the two electronic components throughout a period when the solder has been made molten. This results in the solder effectively filling all crevices and grooves present on the surfaces being soldered. The method is particularly advantageous for soldering a ridge wave-guide laser diode P-side down to a heat sink to improve power capability, longevity and performance of the laser diode.

Abstract: A scanning system includes a scanner mirror driven in a substantially linear pivoting movement by a galvanometer excited with a substantially sawtooth current waveform, the mirror directing a pilot beam in a scanning movement along a photographic film located upon a diffraction grid which forms a part of a holder of the film. The film is transparent to the pilot beam, and is encircled by a frame defining a window for viewing the film. The grid is composed of a repeating sequence of groups of rulings oriented in different directions resulting in correspondingly different directions of the diffracted beam, upon illumination of the grid by the pilot beam. An array of detectors detects the direction of the diffracted beam, which is employed as a feedback signal to accurately locate the pilot beam, to provide fine position data of the pilot beam.