Abstract: Provided is an apparatus for performing a reflow process of a solder ball provided to a semiconductor chip. The reflow apparatus may include a coil, a support member and a moving member. The coil may receive a current from a power supply to heat the solder ball using an induced heating method. The support member may be disposed on the front or the rear of the coil and may support a printed circuit board on which a semiconductor chip is mounted. The moving member may move the printed circuit board so that the printed circuit object passes through an internal space surrounded by the coil.

Abstract: Provided is a detection method of detecting presence or absence of an object to be detected in an object hold portion that is used together with an irradiation portion that irradiates the object to be detected with a heat ray, holds the object to be detected, and has an opening, the detection method including: imaging an image signal in a predetermined region having the opening by an imaging device; and making an irradiation optical path of the irradiation portion and an imaging optical path of the imaging device substantially coincide with each other within the opening by an optical unit.

Abstract: A process for promoting fluxless soldering of a mass of bulk solder having a bulk ratio of a first metal to a second metal, such as lead-enriched solder that has significantly more lead than tin. The process comprises exposing the bulk solder to energized ions of a sputtering gas in the presence of a halogen, such as fluorine, and forming a surface layer having a desired surface layer ratio of the first to the second metal that is less than the bulk ratio, the surface layer further comprising an uppermost surface film containing the fluorine or other halogen. After the solder exposure and surface-layer formation, the process may further comprise electrically joining the solder to a surface without using externally-applied flux. This process enables the joining step to be performed at less than 300° C., at approximately 180° C.