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Air Liquide has developed a range of gases technology tailored to the electronics packaging and assembling industry. All these technologies are grouped under the brand name ALIX™.

The use of nitrogen for inert soldering in the assembly of PCBs continues to increase worldwide in both wave and reflow soldering operations. More and more, assemblers are recognizing the value of inert soldering in improving joint quality and yield while reducing sensitivity to process variables and fluctuations ('process window widening').
In wave soldering, nitrogen eliminates oxidation and increases the surface tension on the solder material. Introducing a non-oxidizing atmosphere leads naturally to benefits that make this an extremely cost-effective process.

Benefits of nitrogen / inert wave soldering:

• dross reduction up to 80%,
• reduced solder pot maintenance - increased uptime,
• reduced flux consumption up to 60% (with spray fluxer),
• flexibility - wider 'process window',
• reduced or eliminated cleaning,
• reduced defects / increased yield,
• increased joint reliability,
• ISO 14 000 compliance.

Air Liquide has developed the ALIX™ CONTROL service, which is aimed at controlling atmospheres in wave soldering machines and reflow ovens.
Benefits of ALIX™ CONTROL service:

• monitoring O₂ ppm content in your soldering process (up to 6 soldering machines per unit),
• record of process parameters for quality control and ISO requirements,
• process analysis to reduce defect rate and cost,
• integrated PC allowing data telemonitoring.

Air Liquide's ALIX™ SMD-DRY™ is the most advanced solution today for the storage of moisture sensitive devices under dry nitrogen atmosphere. Due to its original conception, ALIX™ SMD-DRY™ system is use for short and long storage as well as for drying.
ALIX™ SMD-DRY™ system consists of a metal cabinet coupled with a nitrogen injection system, which regroups all control and supply functions. 

Benefits and features of ALIX™ SMD-DRY™ system:

• prevent moisture absorption,
• dry and dehumidify your component,
• preserve component's solderability,
• protect from dust, particulates and shocks,
• fast-dry down allows 1% RH in less than 5 minutes,
• built-in overpressure safety maintains cabinet's integrity,
• nitrogen exhaust system ensures safety,
• ESD compatible,
• alarms and monitoring avoid process fluctuation.

The use of Environmental Stress Screening (ESS) and Accelerated Stress Testing (AST-HALT and HAASS) techniques has increased significantly in electronics manufacturing.
With the proliferation of AST, rapid temperature ramp rates of 45°C per minute and higher are required to ensure proper testing. Typically, such temperature changes can only be accomplished by using cold, liquid nitrogen as a cooling medium in the environmental test chamber.
In this field Air Liquide create the Nitrocool™ system for liquid nitrogen retrofitting of environmental test chambers. By converting a Freon-based mechanical cooling chamber to liquid nitrogen (LN₂), ramp rates of 70°C per minute and more can be attained. Whether you perform AST or ESS, faster ramp rates reduce cycle time and allow higher product throughput.

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