1. A conductive adhesive material comprising electrically-conductive particles and a polymer material in which the particles are dispersed, at least outer surfaces of the particles being formed of a fusible material, the polymer material having a fluxing capability for reducing metal oxides on the outer surfaces of the particles while being heated to a temperature at which the fusible material is at least partially molten, whereby heating the conductive adhesive material to at least partially melt the fusible material metal and reduce metal oxides on the particles enables metallurgical bonding of the particles.
2. The conductive adhesive material according to claim 1, wherein the particles are entirely formed of the fusible material.
3. The conductive adhesive material according to claim 1, wherein the fusible material is present as an outer coating on the particles, the particles further comprising a core material.
4. The conductive adhesive material according to claim 3, wherein the core material is nonmetallic.
5. The conductive adhesive material according to claim 3, wherein the core material is a second metal with a solidus or melting temperature that is higher than the solidus or melting temperature of the fusible material.
6. The conductive adhesive material according to claim 1, wherein the polymer material has a cure temperature below a temperature at which the fusible material begins to melt.
7. The conductive adhesive material according to claim 1, wherein the conductive adhesive material has metallurgical joint formation parameters that include a thermal cycle with a temperature range and time range required for the fusible material to metallurgically bond the particles together, and wherein the polymer material is characterized by cure kinetics that enable the polymer material to cure within the temperature and time ranges of the thermal cycle.
8. The conductive adhesive material according to claim 7, wherein the fusible material has a liquidus temperature below the temperature range of the thermal cycle.
9. The conductive adhesive material according to claim 7, wherein the fusible material has a liquidus temperature above the temperature range of the thermal cycle.
10. A conductive adhesive material comprising electrically-conductive particles and an epoxy adhesive in which the particles are dispersed, each of the particles having an outer surface formed of a fusible metal with a melting or solidus temperature, the epoxy adhesive having a fluxing capability for reducing metal oxides on the outer surfaces of the particles while being heated to a temperature at which the fusible metal is at least partially molten, whereby heating the conductive adhesive material to at least partially melt the fusible metal and simultaneously reduce metal oxides on the particles enables metallurgical bonding of the particles.
11. The conductive adhesive material according to claim 10, wherein the particles are entirely formed of the fusible metal.
12. The conductive adhesive material according to claim 10, wherein the fusible metal is present as an outer coating on the particles, the particles further comprising a metallic core material having a solidus or melting temperature that is higher than a solidus or melting temperature of the fusible metal.
13. The conductive adhesive material according to claim 10, wherein the fusible metal is completely molten at a curing temperature of the epoxy adhesive.
14. The conductive adhesive material according to claim 10, wherein the fusible metal has a liquidus temperature above a curing temperature of the epoxy adhesive.
15. The conductive adhesive material according to claim 10, wherein the conductive adhesive material has metallurgical joint formation parameters that include a thermal cycle with a temperature range and time range required for the fusible metal to metallurgically bond the particles together, and wherein the epoxy adhesive is characterized by cure kinetics that enable the epoxy adhesive to cure within the temperature and time ranges of the thermal cycle.
16. The conductive adhesive material according to claim 10, wherein the epoxy adhesive has a cure temperature below a temperature at which the fusible metal begins to melt.
17. A method of forming an electrical interconnect with a conductive adhesive material, the method comprising the steps of: forming the conductive adhesive material of a polymer material in which electrically-conductive particles are dispersed, at least outer surfaces of the particles being formed of a fusible material, the polymer material having a fluxing capability to reduce metal oxides on the particles when the polymer material is heated;
dispensing the conductive adhesive material so that the conductive adhesive material is between a pair of electrically-conductive members;
heating the conductive adhesive material to a temperature sufficient to cause metal oxides on the particles to be reduced and at least partially melt the fusible material; and
cooling the conductive adhesive material to yield the electrical interconnect, the particles being metallurgically bonded to the electrically-conductive members.
18. The method according to claim 17, wherein the particles are entirely formed of the fusible material.
19. The method according to claim 17, wherein the fusible material is present as an outer coating on the particles, the particles further comprising a core material.
20. The method according to claim 19, wherein the core material is nonmetallic.
21. The method according to claim 19, wherein the core material is a second metal with a solidus or melting temperature that is higher than a solidus or melting temperature of the fusible material.
22. The method according to claim 17, wherein the heating step comprises a single heat treatment during which the fusible material is at least partially melted and the polymer material is cured.
23. The method according to claim 17, wherein the heating step comprises a first joint formation heat treatment during which the fusible material is at least partially melted, and a second and longer heat treatment at a lower temperature and during which the polymer material is cured.
24. The method according to claim 17, wherein the fusible material is completely melted during the heating step.
25. The method according to claim 17, wherein the fusible material is only partially melted during the heating step.
26. The method according to claim 17, wherein the fusible material has a liquidus temperature above the temperature to which the conductive adhesive material is heated during the heating step, such that the fusible material is only partially melted during the heating step.
27. The method according to claim 17, wherein following the cooling step the particles are metallurgically bonded together.
28. The method according to claim 17, wherein the electrically-conductive members are spaced apart so that after the cooling step the particles are not metallurgically bonded together but at least one of the particles is metallurgically bonded to each of the electrically-conductive members.
29. A method of bonding an electrical component to a surface with a conductive adhesive material, the method comprising the steps of:
forming the conductive adhesive material to comprise electrically-conductive particles and an epoxy adhesive in which the particles are dispersed, each of the particles having an outer surface formed of a fusible metal with a melting or solidus temperature, the epoxy adhesive having a fluxing capability for reducing metal oxides on the outer surfaces of the particles when heated;
dispensing the conductive adhesive material so that the conductive adhesive material is between an electrically-conductive member of the electrical component and an electrically-conductive member on the surface;
heating the conductive adhesive material to cause metal oxides on the particles to be reduced, to at least partially melt the fusible metal, and to cure the epoxy adhesive; and then
cooling the conductive adhesive material to metallurgical bond the particles to the electrically-conductive members of the electrical component and the surface.
30. The method according to claim 29, wherein the particles are entirely formed of the fusible metal.
31. The method according to claim 29, wherein the fusible metal is present as an outer coating on the particles, the particles further comprising a core with a solidus or melting temperature that is higher than a solidus or melting temperature of the fusible metal.
32. The method according to claim 29, wherein the heating step comprises a single heat treatment during which the fusible metal is at least partially melted and the epoxy adhesive is cured.
33. The method according to claim 29, wherein the heating step comprises a first joint formation heat treatment during which the fusible metal is at least partially melted, and a second and longer heat treatment at a lower temperature and during which the epoxy adhesive is cured.
34. The method according to claim 29, wherein following the cooling step the particles are metallurgically bonded together.
35. The method according to claim 29, wherein the electrically-conductive members of the electrical component and the surface are spaced apart so that after the cooling step the particles are not metallurgically bonded together but at least one of the particles is metallurgically bonded to each of the electrically-conductive members of the electrical component and the surface.
The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.
1. A method for rotating a source image by a first non-zero angle, comprising:
defining a template for the source image, the template representing a rotation of the source image about an axis of the source image by a second angle, where the second angle is the negative of the first non-zero angle that the source image is to be rotated;
determining overlap between the template and the source image;
separating the template into a plurality of strips covering at least the area of overlap between the template and the source image;
for each strip:
identifying an initial pixel in the source image within the strip and storing the image data of the initial pixel;
storing the image data of all remaining pixels within both the strip and the overlap in a database format in which the all remaining pixels is defined by a Y and X offset from the initial pixel, wherein said storing the image data of all remaining pixels within both the strip and the overlap further comprises:
determining the initial pixel with coordinates in the source image as Ymin and Xmin; establishing an origin pixel as having Y=Ymin and X=Xmin;
obtaining the image data sequentially for the origin pixel and each horizontally adjacent pixel from the origin pixel until the end of the overlap is reached,
storing the image data in a database format in which each horizontally adjacent pixel is defined by the offset from Ymin and an offset from Xmin;
incrementing the Ymin by one if there are any remaining pixel rows within both the strip and the overlap; and
repeating at least the establishing, obtaining, storing and incrementing until all of the pixels within both the strip and the overlap are stored;
constructing a desired rotated image from the source image,
for each pixel in the rotated destination image, identifying at least one pixel from the source image that corresponds to the source image as rotated per the first angle, the identifying comprising:
identifying the strip that corresponds to the target section of the source image; and
using the X and Y offset data to locate the image data in the database format.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein the initial pixel with each strip is the highest Y coordinate and leftmost X coordinate within each strip.
3. The method of claim 1, wherein the each of the strips at least partially overlaps with adjacent strips.
4. The method of claim 1, wherein the strips are substantially parallel.
5. The method of claim 1, wherein the strips are substantially rectangular.
6. The method of claim 1, wherein the image data for portions of the strips that do not overlap the source image are ignored.
7. The method of claim 1, wherein the image data for portions of the strips that do not overlap the source image are stored in memory as representative of dead zone data.
8. A method for rotating a source image by a first non-zero angle, comprising:
defining a template for the source image, the template representing a rotation of the source image about an axis of the source image by a second angle, where the second angle is the negative of the first non-zero angle that the source image is to be rotated;
determining overlap between the template and the source image;
separating the template into a plurality of strips covering at least the area of overlap between the template and the source image;
for each strip:
determining the initial pixel with coordinates in the source image of the corresponding strip as Ymin and Xmin, wherein the initial pixel with each strip is the highest Y coordinate and leftmost X coordinate within each strip;
establishing an origin pixel as having Y=Ymin and X=Xmin;
obtaining the image data sequentially for the origin pixel and each horizontally adjacent pixel from the origin pixel until the end of the overlap is reached;
storing the image data in a database format in which each horizontally adjacent pixel is defined by the offset from Y and an offset from X;
incrementing the Ymin by one if there are any remaining pixel rows within both the corresponding strip and the overlap; and
repeating at least the establishing, obtaining, storing and incrementing until all of the pixels within both the strip and the overlap are stored;
for each pixel in the rotated destination image, identifying at least one pixel from the source image that corresponds to the source image as rotated per the first angle, the identifying comprising:
identifying the strip that corresponds to the target section of the source image;
using the X and Y offset data to locate the image data in the database format.
9. The method of claim 8, wherein the each of the strips at least partially overlaps with adjacent strips.
10. The method of claim 8, wherein the strips are substantially parallel.
11. The method of claim 8, wherein strips are substantially rectangular.
12. The method of claim 8, wherein the image data for portions of the strips that do not overlap the source image are ignored.
13. The method of claim 8, wherein the image data for portions of the strips that do not overlap the source image are stored in memory as representative of dead zone data.