The application of laser technology has recently become economically viable for microelectronics and surface mount technology. Semiconductor laser technology may prove to be the only technology capable of solving the assembly problems that will accompany further advances in microelectronics. Some characteristics of Nd-YAG and CO2 lasers are compared with the performance of semiconductor diode lasers for soldering purposes. The early stages of evaluation of semiconductor diode lasers in an experimental soldering station at the University of Hull suggest that these lasers serve as an efficient selective, controllable and compact high power density heating source capable of meeting present and future microelectronics soldering requirements.