Northern Telecom Limited

Manfred Thumm

Geoffrey N Gale

Jacques R St Louis

John C Walker

A lead frame with parallel side members and parallel transverse members defining chip receiving areas along the frame, has a chip pad at each area. A support lead extends from each corner of the chip pad to corresponding conjunctions of side and transverse members. A U-shaped support bar extends between each adjacent pair of support leads, each support bar including spaced parallel leg portions connected at inner ends to the support leads and at the outer ends by a lead support portion. Leads extend from each lead support portion towards the chip pad. By this means the chip can be assembled to the pad and wire bonding between chip and leads carried out and the leads can be preformed or not, as desired, prior to encapsulation. After encapsulation, the lead support portions can be trimmed off but the encapsulated device is still held in the lead frame but the leads are electrically isolated from each other. Testing can be carried out while devices are still in the lead frame.

Lead frame for leaded semiconductor chip carriers

In the packaging of devices, such as active and passive electronic devices, the devices can be selectively hermetically sealed or non-hermetically sealed, as desired, using to a large extent common apparatus. In the limit, only the fusion sealing for hermetic devices and plastic encapsulation for non-hermetic devices need be carried out on separate machines. This is obtained by use of a particular form of lead frame, common for both forms of devices, with common apparatus and steps prior to and following the sealing or encapsulation.

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Nepean, Canada

Manfred Thumm