April 15, 2011 – PR Newswire — EoPlex Technologies Inc. is promoting the xLC substrate for quad flat pack no lead (QFN) semiconductor packages. The substrate enables QFNs with hundreds of leads and multiple rows at a lower cost than conventional packages.

The EoPlex xLC substrate is a sintered metal array of wire bond and die attach pads delivered on a temporary thin metal strip (the lead carrier). The product is designed to be a direct replacement for the leadframe and is completely compatible with all QFN processing. With EoPlex xLC, packages can be made with as many rows as needed with hundreds of leads. xLC production is based on sintering for better environmental friendliness.

QFNs are the fastest growing packaging segment; however, they cannot be used in many applications due to the limitations imposed by the metal leadframe that is used to build them. The most critical limitation is that the leadframe prevents multi-row and high-lead-count designs, which are currently served by BGAs, says EoPlex. The leadframe also makes QFNs bigger than necessary, adds extra metal that reduces electrical performance, requires expensive polyimide tape and can slow down process steps like dicing and testing.

By using space efficiently and adding no waste metal, the substrate allows up to 50% more package-sites on each strip, resulting in a price per package-site that is 20-30% less than leadframes, said Arthur L. Chait, CEO of EoPlex.

EoPlex is a private company backed by Draper Fisher Jurvetson, ATA Ventures, Labrador Ventures and Draper-Richards. More information is at www.eoplex.com.

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