Patent ID: 8847370

Claim:
An integrated circuit package, having an exposed die and protective housing that extend beyond the back surface of the die, and configured to protect the back surface of the die from damage, the integrated circuit package comprising: a lead frame; an integrated circuit die that is electrically and physically attached to the lead frame, the back surface of the integrated circuit die being exposed at a bottom of the integrated circuit package; a housing that encapsulates the lead frame and the die, the housing including a recessed region at the bottom of the package where the back surface of the die is exposed and a protruding protective structure that is adjacent to the recessed region and that extends away from the recessed region and is configured to prevent the exposed back surface of the die from coming in contact with an external object; wherein the protruding protective structure and the recessed region are configured such that when the bottom of the package is placed on a flat surface, the weight of the package falls on the protruding protective structure and the back surface of the die does not come in contact with the flat surface; wherein the protruding protective structure is one selected from the group consisting of 1) a wall that extends around the periphery of the recessed region, 2) a foot that is arranged to carry the weight of the integrated circuit package; and 3) a spacer that is arranged to prevent the back surface of the IC die from coming in contact with a surface that is positioned adjacent to the integrated circuit package; wherein the protruding protective structure includes a top end and a bottom end, the bottom end being substantially coplanar with the recessed region and the back surface of the die, wherein the recessed region is recessed relative to the top end of the protruding support structure; wherein there is a buffer region between the bottom end of the protruding protective structure and an edge of the back surface of the integrated circuit die that is at least 2 mils in length, wherein the buffer region is configured to provide additional space for processing equipment to accurately place the integrated circuit die within the recessed region; wherein the depth of the recessed region is approximately between 25 and 150 microns; and wherein the protruding protective structure is not overlayed with any conductive material and the protruding protective structure does not include any wires or other conductive material therein.