Patent ID: 7485493

Claim:
A method for singulating surface-mountable semiconductor devices and for fitting external contact areas to the devices, the method comprising: producing a composite board on a metallic carrier including semiconductor device positions arranged in rows and columns by embedding components of a plurality of semiconductor devices into a common plastic housing composition, the device positions including a wiring structure with metal contacts oriented toward the carrier on an underside of the composite board and a planar area of the common plastic housing composition disposed on a top side of the composite board; introducing separating trenches into the plastic housing composition that surround the semiconductor positions via laser ablation so as to facilitate singulation of the semiconductor device positions, wherein a depth of the separating trenches extends from the top side of the composite board to the metallic carrier; applying an adhesive film as a holding strip to top sides of semiconductor device positions; removing the metallic carrier while maintaining the semiconductor device positions on the adhesive film and while uncovering the metal contacts arranged on the underside of the composite board; reinforcing the metal contacts to form freely accessible surface-mountable external contact areas; testing the functionality of the semiconductor devices on the adhesive film via contacting the external contact areas; and singulating the semiconductor devices while removing functional semiconductor devices from the adhesive film.