Patent ID: 8222719

Claim:
A Quad Flat No Lead (QFN) integrated circuit (IC) package comprising: a leadframe comprising one or more electrically conductive lands and an electrically and thermally conductive paddle, the paddle having an exposed portion and an unexposed portion, the unexposed portion of the paddle having a top surface having a width in an X dimension and a length in a Y dimension, the top surface of the unexposed portion having an area equal to the width of the top surface of the unexposed portion times the length of the top surface of the unexposed portion, the bottom surface of the exposed portion of the paddle for attachment to a printed circuit or printed wiring board and having a width in the X dimension and a length in the Y dimension, the bottom surface of the exposed portion having an area equal to the width of the bottom surface of the exposed portion of the paddle times the length of the bottom surface of the exposed portion; a die having a bottom surface attached to the top surface of the unexposed portion of the paddle, the die having a width in an X dimension and a length in a Y dimension, the bottom surface of the die having an area equal to the width of the die times the length of the die; an encasement that at least partially encases the leadframe and the die, the lands having ends that are exposed through the encasement and that are substantially flush with the encasement, the bottom surface of the exposed portion of the paddle being exposed through the encasement and substantially flush with the encasement; and wherein the area of the bottom surface of the exposed portion of the paddle is smaller than the area of the top surface of the unexposed portion of the paddle, the area of the bottom surface of the exposed portion of the paddle is also smaller than the area of the bottom surface of the die, the bottom surface of the exposed portion of the paddle is substantially flat and has a shape which is substantially the same as the bottom surface of the die, and the bottom surface of the exposed portion of the paddle is generally square in shape and has a width and length that are equal and range from about 0.5 mm to 3.5 mm, and wherein the area of the bottom surface of the exposed portion ranges from about 0.25 millimeters squared (mm 2 ) to about 12.25 mm 2 .