StratEdge Corporation, leader in the design and production of high-performance semiconductor packages for microwave, millimetre-wave, and high-speed digital devices, announces that its off-the-shelf line of moulded ceramic packages can be configured to meet the requirements for chips with frequencies up to 18 GHz, including gallium nitride (GaN) devices. StratEdge moulded ceramic packages come in over 200 standard outlines, dramatically increasing the packaging options for GaN devices. StratEdge also offers complete automated assembly and test services for these packages, including gold-tin solder die attach.

GaN devices are traditionally packaged in StratEdge's LL family of high-power laminate copper-moly-copper (CMC) base packages with a ratio of 1:3:1 CMC. These packages accommodate frequencies up to 63GHz. In the moulded ceramic package, the standard ASTM F15 alloy base can be replaced with CMC. For frequencies of 18 GHz or less, using a moulded ceramic package provides the advantages of hermeticity, a broad array of outline packages, and lower cost, while the CMC provides the heat dissipation needed for GaN devices to meet requirements for aerospace applications. For SMT applications, these packages can be manufactured with gull-wing formed leads. They offer flexibility because it's inexpensive to change the lead design to match an existing footprint.

"Moulded ceramic packages provide a straightforward solution to challenging requirements for packaging GaN devices used in military and space applications," says Casey Krawiec, VP of global sales for StratEdge. "When sealed with metal lids using gold-tin solder, Mil-Std fine and gross leak hermeticity is met and the atmosphere within the sealed package can be controlled. Moulded ceramic packages offer flexibility to our customers with complex GaN packaging needs."