The Archistrat Technologies division of The Panda Project Inc has launched a Very Small Peripheral Array semiconductor package. The leads come out of the sides and the package is more than 60% smaller than current semiconductor packages and reduces the space required for a 304 pin quad flat pack semiconductor package to only 746 square millimetres from 1,396 square millimetres, says the company. The Archistrat Technologies division is currently in pre-production testing of the package. Archistrat’s Very Small Peripheral Array will be offered in a variety of three-dimensional configurations that will provide flexibility for both semiconductor and system designers, says the company. The Very Small Peripheral Array is claimed to require no special processing to implement because it is designed with current printed circuit board equipment in mind. The package has been under development for the past year under the code name Spider Pack. The Panda Project has picked the IBM Manufacturing Technology Center to design automated tools for mass production because the market for this type of surface-mount semiconductor package is expected to grow to 21,000 units in 1997 from the 10,200m units sold last year.
