Development of an Innovative Leadframe Design for Eliminating Lead Delamination

Lead frame-based packages such as Quad Flat No Lead (QFN) are popular especially for applications requiring high heat dissipation. However, one of the issues with these packages is interface delamination between the lead and the mold compound. This lead delamination is commonly induced during package singulation with mechanical blade creating significant stress at the lead-mold interface. This paper discusses the development of an innovative Lead frame design that ensures a strong interlocking between the lead and mold compound to solve the lead delamination issue encountered during the development of an automotive QFN. Results showed that the new Lead frame feature introduced at the lead-to-lead area was able to eliminate delamination. The lead-to-lead slot design is a reliable solution to lead delamination.