Beam Lead Technology Beam Lead Technology Beam Lead Technology
is the name given to the structure and method of micro-
fabricating a semiconductor device structure. Its original
application was to high-frequency silicon switching transistors
and ultra-high-speed integrated circuits. In the early 1960's
M.P.Lepselter developed the techniques for fabricating a
structure consisting of electroforming an array of thick, self-
supporting gold patterns on a thin film Ti-Pt Au base, hence the
name "beams", deposited on the surface of a silicon wafer . The
excess semiconductor from under the beams was removed, thereby
separating the individual devices and leaving them with self-
supporting beam leads, or internal chiplets, cantilevered beyond
the semiconductor. The contacts served as electrical leads in
addition to serving the purpose of structural support for the
devices.Today this micro-machining technology is also known as
MEMS. This technology, also known as air-bridge technology, has
established itself for its unsur