Test and assembly subcon Amkor Technology Inc. and GEM Services Inc. have signed a broad, multi-year patent license agreement that allows GEM to practice under Amkor's portfolio of MicroLeadFrame patents, the companies said.
GEM is an assembly and test subcon specializing in small-outline surface-mount packages for power semiconductors.
MicroLeadFrame (MLF) is Amkor's proprietary version of quad flat-pack, no-lead (QFN) technology. Amkor's MLF package is a lead frame-based, nearly chip-scale package with an exposed die paddle and leads on the bottom of the package, providing excellent thermal and electrical performance, according to Amkor.
The company says it has seen accelerated adoption of its MLF package as an alternative to conventional low lead-count packages. In the past three years it has shipped more than two billion MLF packages. According to Terry Davis, Amkor's vice president for MicroLeadFrame® packages.
"This agreement provides GEM with the flexibility and option to access Amkor's MLF patents to help satisfy our customers' growing demand for power management products required by portable, battery-powered communications and computing systems," Richard J. Kulle, president and CEO of GEM, said in a statement.
