finished with a nickel plus a thick gold layer, except where the leads are soldered and decoupling capacitors are soldered on top of the package. These packages are hermetic. Two methods are used in order to make the hermetic sealing: eutectic gold-tin alloy (melting point 280°C) or seam welding. Seam welding gives rise to significantly less temperature rise in the internal of the package (e.g., the die attach). This package is the main package used for Space projects. Due to the large body size of CQFP packages, parasitics are important for this package. Power supply decoupling is improved by having the decoupling capacitors mounted on top of this package. E.g. TI offers 256-pin CQFP packages where decoupling capacitors can be soldered on top of the package E.g. Test-expert 256-pin CQFP packages where decoupling capacitors can be soldered on top of the package. The main ceramic package manufacturers are Kyocera (Japan), NTK (Japan), Test-Expert (Russia), etc. and offer the full pincount range. Maximum pin count is 352 pins. See also Chip carrier Pin grid array - an alternative integrated circuit pin arrangement design Dual in-line package References External links HVQFN Documentation at NXP Semiconductors More about HQVFN PQFP packaging information from Integrated Silicon Solution, Inc. (PDF) Chip carriers