Surface acoustic wave device, package for the device, and method of fabricating the device

1. A surface acoustic wave device comprising:

a package having a cavity;

a SAW chip housed in the cavity;

a resin sealing the SAW chip and not reaching a die-attached surface of the package;

a metal pattern provided on upper surfaces of sidewalls that define the cavity of the package; and

a metal thin film provided on the resin and electrically connected to the metal pattern on the upper surfaces of the sidewalls,

wherein the resin has a slope portion on which the metal thin film extends, and the metal thin film contacts the metal pattern at an edge of the slope portion.

2. The surface acoustic wave device as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the SAW chip is flip-chip mounted on the die-attached surface, and wherein the resin does not reach an IDT on the SAW chip.

3. The surface acoustic wave device as claimed in claim 1 , further comprising:

external terminals provided on a bottom of the package; and

interconnection lines electrically connecting the external terminals and the metal pattern.

4. The surface acoustic wave device as claimed in claim 3 , wherein:

the package has via interconnection lines provided in sidewalls of the package that define the cavity; and

said interconnection lines include the via interconnection lines include.

5. The surface acoustic wave device as claimed in claim 3 , wherein:

the package has metal-plated castellations provided on outer surfaces of the package; and

said interconnection lines include the metal-plated castellations.

6. The surface acoustic wave device as claimed in claim 3 , wherein:

the package has metal-plated castellations provided on inner surfaces of the package; and

said interconnection lines include the metal-plated castellations.

7. The surface acoustic wave device as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the metal thin film has multilayer structure.

8. The surface acoustic wave device as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the metal thin film is plated or coated with a material that contains one of a metal and a resin.

9. The surface acoustic wave device as claimed in claim 1 , further comprising a layer provided on the metal thin film, wherein the layer contains any of nickel, gold, platinum, epoxy resin, acrylic resin and fluorinated resin.

10. The surface acoustic wave device as claimed in claim 1 , wherein:

a ratio W/T is equal to or greater than 0.05 where W is half a width of a notch defining the slope and T is a depth of the notch.