Chip packaging

1. An electronic device package comprising:

a block of insulating material;

an electronic device housed within the insulating material and having a set of contact pads thereon; and

a set of electrically conductive contact members at least partially housed within the insulating material, each contact member extending between a respective external contact point at which it is exposed at the surface of the block and an internal contact point from which it is electrically coupled to a respective contact pad on the electronic device, each internal contact point being outside the footprint of the electronic device, the set of contact members including:

at least one contact member of a first type having:

an external contact point that is located at least partially within the footprint of the electronic device;

a depth at its internal contact point that is less than its depth at its external contact point, and whose width at its internal contact point is less than its width at its external contact point, said width being parallel to the nearest side of the electronic device to said internal contact point; and

at least one contact member of a second type that is wholly outside the footprint of the device.

2. An electronic device package as claimed in claim 1 , wherein a plurality of the contact members are arranged in a row along an edge of the electronic device, the contact members of the said plurality being alternately of the first type and the second type along the row.

3. An electronic device package as claimed in claim 2 , wherein the said plurality of the contact members collectively extend parallel to an edge of the block of insulating material.

4. An electronic device package as claimed in claim 2 , wherein the internal contact points of the said plurality of contact members are substantially collinear.

5. An electronic device package as claimed in claim 2 , wherein the internal contact points of the contact members of the first type among the said plurality of contact members are located closer to the electronic device than the internal contact points of the contact members of the second type among the said plurality of contact members.

6. An electronic device package as claimed in claim 2 , wherein the external contact points of adjacent pairs of the said plurality of contact members are substantially aligned in a direction perpendicular to the extent of the said plurality.

7. An electronic device package as claimed in claim 2 , wherein the external contact points of adjacent contact members of the said plurality of contact members are offset in a direction parallel to the extent of the said plurality.

8. An electronic device package as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the block of insulating material has a base at which the external contact points are exposed.

9. An electronic device package as claimed in claim 8 , wherein each contact member of the second type is of a constant cross-section in a plane parallel to the base of the block of insulating material.

10. An electronic device package as claimed in claim 1 , wherein each contact member of the first type is exposed at the surface of the block at locations both inside and outside the footprint of the electronic device.

11. An electronic device package as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the contact members of the first type are exposed at the surface of the block of insulating material only inside the footprint of the electronic device.

12. An electronic device package as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the surface closest to the device of the relatively shallow section of the contact member of the first type is co-planar with the surface closest to the device of the relatively deep section of the contact member of the first type.

13. An electronic device package as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the contact members of the first type are formed of etched metal.

14. An electronic device package as claimed in claim 1 , wherein each contact member is electrically coupled by a wire to the respective contact pad on the electronic device.

15. An electronic device package as claimed in claim 1 , wherein each contact member is constituted by a unitary element of material.

16. An electronic device package as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the external contact points of at least some of the contact members extend out of the block of insulating material.

17. An electronic device package as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the contact members are located wholly within the block of insulating material.

18. An electronic device package as claimed in claim 1 , comprising a further conductive member located wholly within the footprint of the electronic device and extending between a respective external contact point at which it is exposed at the surface of the block and an internal contact from which it is coupled to the electronic device.

19. An electronic device package as claimed in claim 18 , wherein the further conductive member is a die attach pad.

20. An electronic device package as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the electronic device is substantially planar.

21. An electronic device package as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the electronic device is an integrated circuit die.

22. A circuit board having an electronic device package as claimed in claim 1 attached thereto, the external contact points of the package being soldered to respective contact points on the circuit board without solder bridging to nearby ones of the contact points.

23. A sheet of conductive material configured to define a plurality of contact members, the sheet being arranged in such a pattern as to be suitable for forming an electronic device package as claimed in claim 1 .

24. A sheet of electrically conductive material for forming contact members of an electronic device package, the sheet being patterned to comprise:

support strips extending around a package region, the package region comprising an interior region and a peripheral region surrounding the interior region; and

a plurality of fingers extending from the support strips into the package region to define contact members, the fingers including:

fingers of a first type, each of which fingers being arranged to:

extend from an associated support strip through the peripheral part of the package region into the interior part of the package region;

have a depth that is greater where that finger lies in the interior region than where that finger lies in the peripheral region; and

have a width that is greater where that finger lies in the interior region than where that finger lies in the peripheral region, and

fingers of a second type that extend from the strips only into the peripheral part of the package region.

25. A sheet as claimed in claim 24 , wherein an upper surface of the relatively shallow section of the contact member of the first type is co-planar with an upper surface of the relatively deep section of the contact member of the first type.

26. A sheet as claimed in claim 24 , wherein along at least part of a strip fingers of the first and second type alternate.

27. A sheet of electrically conductive material for forming contact members of a plurality of electronic device packages, the sheet comprising a plurality of sheets as claimed claim 24 interconnected by their strips.

28. A method of manufacturing an electronic device package, the method comprising:

attaching to an electronic device having a set of contact pads thereon a set of electrically conductive contact members, each contact member extending between a respective external contact point and an internal contact point from which it is electrically coupled to a respective contact pad on the electronic device, each internal contact point being outside the footprint of the electronic device and the set of contact members including at least one contact member of a first type having an external contact point that is located at least partially within the footprint of the electronic device, a depth at its internal contact point that is less than its depth at its external contact point, and a width at its internal contact point that is less than its width at its external contact point, said width being parallel to the nearest side of the electronic device to said internal contact point, and at least one contact member of a second type that is wholly outside the footprint of the device; and

encapsulating the device in a block of insulating material such that the external contact points of the contact members are exposed at the surface of the block.