Abstract: The invention relates to the hermetic packaging of typically one or two dice for high power density applications. The package, which is intended for surface mounting to a heating sinking substrate, is particularly compact. Compactness in surface mount applications is measured as a minimum ratio of package area to die area. In accordance with the invention, compactness is achieved by using a novel vertically developed design in which the electrical connections lie within vertical extensions of the die boundaries giving a package to die ratio of less than 2 to 1.