Abstract: A method is provided for forming a current carrying structure with improved electrostatic discharge protection. The current carrying structure includes a conductive material layer and a voltage switchable dielectric layer adapted to switch between insulative and conductive at a predetermined voltage between the ground plane and the conductive material. An aperture is formed through the voltage switchable dielectric layer, and conductive material is deposited in the aperture to form a conductive pathway between the voltage switchable dielectric layer and another layer. A spark gap is created between the conductive material of the aperture and a ground portion using a laser to remove a portion of the conductive material layer from an area surrounding the aperture without substantially modifying physical properties of the underlying switchable dielectric layer.

Abstract: A semiconductor package has a non-uniform contact arrangement in which clustered contacts (e.g., a group of ground contacts, a group of power contacts, and/or a group of heatslug contacts) are placed closer together than I/O contacts. In one embodiment, I/O contacts near a cluster have a pitch in at least one direction that is larger than other I/O contacts. A local increase in the pitch of I/O contacts may be used to increase the line width and/or spacing of traces that fan out from corresponding pads on a printed circuit board.