Abstract: A microelectronic package includes a package substrate with at least one semiconductor die mounted thereon and a plate coupled to the package substrate. The plate is configured with a first recess formed in a first edge of the plate and a second recess formed in a second edge of the plate wherein the first edge and the second edge are formed on opposing sides of the plate. One advantage of the above-described embodiments is that a stiffener plate or heat spreader that is sized to cover most or all of the periphery of a package substrate can be coupled to the package substrate without causing alignment issues in subsequent fabrication processes.