Step cavity for enhanced drop test performance in ball grid array package

A ball grid array (BGA) package having four corners, comprising:

• a substrate layer having first and second sides;
• a semiconductor chip attached to the first side of the substrate layer by a dielectric adhesive layer;
• a plurality of solder balls attached to the second side of the substrate layer;
• a layer of encapsulating compound deposited over the semiconductor chip, the layer of encapsulating compound having four corners;
• and
• a step cavity of a selected depth formed in the layer of encapsulating compound at the four corners of the layer of encapsulating compound.

A ball grid array (BGA) package, comprising:

• a substrate layer having first and second sides;
• a semiconductor chip attached to the first side of the substrate layer;
• a plurality of solder balls attached to the second side of the substrate layer;
• a layer of encapsulating compound deposited over the semiconductor chip, the layer having four corners;
• and
• a step cavity of a selected size and a depth formed in the layer of encapsulating compound near each of the four corners of the layer of encapsulating compound but offset from edges of the layer of encapsulating compound.

A method of fabricating a ball grid array (BGA) package, comprising:

• forming a substrate layer having first and second sides;
• attaching a semiconductor die to the first side of the substrate layer;
• attaching a plurality of solder balls to the second side of the substrate layer;
• depositing a layer of encapsulating compound over the semiconductor die;
• and
• forming a step cavity of a selected depth and width at an edge of the layer of encapsulating compound by removing compound material.