Small-outline Integrated Circuit - SOP

After SOIC came a family of smaller form factors, small outline package (SOP), with a pin spacing of 0.635 mm:

• Plastic small-outline package (PSOP)
• Thin small-outline package (TSOP)

• Thin-shrink small-outline package (TSSOP)

Shrink small-outline package (SSOP) chips have "gull wing" leads protruding from the two long sides, and a lead spacing of 0.025 inches (0.635mm). 0.5mm lead spacing is less common, but not rare.

The body size of a SOP was compressed and the lead pitch tightened to obtain a smaller version SOP. This yields an IC package which is a significant reduction in the size (compared to standard package). All IC assembly processes remain the same as with standard SOPs.

Applications for a SSOP enable end-products (pagers, portable audio/video, disc drives, radio, RF devices/components, telecom) to be reduced in size and weight. Semiconductor families such as operational amplifiers, drivers, optoelectronics, controllers, logic, analog, memory, comparators and more using BiCMOS, CMOS or other silicon / GaAs technologies are well addressed by the SSOP product family.

A TSSOP (thin-shrink small outline package) is a rectangular, thin body size component. A Type I TSSOP has legs protruding from the width portion of the package. A Type II TSSOP has the legs protruding from the length portion of the package. A TSSOP's leg count can range from 8 to 64.

TSSOPs are particularly suited for gate drivers, controllers, wireless / RF, op-amps, logic, analog, ASICs, memory (EPROM, E2PROM), comparators and optoelectronics. Memory modules, disk drives, recordable optical disks, telephone handsets, speed dialers, video / audio and consumer electronics / appliances are suggested uses for TSSOP packaging.

The ExposedPad variant of small-outline packages can increase heat dissipation by as much as 1.5 times over a standard TSSOP, thereby expanding the margin of operating parameters. Additionally, the ExposedPad can be connected to ground, thereby reducing loop inductance for high frequency applications. The ExposedPad should be soldered directly to the PCB to realize the thermal and electrical benefits.

The ICs on DRAM memory modules were usually TSOPs until they were replaced by ball grid array (BGA).