The TO-46 is made primarily of metal, with the microchip mounted on the die pad of its metal header and then sealed with a metal cap by high-current welding.
TO-46 is a very miniature TO-style package with limited area for mounting and high thermal resistance of sub-mount base. It is suitable for VCSEL, sensors and other miniature electronic components. The material of TO-46 header is usually Kovar coated with nickel and gold for base and pins. RMT Ltd offers thermoelectric sub-assemblies on TO-46 header with 5 or 6 pins. The header surface open for mounting is about 1.2×1.9 mm2, which is enough for a miniature TECs. RMT Ltd offers solutions with miniature single-stage TECs available.
