Method of fabricating resin-sealed semiconductor devices

An object of the present invention is to provide a method of fabricating a semiconductor device having a relatively small package structure and hence a relatively small mounting area. Another object of the present invention is to provide a method of fabricating a semiconductor device relatively inexpensively. An insulating board with a plurality of device carrier areas thereon is prepared, and islands and leads are formed on the device carrier areas and electrically connected via through holes to external electrodes on the back of the insulating board. The external electrodes are spaced or retracted inwardly from edges of the device carrier areas. Semiconductor chips are mounted on the respective device carrier areas by die bonding and wire bonding, and then covered with a common resin layer. The resin layer and said insulating board are separated along dicing lines into segments including the device carrier areas thereby to produce individual semiconductor devices.