a carrier ring provides a stiffening function for assembling flexible circuits or semi - rigid circuits . the carrier ring is attached to a substrate adapted for attachment of a matrix of semiconductor dies . the carrier ring is provided with mold gates and mold vents for use with a transfer molding step to provide encapsulation for the semiconductor dies . alignment and indexing marks on the carrier ring allows use of conventional assembly process flows in conventional assembly equipment . the height of the carrier ring also provides a means of providing integrated circuits with a predetermined thickness .