A microelectronic complex including a body of semi-conductor material containing an integrated circuit, and a plurality of contact pads on the body for receiving signal conducting members for connection to an external substrate. The contact pads allow signals to be exchanged between the integrated circuit and the external substrate via the signal conducting members. A majority of the contact pads are disposed on the body of the microelectronic complex according to a configuration whereby the stress effects on the signal conducting members caused by thermal expansion mismatch between the microelectronic complex and the external substrate are minimized. In a specific configuration, a majority of the contact pads form a cluster circumscribing a predetermined area of the microelectronic complex body, whereby the cluster is characterized by a minimum inter-pad distance among the majority of contact pads on the body of the microelectronic complex.