A semiconductor package comprises a substrate and a ceramic carrier mounted to the substrate. An integrated circuit (IC) die is mounted to the ceramic carrier. A heat extraction path away from the IC die comprises: i) a thermal interface material over the IC die, the thermal interface material having a thickness of approximately 25 to 80 um; ii) an integrated heat spreader over the thermal interface material; iii) a ceramic carrier plate over the integrated heat spreader; and iv) an electrically conductive thermal pad between the ceramic carrier plate and a housing of the semiconductor package.