A semiconductor die (12) is mounted on a metal substrate (14) via intermediate layers which permit the die to be readily soldered to the combination while yet reducing thermal stresses. A dielectric layer (16) is formed over the substrate (14), followed by another layer (18) of a selected metal, either molybdenum or tungsten. Atop the metal layer (18) is another layer (20) comprising a mixture of solder and the selected metal. A layer (22) of only solder is formed over the mixture, and the semiconductor die is bonded thereto by means of the layer (22) of solder.