In the global semiconductor shortage market, counterfeit chips are beginning to circulate in the supply chain. The global chip shortage creates a golden window for counterfeit chips to enter the market, bringing quality risks in SMT production of PCBA , it would bring risks to more electronic products and harming the interests of whole machine manufacturers and end consumers. It is important to correctly distinguish between genuine and fake chips.
How to distinguish genuine and fake chips
1. Check if there are any polished marks on the surface of the chip
The surface of any polished chip may have fine lines or even micro marks from previous printing. Some even apply a thin layer of paint on the chip surface to cover it up, which looks a bit shiny and lacks the texture of plastic
2. Look at the printing
The vast majority of chips nowadays use laser marking or specialized chip printing machines to print, with clear handwriting that is neither prominent nor blurry, and difficult to erase. Refurbished chips either have serrated edges due to corrosion from cleaning agents, or have blurry, uneven, misaligned, easily erasable, or overly conspicuous printing.
In addition, the screen printing technology has long been phased out by large IC manufacturers, but many chip refurbishments still use screen printing technology due to cost reasons, which is also one of the judgment criteria. The screen printed characters will be slightly higher than the surface of the chip, and slight unevenness or a rough feeling can be felt by touching them.
However, it should be noted that due to the significant decrease in the price of small laser marking machines in recent times, more and more refurbished ICs are using laser marking. Some new chips may also use this method to change the font mark or simply re print to "improve" the grade of the chip. This requires special attention, and the differentiation method is more difficult, requiring the practice of "keen eye and golden eye".
The main method is to look at the overall coordination. If the handwriting does not match the background and the degree of novelty of the pins, there is a high possibility of problems such as over new or over clear lettering. However, many small factories, especially some small IC companies in China, have this problem with their chips, which adds a lot of trouble to the identification. However, this method is still very meaningful for the judgment of mainstream large factory chips
In addition, there has been an increasing phenomenon of using laser marking machines to modify chip markings recently, especially in memory and some high-end chips. Once it is found that there are individual letters and strokes with uneven thickness in the position of laser printing, it can be considered as Remark
3. Check the pins
Any tin plated pins that are as shiny as new must be refurbished. The vast majority of genuine IC pins should be so-called "silver powder pins", with a darker color but uniform finish, and no oxidation marks or "soldering flux" on the surface.
In addition, there should be no scratches on the pins of DIP and other plugins. Even if there are scratches (only after repackaging), they should be neat, in the same direction, and the metal exposed areas should be smooth and free of oxidation.
In the global semiconductor shortage market, counterfeit chips are beginning to circulate in the supply chain. The global chip shortage creates a golden window for counterfeit chips to enter the market, bringing quality risks in SMT production of PCBA , it would bring risks to more electronic products and harming the interests of whole machine manufacturers and end consumers. It is important to correctly distinguish between genuine and fake chips.
