The simplest methods for identifying the authenticity of electronic components

1. Check if there are any polished marks on the surface of the integrated circuit chip.

The surface of polished chips may have fine lines or even micro marks from previous printing. Some chips are coated with a thin layer of paint to cover them up, giving them a shiny and non adhesive texture.

2. Look at the printing.

The vast majority of chips nowadays use laser marking or specialized chip printing machines to print characters, which are clear, not conspicuous, not blurry, and difficult to erase. Refurbished chips either have jagged edges due to corrosion from cleaning agents, or have blurry, uneven, misaligned, easily erased, or overly conspicuous printing. In addition, the silk screen printing technology has long been eliminated by IC manufacturers, but many chip refurbishments still use silk screen printing technology due to cost reasons. This is also one of the criteria for judgment. The silk screen printed characters will be slightly higher than the surface of the chip, and you can feel slight unevenness or a sense of roughness when touching them with your hand.

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 films may also use this method to change the lettering or simply reprint to improve the quality of the chip. This requires extra attention, and the differentiation method is difficult, requiring the development of "sharp eyes". The main method is to look at the overall coordination, and there is a high possibility of problems such as inconsistent handwriting, background, and pin age, such as overly new or clear markings. However, many small factories, especially some small IC companies in China, have chips that are born like this, which adds a lot of trouble to the identification process. However, this method is still meaningful for judging chips from mainstream large factories.
In addition, the phenomenon of using laser marking machines to modify chip markings has been increasing recently, especially in memory and some high-end chip areas. Once individual letters or uneven pen thickness are found in the laser printing position, it can be considered as Remark.

3. Look at the pins.

Any tin plated pins that are as shiny as "new" must be refurbished goods, and the majority of pins in genuine ICs should be so-called silver powder pins, with a darker color but uniform color, and no oxidation marks 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 exposed metal areas should be smooth and free of oxidation. 

4. Check the device production date and packaging factory label.

The labeling of the genuine product, including the labeling on the bottom of the chip, should be consistent and the production time should match the device product, while the labeling of the unmarked flip chip is chaotic and the production time is inconsistent. Although the front labels of Remark chips are consistent, sometimes the values are not reasonable (such as labeling them with "auspicious numbers") or the production date does not match the device. If the labels at the bottom of the device are confusing, it also indicates that the device is Remark.

5. Measure device thickness and observe device edges

Many polishing and flipping pieces of original laser printing (mostly power devices) require deep polishing to remove the original marks. As a result, the overall thickness of the device will be significantly smaller than the normal size, but it is difficult for inexperienced people to distinguish without comparison or measurement with a caliper. However, there is an alternative method of recognition, which is to look at the front edge of the device. Due to the need for "demolding" after injection molding of plastic sealed components, the edges and corners of the components are circular (R angle), but the size is not large, and it is easy to grind this corner into a right angle during polishing. Therefore, once the front edge of the component is at a right angle, it can be judged as polished goods.

In addition, another method is to check whether the merchant has a large amount of original packaging materials, including paper boxes with consistent labeling inside and outside, anti-static plastic bags, etc. In actual identification, multiple methods should be used, and if there is a problem in one area, the quality of the device can be determined. If there are chips that we cannot judge with the naked eye and experience, we can use a writing tool such as a magnifying glass and a digital magnifying glass to polish and refurbish the chip surface. However, if there are small holes that are difficult to see with the naked eye, we must use equipment to observe them!

1) Judging from the typing, generally refurbished and reprinted (white characters) can be erased with chemical diluents. They are usually refurbished products, and original products cannot be erased.

2) Looking at the corners, the pins of the original product are very neat and straight, while some of the refurbished ones have uneven and slightly crooked pins.

3) Look at the positioning holes. The positioning holes of the original products are quite consistent, while some refurbished ones have varying depths or are completely polished flat. If you look closely, you can see traces of the original positioning holes. In practical work, careful observation is also necessary. Some fraudulent techniques are quite advanced, so special caution should be taken in procurement!