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Decapping (decapsulation) or delidding of an integrated circuit (IC) is the process of removing the protective cover or integrated heat spreader (IHS) of an integrated circuit so that the contained die is revealed for visual inspection of the micro circuitry imprinted on the die. This process is typically done in order to debug a manufacturing problem with the chip, or possibly to copy information from the device,[1] to check for counterfeit chips or to reverse engineer it.[2][3] Companies such as TechInsights[4] and ChipRebel[5] decap, take die shots of, and reverse engineer chips for customers. Modern integrated circuits can be encapsulated in plastic, ceramic, or epoxy packages.
Delidding may also be done to test the chip for radiation-tolerance with a heavy-ion beam[6][7][8] or in an effort to reduce the operating temperatures of an integrated circuit such as a processor, by replacing the thermal interface material (TIM) between the die and the IHS with a higher-quality TIM. With care, it's possible to decap a device and still leave it functional.[9]
- ^ "MAME devs are cracking open arcade chips to get around DRM – Ars Technica". arstechnica.com. 25 July 2017.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
exwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ "Don't Try This at Home: Decapping ICs with Boiling Acid".
- ^ Frumusanu, Andrei. "TechInsights Publishes Apple A12 Die Shot: Our Take". www.anandtech.com.
- ^ Frumusanu, Andrei. "ChipRebel Releases Exynos 9820 Die Shot: M4 CPUs in New Cluster". www.anandtech.com.
- ^ "ESA Update on Irradiation Facilities" (PDF). indico.cern.ch.
- ^ "Status of High Energy Irradiation Facilities in Europe" (PDF). nepp.nasa.gov.
- ^ "Electronic Packaging and Space Parts News, EEE Links Vol. 5 No. 2, October 1999" (PDF). ntrs.nasa.gov.
- ^ Fenlon, Wes (26 June 2017). "I performed brain surgery on my CPU to lower its temperature 15 degrees". PC Gamer.