First, let me show you a dissection photo, cropped and enlarged, taken with a Xiaomi 1S macro shot, the 8-megapixel camera is impressive!
Today, we are waiting to disassemble 5 microcontroller chips:
(1) Lingyang 16-bit microcontroller SPCE061A, this was the first microcontroller I encountered, with a maximum clock frequency of 49MHz, 32KB of FLASH, and 2KB of RAM. Its biggest feature is that it integrates audio processing capabilities, allowing it to play audio files and includes voice recognition functionality.
(2) TI’s 16-bit low-power microcontroller MSP430F149, a very user-friendly microcontroller, with a maximum clock frequency of 8MHz, single-cycle instructions, 60KB FLASH, and 2KB RAM. Its characteristic is ultra-low power consumption, with an official sleep power consumption of 2uA; I measured the minimum power consumption of the microcontroller’s minimal system board to be 2.2uA, which confirms TI’s data. It is said that PIC’s NAVA technology microcontroller can challenge MSP430’s low power consumption, and the data shows it can reach n-level, but I will not comment further as I have not tested it myself.
(3) 51 compatible machine AT89S52, which differs from AT89C52 by having ISP download functionality, allowing programs to be written without plugging it into a programmer. It has 8KB of FLASH and 256B of RAM.
(4) Atmega16, which belongs to a higher-end series of AVR microcontrollers, an 8-bit microcontroller, where 16 indicates it has 16KB of FLASH, along with 512B of EEPROM and 1KB RAM.
(5) PIC’s PIC16F877A, also an 8-bit microcontroller, which I have not used much and do not know much about.
Okay, here are the photos of these 5 microcontrollers that are about to be stripped of their shells!
Let’s take a quick look at the results after disassembly!
While piecing together, I found the effect after illuminating the edges to be quite interesting~
Using concentrated sulfuric acid to dissolve the shell of the chip, the plastic packaging of the chip can dissolve in heated concentrated sulfuric acid. Below is a schematic diagram of the structure of a DIP packaged chip.
In addition to the plastic shell, the chip pins and copper substrate can also dissolve in heated concentrated sulfuric acid.
This is the furnace used for heating.
Using a weighing bottle to hold the chip and concentrated sulfuric acid, please note that this is a violation of safety protocols! The vast majority of measuring tools, including the weighing bottle, cannot be operated at high temperatures and should not be used for heating. Firstly, high temperatures can cause deformation of the measuring tools, affecting accuracy; secondly, uneven heating can easily cause the measuring tools to break!
I did not have a beaker on hand, so I used a weighing bottle instead. Because I used a heating furnace for heating, the weighing bottle received heat more evenly. Moreover, by strictly controlling the heating temperature, the weighing bottle was able to withstand it; at least I had no issues during the several trials I conducted. However, if one has all the necessary equipment, for safety reasons, I advise against following my example!
Pouring in concentrated sulfuric acid, I was quite nervous… remember to take safety precautions.
Placed on the furnace to start heating, be sure to control the temperature; I tested the temperature by placing my finger on the furnace, as real test data is the most reliable.
Before long, the chip started to dissolve…
In no time, the chip turned into a wisp of smoke and a pile of residue…
After the solution cools down, pour out the residue and rinse the bare chip in clean water.
This is the bare chip left in the solution just now, with gold wire around it.
In such a large package, the bare chip is only this small.
After several repetitions of the operation, all 5 microcontrollers have been stripped! It took over 2 hours.
Okay, the Xiaomi camera is back in action, the macro effect is fantastic!
Note that this was taken with the Xiaomi camera, no microscope added!
Just taking macro shots isn’t enough; let’s take a look at the microscopic photos. First, I need to fix my pocket microscope, which is only palm-sized and looks like a toy, with a magnification adjustable from 160 to 200 times.
Using tape to secure the knob at 200 times magnification.
Starting with Lingyang 61.
The bonding gold wires are clearly visible.
The messy part on the left is the digital circuit unit. Because the automation level of the digital circuit part in IC design is very high, it is mostly automatically laid out and routed by EDA software, while the layout of the analog circuit part is mostly hand-drawn and very tidy.
The gold wire bent during disassembly.
Now, let’s look at the famous MSP430, this silicon chip is thinner compared to other microcontrollers.
This photo is interesting; you can see that TI made markings on the chip when drawing the layout. If you look closely, you can see it says MSP430F149, but the last two characters are unknown.
The following image clearly distinguishes between the analog circuit part and the digital circuit part.
The gold wire is still bent during the disassembly process…
Next is the 51 compatible machine, AT89S52, square and very beautiful!
Everyone should note that the gold wire on the chip PAD is missing because it was accidentally removed while cleaning the residue off the chip…
I think the most beautiful is this AVR microcontroller.
How does it look? Doesn’t it feel like a satellite image of a village on the ground, rich in content?
The gold wire was still lost during the cleaning process… what a pity.
In front is the village, and here are the fields!!!
Doesn’t it look like a vast wheat field?
Finally, we have the PIC microcontroller.
This one was a bit of a failure; when dissolving with concentrated sulfuric acid, it wasn’t cleaned properly, and a small piece of plastic was still stuck on the bare chip’s surface. I was too lazy to redo it, so I tried to scrape off the plastic, and the result was this disaster…
Okay, that’s all for the microscopic photos of the 5 microcontrollers. I took nearly 300 photos and selected dozens of clearer ones.
After taking the photos, I wrapped the bare chips to protect them.
This article is reproduced from Digital Home, and Electronic Engineering Magazine holds a neutral position on the views in the article, for learning and communication purposes only.
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