Fri 4 Jul 2008
This weeks target is the MSP430F161(1). On a side note, I will be attending the last Hope conference in a few weeks and am looking forward to Travis Goodspeed’s MSP430 talk.
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Icy Friday
Archived Posts from this Category
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Fri 20 Jun 2008
Fri 13 Jun 2008
Today’s entry is the LMC6042 dual-op amp from National Semiconductor. The layout of this device is a bit different from a standard op-amp due to the inclusion of some periodic components. It can also be noted that this die is mostly the same as the LMC6044 except that the two op-amps on the bottom-right side of the chip don’t have most of the metal deposited.
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Fri 6 Jun 2008
This weeks entry is the INA2143 differential amplifier from Texas Instruments. This is a dual diff-amp and the partitioning is pretty apparent. It is also apparent that most of the device is constructed using a bi-polar process, which matches well with the decreased quiescent current with increased temperature in the datasheet.
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Fri 30 May 2008
Today’s IC Friday features the DDC114 from TI. This is a quad ADC, which makes sense given the partitioning of the device. I think a set of sample-and-hold circuits can also be identified.
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Fri 23 May 2008
This weeks images are of the LMC6442 dual op-amp from National Semiconductor. The devices organization makes it somewhat easy to read with the top and bottom halves dedicated to the two op-amps. Looking at the bottom half, the two inputs are at the bottom center and the op-amp output pin is in the bottom right corner. The circular structures that look like BJTs near the in/out pins are not for driving, but for ESD protection. It looks like the main differential transistor pairs are above the input pins around the center of the chip. The left portion of the device looks to be biasing/current-source circuitry while the right side two-three gain stages. Two metal capacitors can also be seen per op-amp which are likely used for frequency compensation.
I am going to try to focus the next few weeks on more analog ICs as well as an ADC and DAC, these will hopefully be easier to “read” and will give some insights into IC layout.
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Fri 16 May 2008
The chip on today’s IC Friday is Sony’s CXM 4000, an unknown IC inside the PlayStation 2 game console. Nothing too surprising so I tried to capture as many of the processing layers as possible in a series of images.
Regarding the spring cleaning giveaway, all of the chips finally got sent out yesterday and will hopefully start arriving at their destinations soon. Any oily residue on the slides is just microscope oil which was used to limit light scattering at higher magnifications. This can be washed off with soap and water. The writing is typically with a sharpie marker and can be washed off using alcohol.
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Fri 9 May 2008
This weeks entry is a 48-LQFP chip labeled Msi M5-46266 that came off a Pentium4 mainboard. Looking at the die, it can be seen that this is actually Winbond chip. The part number doesn’t match up on their site, however, the large driving circuitry on the pins makes me guess that it is some kind of host controller or a clock generator.
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Fri 2 May 2008
This weeks entry is a mystery chip from Sony that was found in a Playstation2. The image above displays the only markings.
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Fri 25 Apr 2008
IC Friday: Spring cleaning edition (free dies)
Posted by nico under Components , Icy Friday[14] Comments
Since I have started the IC Friday weekly section, I have accumulated a significant number of exposed dies. In a general effort to reduce clutter, I would like to give these away as it is unlikely that I will refer to the dies in the future. The 70 or so dies will be split into two categories, digital and analog, and each will be mailed to a random commenter using the US Postal Service. If you are interested, leave a comment below indicating your preference for digital or analog dies. Please use a valid email address when making the reply, I will need it to contact you and it will not be displayed to the public. I will keep this open for two weeks and will let MATLAB (2008a) decide the winners on May 9th. Good luck and feel free to post any questions.
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