Abstract:

Counterfeit electronic parts have become a significant cause of worry in the electronics part supply chain. Most of the counterfeit parts detected in the electronics industry are either new or surplus parts or salvaged scrap parts. The packaging of these parts is altered to modify their identity or to disguise the effects of salvaging. The modification can be as simple as the removal of old marking and then adding new marking, or as complicated as recovery of a die and repackaging.

In this chapter, we discuss the type of parts used to create counterfeits and the defects/degradations inherent in these parts due to the nature of the sources they come from, proposed inspection standards, and limitations of these standards. The processes used to modify the packaging of these parts to create counterfeits are then discussed along with the traces left behind from each of the processes. We then present a systematic methodology for detecting signs of possible part modifications to determine the risk of a part or part lot being counterfeit.

Keywords: counterfeit electronics, inspection techniques

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