Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1440051
JANUARY 2022 I SMT007 MAGAZINE 91 Type of Counterfeits Known in the Market Counterfeit electronic components are electronic parts that are misrepresented as to their origins or quality. ere are recycled components, which are most counterfeit inci- dents, cloning (fakes), overproduced and out- of-spec/defective parts, and tampered parts that serve as a back door where secret infor- mation from the chip can sabotage system functionality. In the following section we briefly explore the types of counterfeiting and the evidence they leave on the components. e evidence will be classified as internal and visible from the external by the prominence of the evidence. It is not suggested that the classification is abso- lute, that is, there are ways to detect counter- feit components by both internal and visual ex- ternal forensic examination. However, the fo- cus is on the most dominant aspects of each counterfeit type. Recycled Components Recycled components are ones that are man- ufactured and used in devices for some time, discarded and scrapped. Scrap electronics are collected and sold to developing countries, they are dismantled into bare circuit boards and the components are crudely extracted by harsh processes, sorted, cleaned, remarked, and re-tapped. It is estimated most of the coun- Figure 2: An example of a mixed population reel. The documented manufacturer is Samsung 0805 MLCC where four distinct groups were detected, and none of them was manufactured by Samsung. Figure 3: Passive components with poor soldering leads quality detected during assembly: a) peeling leads; b) oxidized leads; c) scraped leads; d) lifted leads.