Heated Solvent Testing

Counterfeiters are always implementing new methods of resurfacing a device that are more resistant to solvents. A decade ago they would typically sand the surface of a chip to remove any markings, resurface or blacktop the device, and then remark it with a different part number: Standard acetone testing would normally reveal that. Now they often remove the part markings with acid and then resurface it with an epoxy-based blacktop coating and apply new markings: This process is, by design, resistant to a simple acetone test. As a result the testing industry has developed heated solvent testing (HST), which is a more aggressive… Read the rest of ACT’s article How-to-Spot-a-Counterfeit: Heated Solvent Testing in the Q2 2018 ERAI INSIGHT.