Counterfeit IC Detection: A Defect Database and Test Procedure

Counterfeit electronics are a long-standing problem, which pose an enormous threat to the electronics industry and supply chain. Critical systems used in medical, transportation, defense, etc. have long life cycles which make it easier for long-term counterfeiting success. Physical inspection and electrical tests are the most common approach for counterfeit parts detection. During the physical inspection, exterior, interior, and material composition are examined to detect anomaly from the component under test. There are a diverse set of counterfeit IC types, all of which have their own unique defects. Thus, detection process requires a long time to test an IC against a long list of defects [2]. It is immensely difficult to classify and provide a universal physical inspection process for all counterfeit types. Apart from this, physical inspection requires subject matters expert (SME), and a wide range of expensive test equipment which makes the process costly. An automated approach [1] to physical inspection with reduced cost and time can be a solution to above problems. The main barrier towards overcoming the above challenges is the lack of defect data of counterfeit components as in general academia do not have access to costly equipment and samples. To address this, we developed a large database www.counterfeit-ic.org [2] for counterfeit electronic ICs that provides a great opportunity to student, practitioners, and researchers to study the defects. On contrary, electrical tests are used to compare the IC parameters such as current, voltage, delay, etc. to the specifications or any known reference data.