EvilmonkeyzDesignzThe Microscope Giveaway has ended, thanks for participating! Please see the pinned comment on the video for the winner.
----------------------------------------------------------------- Digital Microscope Comparison Round 2 ------------------------------------------------------------------
This is the second installment in the Digital Microscope Comparison Series.
After the first video, Linkmicro ( @linkmicro_official5139 )reached out to send one of their microscopes to me for a review. I let them know I would be tearing down the microscope and giving it the same level of scrutiny as the first video, and they still agreed to send it. I purchased the other two microscopes from Amazon for this comparison.
Linkmicro sent their LM249MS Digital microscope, a microscope with a built-in 10-inch monitor and three interchangeable lenses for different types of microscope work. I purchased the Andonstar AD249S-M and the TOMLOV DM602 for comparison, since they all looked very similar to me. I wanted to know if they are all essentially the same inside, or if they are differences.
Watch the video to see what I found out!
Timestamps to help you navigate the video: ------------------------------------------------------------------ 0:00 - Introduction to video 0:40 - Linkmicro LM249 unboxing and assembly 3:08 - TOMLOV DM602 unboxing 3:45 - Andonstar AN249 unboxing 4:35 - Initial power-on 4:44 - Comparison: Power Consumption 5:32 - Comparison: Menus and settings 6:20 - Comparison: Included accessories 8:31 - Comparison: A Lens 10:18 - Comparison: D Lens 11:40 - Comparison: L Lens 13:18 - Lens comparison and magnification results 13:30 - Sonic chip with D Lens 14:02 - Slide holder with Pine stem, D Lens 14:19 - D Lens vibration testing 15:11 - Linkmicro Teardown 16:13 - Mainboard inspection 17:11 - Novatek NT96663 CPU 18:20 - TOMLOV Teardown 18:53 - Andonstar Teardown 19:33 - Internal components comparison table 19:43 - TOMLOV mainboard installed on Andonstar Monitor 19:54 - Image Sensor: Teardown 20:33 - Image Sensor: Under the microscope 21:16 - Image Sensor: Comparison 21:28 - Image Sensor: Datasheets 22:32 - Photo comparison in Inkscape 23:22 - Quality and Sharpness comparison 22:34 - Internal components comparison table, V2 24:02 - Company History: Andonstar 25:17 - Company History: TOMLOV 27:18 - Company History: Linkmicro 27:42 - Final Thoughts
Amazon Affiliate Links for Microscopes ------------------------------------------------------------------ (Please note that I get a % of sales made from using these links. Thanks for your support!)
❗NOTE❗: 11/20/2023 - There are currently some great deals on these microscopes for Black Friday.
*Andonstar AD246S-M - 7 Inch *Andonstar AD249S-M - 10 Inch *LinkMicro LM246MS - 7 Inch *LinkMicro LM249MS - 10 Inch *TOMLOV DM601 - 7 Inch *TOMLOV DM602 - 10 Inch
I also found two other brands on Amazon that appear to be the same microscopes as the three I looked at. I haven't confirmed this, but I would be very surprised if they were different.
*Elikliv EDM601 - 7 Inch *Elikliv EDM602 - 10 Inch *JOYALENS JL246MS - 7 Inch *JOYALENS JL249MS - 10 Inch
*I’d recommend checking all of the available listings to determine which microscope is cheapest at that time. You can also check out my Amazon Affiliate storefront for other items that I use on a regular basis.
Stop by my website to purchase some PCBcoins, Silicon wafers, and more! Each purchase helps fund the work I am doing to document more chips. --------------------------------------------------- 🛒Website Store: evilmonkeyzdesignz.com/new-products
All music used in this video is AI generated and licensed through a Soundful Premium Subscription.
Update: The Giveaway has ended! - Follow these three simple steps if you want to enter to win the Linkmicro LM249 (worldwide shipping included):
1) Like the video 👍 2) Hit the subscribe button 😁 3) Leave a comment! 💬
Here’s some suggestions for comments to help you out if you need it. What did you like or dislike about the video? What would you use the microscope for if you had it? What’s your best electronics/engineering joke?
That’s it! I’ll choose a winner at random from the pool of entrants after the entry period closes, which is one week from this video’s launch, Monday 11/27/2023 at midnight CST. Winner will be announced shortly after. Good Luck!
Andonstar AN249 vs Linkmicro LM249 vs TOMLOV DM602 - Digital Microscope Comparison Episode 2EvilmonkeyzDesignz2023-11-21 | The Microscope Giveaway has ended, thanks for participating! Please see the pinned comment on the video for the winner.
----------------------------------------------------------------- Digital Microscope Comparison Round 2 ------------------------------------------------------------------
This is the second installment in the Digital Microscope Comparison Series.
After the first video, Linkmicro ( @linkmicro_official5139 )reached out to send one of their microscopes to me for a review. I let them know I would be tearing down the microscope and giving it the same level of scrutiny as the first video, and they still agreed to send it. I purchased the other two microscopes from Amazon for this comparison.
Linkmicro sent their LM249MS Digital microscope, a microscope with a built-in 10-inch monitor and three interchangeable lenses for different types of microscope work. I purchased the Andonstar AD249S-M and the TOMLOV DM602 for comparison, since they all looked very similar to me. I wanted to know if they are all essentially the same inside, or if they are differences.
Watch the video to see what I found out!
Timestamps to help you navigate the video: ------------------------------------------------------------------ 0:00 - Introduction to video 0:40 - Linkmicro LM249 unboxing and assembly 3:08 - TOMLOV DM602 unboxing 3:45 - Andonstar AN249 unboxing 4:35 - Initial power-on 4:44 - Comparison: Power Consumption 5:32 - Comparison: Menus and settings 6:20 - Comparison: Included accessories 8:31 - Comparison: A Lens 10:18 - Comparison: D Lens 11:40 - Comparison: L Lens 13:18 - Lens comparison and magnification results 13:30 - Sonic chip with D Lens 14:02 - Slide holder with Pine stem, D Lens 14:19 - D Lens vibration testing 15:11 - Linkmicro Teardown 16:13 - Mainboard inspection 17:11 - Novatek NT96663 CPU 18:20 - TOMLOV Teardown 18:53 - Andonstar Teardown 19:33 - Internal components comparison table 19:43 - TOMLOV mainboard installed on Andonstar Monitor 19:54 - Image Sensor: Teardown 20:33 - Image Sensor: Under the microscope 21:16 - Image Sensor: Comparison 21:28 - Image Sensor: Datasheets 22:32 - Photo comparison in Inkscape 23:22 - Quality and Sharpness comparison 22:34 - Internal components comparison table, V2 24:02 - Company History: Andonstar 25:17 - Company History: TOMLOV 27:18 - Company History: Linkmicro 27:42 - Final Thoughts
Amazon Affiliate Links for Microscopes ------------------------------------------------------------------ (Please note that I get a % of sales made from using these links. Thanks for your support!)
❗NOTE❗: 11/20/2023 - There are currently some great deals on these microscopes for Black Friday.
*Andonstar AD246S-M - 7 Inch *Andonstar AD249S-M - 10 Inch *LinkMicro LM246MS - 7 Inch *LinkMicro LM249MS - 10 Inch *TOMLOV DM601 - 7 Inch *TOMLOV DM602 - 10 Inch
I also found two other brands on Amazon that appear to be the same microscopes as the three I looked at. I haven't confirmed this, but I would be very surprised if they were different.
*Elikliv EDM601 - 7 Inch *Elikliv EDM602 - 10 Inch *JOYALENS JL246MS - 7 Inch *JOYALENS JL249MS - 10 Inch
*I’d recommend checking all of the available listings to determine which microscope is cheapest at that time. You can also check out my Amazon Affiliate storefront for other items that I use on a regular basis.
Stop by my website to purchase some PCBcoins, Silicon wafers, and more! Each purchase helps fund the work I am doing to document more chips. --------------------------------------------------- 🛒Website Store: evilmonkeyzdesignz.com/new-products
All music used in this video is AI generated and licensed through a Soundful Premium Subscription.
Update: The Giveaway has ended! - Follow these three simple steps if you want to enter to win the Linkmicro LM249 (worldwide shipping included):
1) Like the video 👍 2) Hit the subscribe button 😁 3) Leave a comment! 💬
Here’s some suggestions for comments to help you out if you need it. What did you like or dislike about the video? What would you use the microscope for if you had it? What’s your best electronics/engineering joke?
That’s it! I’ll choose a winner at random from the pool of entrants after the entry period closes, which is one week from this video’s launch, Monday 11/27/2023 at midnight CST. Winner will be announced shortly after. Good Luck!DNA Sequencing chip #componentscloseupEvilmonkeyzDesignz2024-10-21 | This chip is made by Nabsys and has a date of 2014. If you want to learn more about it, I'd highly recommend checking out their Website. They also have a YouTube channel, @Nabsys , with a very cool video about this sort of technology.Thanks for everyones support in reaching 100K!EvilmonkeyzDesignz2024-10-13 | ...100 Silicon chips! (100K subscriber special)EvilmonkeyzDesignz2024-10-07 | Thank you for 100K subscribers!
UPDATE: The giveaway has closed! Congratulations to @LeeisGood for winning! I'll contact you via email shortly. I assigned a number to each entry based on the order they were received and then used Google's random number generator to pick a number. Thanks to everyone who entered and for your continued support!
I put together this video as a way to say thanks for your support. The video contains 100 silicon chips, which I look at under the microscope. I hope you enjoy it, and I’d love to hear if you have a favorite. If you also happen to know anything about the UNKNOWN chips, feel free to leave a comment!
CHIP LIST (If you have any info on UNKNOWN chips, let me know!) 1:00 ATMEL 57714E/03 2:00 Samsung S3P72F5DZZ-C0C5-3PXRZB 3:00 Samsung S3C7515D88-C0C5-3CXRZB 4:00 Samsung S8A0065X01 5:00 Samsung S3P7588X43-C0C8-4AXRZB 6:00 Samsung S3P7583 7:00 UNKNOWN ? 8:00 UNKNOWN ? 9:00 Toshiba JT5BR6-7B10 10:00 King Billion HE83145-HE015H 11:00 Samsung KM23C4000D 12:00 Sitronix ST2618B-0152-B 13:00 SHARP LI351317 14:00 United Microelectronics Corp. UM93420H-53/A 15:00 HUGHES 502 16:00 MOSEL MSS0907-459 17:00 National Semi. CD40174 18:00 Siliconix SD210 19:00 National Semi. CD40161 20:00 National Semi. CD4024 21:00 Nuvoton/Winbond W538T8089P03 22:00 Nuvoton/Winbond W541C2006652 23:00 Nuvoton/Winbond W584B0152570 24:00 Winbond W541C2603382 25:00 Tenex TM8726-A06 26:00 Holtek HT1621 27:00 Toshiba JTB31261A-AS 28:00 SG SG6810-016 29:00 General Plus GPL162002A-003A-C 30:00 General Plus GPCD9341A-056A-C 31:00 King Billion HE83006-R007 32:00 VISHAY 1K105-049V-001 33:00 RCA 54AC74 34:00 PMI TMP01GBC 35:00 Elan Micro U8568 36:00 Samsung S3P72B9DD5-C0C7-3AXRZB 37:00 IBM “ENDSTAR” 50G6644 38:00 Elan Micro Q418N-WL022HXQ 39:00 Elan Micro U8811-MLOO8HXZ 40:00 SG SGL603-071 41:00 CHIPCON CC2500 42:00 SEIKO EPSON E0C63458D3M 43:00 SANDISK/TOSHIBA EGK0 32G 44:00 SANDISK/TOSHIBA FFM5 64G 45:00 Sitronix ST2016B-0218-B 46:00 General Plus GPCE4P096UA-C 47:00 UNKNOWN, YG3D043A-073 48:00 SONIX SXC26E4HB002 49:00 UNKNOWN, TRC6168B 50:00 SONIX S32F707MT002H 51:00 Alpha IC576-V4 52:00 Micrel MIC5011 53:00 Sunplus SPC500A1-33A 54:00 Winbond W521885805H 55:00 UNKNOWN, UW93420H-53/A 56:00 Elan Micro U8568-FS006HXP 57:00 UNITED MICROELECTRONICS CORP UM23C1101H-L565 58:00 HOLTEK HT1647 59:00 Nyquest 66101030084 1:00:00 Elan Micro ST015-UF-11HXP 1:01:00 General Plus GPL02E2-167A-C 1:02:00 SONIX SXC5220AT004 1:03:00 UNKNOWN, SL002-TRS-02 1:04:00 General Plus GPL169256A-039A-C 1:05:00 Winbond W538T8086P03 1:06:00 General Plus GPLB52A24A-090A-C 1:07:00 SPANSION 98M538 1:08:00 Nyquest NY5C265C-057b 1:09:00 SONIX S66KD028-SX 1:10:00 TOSHIBA JT9631 1:11:00 SUNPLUS MPU0758700-04 1:12:00 SiGma 23C3445D-0105 1:13:00 SONIX SNAD01ACHIP-D 1:14:00 SONIX SR032MT023 1:15:00 MXIC 155-11261-03-A 1:16:00 NABSYS C02Kdas 1:17:00 INNO TECH VT2108-1D 1:18:00 General Plus GPC3256A-2H3B-C 1:19:00 SUNPLUS GPC11128A-093A-C 1:20:00 Samsung S6B0108A0-C0CX-3AXR2B 1:21:00 UNKNOWN 1:22:00 National Semi LMV324MDC 1:23:00 UNKNOWN, T1D3 1:24:00 UNKNOWN, T3A2 1:25:00 UNKNOWN, G8B 1:26:00 UNKNOWN, 115C2 1:27:00 UNKNOWN 1:28:00 ZILOG Z8F642 1:29:00 NUVOTON/WINBOND W588C3500P02 1:30:00 GENERAL PLUS MXIC SPR23L6400E-290A-C 1:31:00 SAMSUNG K9G4G08U0A 1:32:00 SKYWORKS AP368E116 1:33:00 SKYWORKS PC368E104 1:34:00 SKYWORKS AP368E113B 1:35:00 SKYWORKS AP368E112C 1:36:00 TI TMX37114_PAD 1:37:00 ATI 2V5R4SD22 1:38:00 VIA VT3227 1:39:00 RCA, UNKNOWN 1:40:00 DTC, UNKNOWN
All music used in this video is AI generated with a Soundful Pro membership plan.Whats inside a ROSS hyperSPARC MCM? #componentscloseup #cpuEvilmonkeyzDesignz2024-09-09 | ...If you want to view Silicon chips, Id recommend checking out @johndmcmaster s Siliconpr0n websiteEvilmonkeyzDesignz2024-08-25 | ...A silicon train driving along some tracks #componentscloseup #electronicsEvilmonkeyzDesignz2024-08-20 | ...Whats inside an Xbox 360 Kinect? #componentscloseup #xboxEvilmonkeyzDesignz2024-08-12 | ...Analog Devices AD14160 - The Quad SHARCEvilmonkeyzDesignz2024-08-05 | This interesting part caught my eye when I came across it in a scrap circuit board listing on Ebay. These parts turned out to be the AD14160, also referred to as the Quad SHARC. This is because it actually contains four ADSP-21060 SHARC cores inside of it. These SHARC chips have a hidden silicon doodle of a shark on them.
In this video, I open up one of these AD14160 parts for viewing under the microscope. I also did a bit of digging and learned about the circuit board that it was soldered to.
Timestamps: --------------------------------------------------- 0:00 Video Intro 0:57 IXTHOS circuit board 2:17 Intro to AD14160 and ADSP-21060 3:50 Removing parts 4:53 Sanding the AD14160 5:44 First look inside 6:30 View under the microscope 7:45 Outro 8:30 Bonus extra clips and pics
Join the ChipChat Discord Server! --------------------------------------------------- discord.gg/jWqwvkJgRy
Stop by my website to purchase some PCBcoins, Silicon wafers, and more! Each purchase helps fund the work I am doing to document more chips. --------------------------------------------------- Website Store: evilmonkeyzdesignz.com/new-products
Relevant Video links: ---------------------------------------------------
Video clip sources --------------------------------------------------- 0:28 - 0:37 : @CuriousMarc youtube.com/watch?v=dD3XbBA_DF8
--------------------------------------------------- AI disclaimer: Music used in this video was generated by AI with a Soundful Premium subscription.Inside the AD14160, a Quad SHARC #sharkweek #ComponentsCloseUpEvilmonkeyzDesignz2024-07-11 | ...Inside a Raytheon RC4444 Balanced Switching Crosspoint Array #componentscloseupEvilmonkeyzDesignz2024-07-08 | ...🎇Sparkler viewed with a microscopeEvilmonkeyzDesignz2024-07-05 | ...Ultra-fast Quad 3-input NOR gate from GigaBit Logic #componentscloseupEvilmonkeyzDesignz2024-06-05 | ...🤔 Do you know what this part is?EvilmonkeyzDesignz2024-06-02 | ...CCU #238: Intersil IH5101 High Frequency AmplifierEvilmonkeyzDesignz2024-05-24 | ...CCU #289: TMD2712 Ambient Light & Proximity Sensor #ComponentsCloseUpEvilmonkeyzDesignz2024-05-23 | ...CCU #147: Vectron TRU-600A Clock Recovery ModuleEvilmonkeyzDesignz2024-05-22 | ...Is this the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man? A look inside the WEITEK 3170 Math CoprocessorEvilmonkeyzDesignz2024-05-21 | ...Laser diode driver integrated circuit #componentscloseupEvilmonkeyzDesignz2024-05-20 | In a previous video, I looked at a laser diode with my microscope, but I didn't mention where it came from. It was from an HFCT 5205A optical transceiver module from HP. In this video, I also take a look at the ASIC responsible for modulating the laser to drive out the data down the fiber optic link.#soldering under the microscopeEvilmonkeyzDesignz2024-05-19 | ...66.667MHz Quartz Crystal Oscillator #componentscloseupEvilmonkeyzDesignz2024-05-18 | ...EPROM vs. Sledgehammer, ft. the Fujitsu MBM2732AEvilmonkeyzDesignz2024-05-17 | ...Do you know what makes this pattern? The answer is magnets! #magnet #magnetic #scienceEvilmonkeyzDesignz2024-05-16 | ...A PTC Resettable Fuse in action #electronicsEvilmonkeyzDesignz2024-05-15 | ...#AMD AM6688 4-bit QUANTIZEREvilmonkeyzDesignz2024-05-14 | ...🐪 A camel on a silicon chipEvilmonkeyzDesignz2024-05-13 | ...This part is from 1969 #ComponentsCloseUpEvilmonkeyzDesignz2024-05-12 | ...CCU #299: OQ2535WC 32-bit multiplexer for SONET applications #componentscloseupEvilmonkeyzDesignz2024-05-11 | ...Whats inside a #MEMS microphone?EvilmonkeyzDesignz2024-05-10 | ...🌩 Micro Networks MN5240 12-bit ADCEvilmonkeyzDesignz2024-05-09 | ...CCU #236: TCD1 Thomson-CSF Hybrid Ceramic Circuit #ComponentsCloseUpEvilmonkeyzDesignz2024-05-08 | ...Infrared vs. Ultra Violet LEDs #ledlightsEvilmonkeyzDesignz2024-05-07 | ...Whats inside a 622.080 MHz VCXO? #componentscloseupEvilmonkeyzDesignz2024-05-06 | ...A #Tesla Triple Transistor, the MAA525EvilmonkeyzDesignz2024-05-05 | ...🥔A Potato chip under the microscopeEvilmonkeyzDesignz2024-05-04 | ...Should you fix LED light bulbs? #LEDEvilmonkeyzDesignz2024-05-03 | ...Sometimes, the chips break, featuring the VY06416 from Future Domain CorpEvilmonkeyzDesignz2024-05-02 | ...Analog Devices AD2S82A Monolithic Resolver to Digital Converter #componentscloseupEvilmonkeyzDesignz2024-05-01 | ...MEMS Digital Micromirror Device Silicon WaferEvilmonkeyzDesignz2024-04-30 | ...Silicon Chips with #Simpsons code-namesEvilmonkeyzDesignz2024-04-29 | What does this electronic component have in common with the Simpsons? In order to find out, the silicon chip inside needs to be extracted and observed with a microscope.
Hot air weakens the epoxy, allowing it to be removed from the silicon. Let's put it under the microscope to get a closer look.
This chip is the SIL154CT64 PanelLink transceiver from Silicon Image, and was given the codename Milhouse. As such, it includes a silicon doodle of Milhouse’s face.
I’ve opened up other Silicon Image parts in the hopes they may also contain other doodles, like this SIL905BCQ52. Unfortunately, not every Silicon Image part appears to have one. This part lacks a doodle, but was given another Simpson’s related codename.
This is the Selma chip, which is a DVI to VGA converter. I discovered that this part was used in the Philips FTP2.2E Plasma television, after I found a schematic for it. I wonder if any other Silicon Image parts are hiding other secrets :)🐯 Tiger on a silicon wafer, the DS2256 from Dallas SemiconductorEvilmonkeyzDesignz2024-04-28 | Let's take a closer look at a very interesting silicon wafer from Dallas Semiconductor with a hidden doodle on it.
There are some rather large chips on this silicon wafer, and there might actually be more stuff in the margins in between each chip then there are actual chips on it. It’s in these margins where the doodle lives. In order to see it thought, we need the help of a microscope.
Sitting next to some test circuits is a Tiger with the text “GEUAX DSC”.
Unfortunately, this is an unfinished wafer. The back of the wafer says DS2256, but I wasn’t able to find a datasheet for this part. To me, it looks like some type of SRAM. There is however a datasheet for the DS2257, which is a 32 Kilobyte SRAM. Since nearby Dallas Semi part numbers are usually related, it’s highly plausible the DS2256 is also an SRAM device
This wafer is loaded with interesting looking test patterns. It also has a very inspirational quote left behind by one of the designers.Is this a 50 year old ROM? #componentscloseupEvilmonkeyzDesignz2024-04-27 | These Interesting looking components are 50 years old. Let's open one up to take a closer look.
After removing the lid with hot air, the silicon chip inside can be viewed with a microscope.
There is limited information about these parts, but the consensus is that they are custom ROMs, but the specific application isn't necessarily known. I have many different versions of this part from various manufacturers. This one is from AMI, but the others are marked with the Fairchild and Burroughs logos.
The part I opened in the video is marked with a date code of 7407, which should translate to the 7th week of 1974. The other number on the lid is 2472-8861, which is a different 8 digit number from the other parts. There are a total of 51 pins on this white ceramic Pin Grid Array part.
I assume that if I was to open up the others, they would most likely have the same or similar chips inside, but the ROM would contain different hard-coded information.SoS: Silicon on SapphireEvilmonkeyzDesignz2024-04-26 | Check out Ken Shirriff's blog for a deep dive on this part! righto.com/2023/12/HP-silicon-on-sapphire-phi-chip.htmlFully Integrated Ballast Control IC #componentscloseupEvilmonkeyzDesignz2024-04-25 | Here is a fully integrated ballast control integrated circuit. Let's open it up to take a closer look at the silicon. - To get to the silicon in this part, I'll use hot air to weaken the black epoxy to the point where I can start to chip away at it. Once the silicon chip is removed, I'll use a #PCBcoin to move it over to the microscope for further viewing. - This chip is the IR2157 from International Rectifier and has a lot of interesting features, including some sections that are isolated from the rest of the circuits. This chip also has a Pac-man for the copyright symbol, and a ghost for the Maskworks M.
A few of the pins on this IC are rated for voltages up to 625V, which is why they require isolation.
If you want to learn more about this part, I would Highly recommend checking out the datasheet. It's well written and includes a nice block diagram of the internal components.
Quick aside, I appreciate and listen to your feedback. Many of you had a visceral Reaction to the initial edit of this video, so I made this re edit. If you want to go back and see the original, it should be linked as a related video, otherwise click the link below!
youtube.com/shorts/tZrUguwG8c0?feature=shareHP PA-7100LC Hummingbird #CPUEvilmonkeyzDesignz2024-04-24 | #ComponentsCloseUp No. 240: PA-RISC Microprocessor *** Quick Facts! *** Manufacturer: HP Part Number: PA-7100LC Transistor Count: 900,000 Process Node: 0.75 μm Year Introduced: 1994 - The PA-7100LC is a 32-bit PA-RISC (Precision Architecture Reduced Instruction Set Computer) microprocessor, and the first PA-RISC device to integrate an ALU (Arithmetic Logic Unit) and FPU (Floating Point Unit) on the same silicon die (FPU was previously a separate chip). - The PA-7100LC would be typically paired with an MOIC (Memory and I/O Controller) chip, also known as the Viper chip, connected via the PBus. We have already looked at the Viper chip back on #CCU0170 . Click on the hashtag to see more about that part. - To open this part, I used the pull method rather than the pry method. The last two times I’ve attempted to open these HP parts the razor blade has always slipped and scratched the silicon. This time (as recommended by @siliconinsider ) I pulled on the lid with some pliers, which made the task very easy and resulted in no damage. Like all of the other HP parts though, the silicon is covered in some jelly goop, which can sometimes make it hard to get clear photographs up close, especially as dust starts to settle on top. - This chip contains two fantastic silicon doodles; one is the Hummingbird (the HP codename for this CPU) with the text “This Bird’s for you!!!”, and a “con artist” with a Rolex in their jacket. The “Rolex” was the name HP gave their FPU, a play on the Texas Instruments “Timex” coprocessor that was used in previous workstations.2GB NAND storage chips #componentscloseupEvilmonkeyzDesignz2024-04-23 | These are the GNZ5 16 Gigabit, or 2 Gigabyte, NAND Flash chips from SanDisk & Toshiba.
These could have been made into solid state storage devices like USB flash drives, however their most iconic use would have be as the main storage in the Iphone 3G & 3GS. Four of these would have been stacked together like shown in this video, and wirebonded together to make up the 8GB part, for example.
Each chip measures 16x11 mm and is less than a ¼th of a mm thick, allowing them to be easily stacked. The features on these chips are extremely small, and even hard to see at 500x magnification. If all 16 Gigabits took up the entire chip area (which they don't) that would mean that each bit would be approximately 11 nanometers. In reality though, this device is an MLC NAND, meaning that each cell stores 2 bits instead of 1, reducing the total number of cells needed.The dream is always the sameEvilmonkeyzDesignz2024-04-22 | #ComponentsCloseUp No. 233: MicroVax CPU *** Quick Facts! *** Manufacturer: DEC Part Number: 21-24674-17 Codename: CVAX-60 (DC580) Transistors: 134,000 Process node: 1.5 µm - The DC580 32-bit microprocessor was used in the MicroVax 3100, Model 10e computer, according to sources on the internet. It was capable of operating at speeds up to 16MHz and has a 1KB integrated L1 cache. The CVAX-60, also known as the CVAX+, is actually a die-shrink of the earlier CVAX processor which was made using the 2µm process. - This chip contains a few doodles, the most notable is the hand holding the straight flush. Next to it is the text “$... THE DREAM IS ALWAYS THE SAME”, which had a double meaning. The text is allegedly a reference to the movie, “Risky Business”, and the $ referred to the boot prompt for VMS (Virtual Memory System), the operating system for the VAX computers. The dream was to get to the boot prompt on the first iteration of the chips. The ace up the sleeve referred to the VAX SOC, the Rigel. - On some DEC chips, In the margins in between the dies on the wafer, are some interesting little creatures. To me, they almost resemble a goomba from Mario, but they may actually be a mascot from an MIT dormitory known as “THiRD EAst”. That is the story, at least according to the entry for this doodle on the Silicon Zoo website.MEMS Micro Manipulator PrototypeEvilmonkeyzDesignz2024-04-21 | I picked up these as part of a lot of a few different MEMs prototype devices from a listing on Ebay. The consensus is that this is a type of micro manipulator, essentially a linear actuator.
From the side, we can see the part of this device that moves.
I can demonstrate the movement by pressing on it with a 22 gauge needle. Normally, a voltage would be applied to the pads on the bottom left to cause the combs structures to attract to one another, moving the actuator.
I would hypothesize that changing the polarity of the voltage would probably change the direction the actuator moves.
There's many other interesting parts in this lot. Let me know of you'd like to see more, and maybe I can acquire some probes small enough to actively drive one. Or, if you have any suggestions of things I could buy, let me know!Inside an old Soviet-era Integrated CircuitEvilmonkeyzDesignz2024-04-20 | #ComponentsCloseUp No. 227: Soviet Era Microcircuit - *** Quick Facts! *** Manufacturer: NPO Elas(?) Part Number: Б747ХМ1-000-2 - Not much is known about this other than what is found on the 155la3.ru website (Thanks to photo_parts on Instagram for pointing out this wonderful website to me!). I’ll post the Russian text, along with Google’s translation, followed by my best guess as to what it means. - Russian Text: “ А вот это - схема построения управления селектором телевизоров - тайное из тайных! Если про остальные элементы серии есть хотя бы обрывочные упоминания в литературе, то ХМ1 вообще нигде не "засветилась". Единственный материал, где она встречается - рекламный листок на ЦАП-2.” - Google Translation to English: “ But this is the scheme for constructing the control of the TV selector - the secret of the secret! If there are at least fragmentary references in the literature about the rest of the elements of the series, then XM1 has not been "lit up" anywhere at all. The only material where it is found is a flyer on the DAC-2.” - Essentially, there doesn’t appear to be any references that the owners of the website were able to find for this part. They say it does claim to have a reference to another part, DAC-2, which links to another page. The DAC-2 is a hybrid circuit, which looks very similar to this part. The website claims: “DAC is a voltage generator for tuning and range selection in the control unit for televisions of the Orizon-51TTS507 / 508D models. The microcircuit is based on the B747XM1-000-2”. Perhaps they are related, perhaps not. I’d have to get a hold of a DAC-2 to confirm :). - The chip is attached to a wire frame built into a polyamide film, which is interestingly bonded directly to the silicon with an X shape. This structure blocks some of the view of the circuits, unfortunately.Capacitive Torsion Bar #MEMS AccelerometerEvilmonkeyzDesignz2024-04-19 | #ComponentsCloseUp No. 199: Prototype MEMS Accelerometer - *** Quick Facts! *** Manufacturer: TRW/AMI? Part Number: Unknown - I was unable to find a datasheet for this specific part. Thanks to the combined efforts of Siliconinsider , Ken Shirriff, and Curious Marc , I was able to learn quite a bit about what this part most likely is. A huge thanks to all of them! :) - The most interesting thing that was found was a website from Silicon Designs, Inc (SDI) explaining about their MEMS accelerometer technology. On this particular page is a picture of one an accelerometer with its top removed. There are two components inside that part just like this one, and the top sense element looks nearly identical to the one pictured (although the ASIC looks different). This page also explains a bit about how this type of accelerometer works. - The sensing element is a separate device, and is the smaller of the two parts. We had initially thought this chip was circuits on quartz, but it is actually probably a sapphire circuit. There are two torsion sensors on this part. The essential way they operate is as the part experiences forces due to accelerations, the silicon plates will twist about the torsion bar’s axis. This causes one side of the silicon plate to come closer to the fixed lower plate, resulting in a change in capacitance. There are two of these elements that are mirrors of each other, which supposedly helps compensate for some types of sensitivities. - Other information found points to SDI licensing this type of sensor technology to other companies (potentially such as TRW, since their name is on this part’s sensor) for use in other applications. Once such application at the time (early 1990’s) was in cars for airbag deployment. - What do you think? Were these prototype parts used in a car airbag application? Or did they perhaps fly a little higher?
Check out the SDI website below: silicondesigns.com/techHP VIPER MIOC #componentscloseupEvilmonkeyzDesignz2024-04-18 | #ComponentsCloseUp No. 170: VIPER MIOC - *** Quick Facts! *** Manufacturer: HP Part Number: 1FZ6-0006 Chip Name: Viper Die Size: 9,5×9,5 mm2 Process Node: 0.80µm Transistor Count: 185,000 Package Type: 272-pin CPGA - This chip, often just referred to as the Viper, was the MIOC (Memory and Input Output Controller) for the PA-7100 and PA-7000 processors (RISC). The Viper chip is responsible for all memory and I/O transactions between the processor and the rest of the system. The website openpa.net has a lot of great information about this chip. - As noted above, there is a beautiful silicon doodle on this chip of a Viper (in some pretty great detail). There is also a block of initials of the engineers and other people that helped out with the design. One thing that I missed initially that was pointed out to me by @siliconinsider was some very discrete text hidden on the chip. Can you make out what it says?😉