Counterfeit components are not a rare horror story; they are a predictable consequence of shortage and obsolescence. When demand outruns authorised supply, the gap fills with re-marked, recycled and occasionally hollow parts. Catching them is a process, not a hunch.
Almost always through the open market, under shortage pressure. A part goes allocated or EOL, lead times stretch, and a buyer under deadline reaches past the authorised chain. The counterfeits range from crude — a cheaper part re-marked as a dearer one — to recycled silicon pulled from scrap boards and re-balled, to, in the worst cases, packages with no functional die inside.
The first pass is non-destructive and catches a surprising amount:
Where the value or risk warrants it, we go further: a solvent test for re-marking, X-ray to confirm a die and bond wires are present and consistent across the lot, XRF to check lead-finish composition against the datasheet, and decapsulation on samples to read the die markings directly.
Finally, the parts have to behave. Curve-tracing pins against a known-good reference catches recycled and substandard silicon; functional and parametric testing against the datasheet confirms the device does what it claims across its rated range. For programmable parts, we confirm they accept and run the intended image.
No single test is sufficient, and not every part needs all of them. The point is to match the depth of diligence to the risk — and to never let an unverified open-market part reach a customer's line on trust alone.
We run authenticity diligence as standard on open-market parts. Send us the part number and we will tell you what verification it needs.
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