Page 4 - IOE_Winter 24

ATTACK OF
THE CLONES
This informative presentation by Princeps’
Operations Director Ian Walker addressed one
of the most challenging problems associated
with the modern electronics industry, namely the
issue of counterfeit components.
Many of these fakes are extremely difficult to detect,
in many cases actually passing quality control tests
such as those specified in the aerospace standard
AS6081A, which has been in development for 11
years, yet has taken away mandatory testing that
formed the bedrock of its predecessor AS6171.
Princeps is a specialist distributor of secure and
traceable hard-to-source and obsolete electronic,
electrical and electro-mechanical components
for high reliability applications and advanced
industry sectors. Attendees were able to learn from
a veteran industry expert about the specialist tools
and techniques that the company has acquired
in order to identify suspect components in the
electronics supply chain.
Using the example of a real-world counterfeit
part that the Princeps team intercepted, the
presentation focused on five specific techniques
that formed the basis of its methodology:
1. Stage 0 research - a review of all of the
available documentation for the parts,
including a thorough trawl of all Product
Change Notifications issued by the
manufacturer for the specific part as well as for
the entire range.
2. External Visual Inspection - including
deciphering what the various codes on the
part mean and a thorough examination of its
packaging.
3. Radiography - non-invasive x-ray inspection to
detect internal physical defects or anomalies
which would otherwise not be visible.
4
4. X-ray Fluorescence Spectrometry - non-
destructive elemental analysis of the materials
of composition, plating thicknesses and similar
attributes.
5. Decapsulation - removal of packaging
material by mechanical, chemical and thermal
means to expose the structure of the circuit for
internal visual inspection.
Only through reference to Princeps’ extensive library
of known-good devices was the team able to
positively identify parts that were actually clones
and made as such. These ‘good’ clones would
probably work for a while under certain conditions.
Princeps simplifies the sourcing of safe, traceable
hard-to-find and obsolete components for
customers in high-reliability sectors and is a trusted
single-source supplier for thousands of global
manufacturers, taking responsibility for counterfeit
mitigation, obsolescence management and
smoothing supply chain issues.
Extending Product Lifecycles for Military
and Aerospace Components.
From counterfeit components to obsolete
components, Rochester Electronics have focused
on product replication solutions for obsolescence
management in the military and aerospace sector,
where systems require longer development times
and have longer production lifecycles than any
other industry.
The pace of advancement in semiconductor
technologies has accelerated the rate of
component obsolescence and when faced with
critical part obsolescence manufacturers need to
find reliable replacements which not only address
single replacement events, but also cover the
requirements for the full lifecycle of a program.
The unique qualities of many military and
aerospace designs add to the challenge of