{{Short description|Photo or recording of the layout of an integrated circuit}} {{more citations needed|date=February 2022}}
[[File:Intel_Pentium_II_Dixon_die_shot.jpg|thumb|388x388px|Die shot of an Intel Mobile Pentium II (Dixon)]] A '''die shot''' or '''die photography''' is a photo or recording of the layout of an integrated circuit, showings its design with any packaging removed. A die shot can be compared with the cross-section of an (almost) two-dimensional computer chip, on which the design and construction of various tracks and components can be clearly seen. Due to the high complexity of modern computer chips, die-shots are often displayed colourfully, with various parts coloured by diffraction within the parts of the die, using special lighting or even manually.
== Methods == A die shot is a picture of a computer chip without its housing or packaging. There are two ways to capture such a chip "naked" on a photo; by either taking the photo before a chip is packaged or by removing its package.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Anthony |first=Sebastian |date=2012-11-21 |title=How to crack open some computer chips and take your own die shots - ExtremeTech |url=https://www.extremetech.com/extreme/141077-how-to-crack-open-some-computer-chips-and-take-your-own-die-shots |access-date=2022-02-27 |website=www.extremetech.com |archive-date=2022-02-27 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220227102433/https://www.extremetech.com/extreme/141077-how-to-crack-open-some-computer-chips-and-take-your-own-die-shots |url-status=live }}</ref>
=== Avoiding the package === Taking a photo before the chip ends up in a housing is typically preserved to the chip manufacturer, because the chip is packed fairly quickly in the production process to protect the sensitive very small parts against external influences. However, manufacturers may be reluctant to share die shots to prevent competitors from easily gaining insight into the technological progress and complexity of a chip.<ref>{{Cite web |last=List |first=Jenny |date=2017-06-02 |title=Die Shot {{!}} Hackaday |url=https://hackaday.com/tag/die-shot/ |access-date=2022-02-28 |website=Hackaday |language=en-US |archive-date=2022-02-28 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220228095609/https://hackaday.com/tag/die-shot/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
=== Removing the package === Removing the housing from a chip is typically a chemical process called decapping - a chip is so small and the parts are so microscopic that opening a housing (also named delidding) with tools such as saws, sanders or dremels could damage the chip in such a way that a die shot is no longer or less useful.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Messiah |first=Metal |date=2020-11-10 |title=AMD Ryzen 5000 Zen 3 'Vermeer' CPU die shot pictured, revealing the core topology and architecture |url=https://www.dsogaming.com/news/amd-ryzen-5000-zen-3-vermeer-cpu-die-shot-pictured-revealing-the-core-topology-and-architecture/ |access-date=2022-02-28 |website=DSOGaming |language=en-US |archive-date=2022-02-28 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220228095611/https://www.dsogaming.com/news/amd-ryzen-5000-zen-3-vermeer-cpu-die-shot-pictured-revealing-the-core-topology-and-architecture/ |url-status=live }}</ref> For example, sulphuric acid can be used to dissolve the plastic housing of a chip. Chips are immersed in a glass jar with sulphuric acid, after which the sulphuric acid is boiled for up to 45 minutes at a temperature of 337 degrees Celsius. Once the plastic housing has decayed, there may be other processes to remove leftover carbon, such as with a hot bath of concentrated nitric acid. After this, the contents of a chip are relatively exposed and a picture can be made of the chip with macrophotography or microphotography.
== Legal aspects == {{Main article|Integrated circuit layout design protection}}
The circuit layout of integrated circuits is generally not subject to copyright, because it is functional in nature. Since die shots are usually much too low in resolution and picture many layers at once, it is impossible to reproduce the pictured circuits using a die shot. Therefore die shots are not restricted under laws like the Semiconductor Chip Protection Act of 1984.
== Gallery == <gallery widths="180" heights="160"> D8742 microscope die shot.png|Die shot of an Intel D8742 Microcontroller Hitachi HD61914 RAM top metal die shot.jpg|Die shot of Hitachi HD61914 SRAM MOS 6502 die.jpg|Die shot of the MOS Technology 6502 Motorola 68040 die.JPG|Die shot of a Motorola 68040-microprocessor MATROX@unknown_nm@Fixed-pipeline@Mystique@IS-MGA-1064SG-D_965IKG006_Stack-DSC06080-DSC06100_-_ZS-retouched_(27502637620).jpg|Die shot of a Matrox Mystique IS-MGA-1064SG graphics chips; most of the processor is covered by a power distribution network. Intel-pentium-ii-dixon-die-shot-high-resolution-stitched.jpg|Die shot of an Intel Pentium II Altera MAX II die shot - etched - stitched (33460784978).jpg|Die shot of an Altera Max II FPGA Zen2 Matisse Ryzen 7nm Core Die shot.jpg|Die shot of an AMD Zen 2 Ryzen-microprocessor </gallery>
==See also== *Die (integrated circuit)
== References == {{reflist}}
== External links == * [https://cpumuseum.jimdofree.com/cpu-die-photography/ "Hardwarecop CPU Museum"] - a website showing die shots sorted per ship-series. * [https://happytrees.org/dieshots CPU Graveyard dieshots] - wiki with over 1000 die shots. * [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i7Pf6Y02Q4I YouTube-video] explaining how one can take a die shot.
Category:Integrated circuits Category:Photography by genre