identifie counterfeit

machinist · ‎2021-04-13

Hello,

we had trouble with a batch of STM32F103CBT7 processors. I have read a lot about counterfeit CPU's. I had the Error 18 in CubeIDE and 5 out of 1000 IC's did not work as our stock ones (STM32F103CBT6). The UID of one of the chips is UID0= 0x00470010; UID1=0x39000001; UID2=0x4E504332. Can any one identifie accordingly if this is genuine?

Is there anything known about issues or counterfeits of this type?

I also contacted the support but have not gotten any answer yet. It is slowly getting ergent as our productin is running dry. I would like to be 100% sure.

Thank you

machinist · ‎2021-04-27

Hello,

I just wanted to round up the subject. Turns out they are counterfeit. So here are a few details incase it helps anyone in these times:

The external oscillator (HSE) did not work with neither a crystal nor a resonator. The HSI worked. I did not test any other peripherals.
I got the Error 18 in CubeIDE when connected to a STlink.
ST confirmed that the UDID datecode is invalid.
The laser engraving was not as good as the original. Although this needs a microscope as by pure eye the counterfeit is not distinguishable.
The xray shows a clear difference in the die, substrate and the thiner bonding wires.

View solution in original post

Peter BENSCH · ‎2021-04-13

The UID0...2 you mentioned is the value of the Unique Device ID register, which does not necessarily allow a statement to be made as to whether a certain device is counterfeit or not.

Typically, you should buy equipment from a trustworthy source, such as the established distributors. They can provide information such as label and date codes that clearly prove the genuine devices.

However, you can find some tips online on how to tell the difference between counterfeit and genuine parts, such as the identity code (STMicroelectronics = 0x20), e.g. here.

When your question is answered, please close this topic by choosing Select as Best. This will help other users find that answer faster.

Good luck!

/Peter

In order to give better visibility on the answered topics, please click on Accept as Solution on the reply which solved your issue or answered your question.

Uwe Bonnes · ‎2021-04-13

All other devices claiming F103 compatibility I have seen have a newer Arm Core revision. The RomTable PIDR is also different often with ARM as JEDEC designer versus ST for a genuine part .

machinist · ‎2021-04-27

Hello,

I just wanted to round up the subject. Turns out they are counterfeit. So here are a few details incase it helps anyone in these times:

The external oscillator (HSE) did not work with neither a crystal nor a resonator. The HSI worked. I did not test any other peripherals.
I got the Error 18 in CubeIDE when connected to a STlink.
ST confirmed that the UDID datecode is invalid.
The laser engraving was not as good as the original. Although this needs a microscope as by pure eye the counterfeit is not distinguishable.
The xray shows a clear difference in the die, substrate and the thiner bonding wires.

machinist · ‎2021-06-21

Just another followup incase anyone is interested. We got another batch that I could verify as original. The engraving and die substrate look a bit different but were verified as original by ST.