This process is typically done in order to debug a manufacturing problem with the chip, or possibly to copy information from the device,[1] to check for counterfeit chips or to reverse engineer it.
[2][3] Companies such as TechInsights[4] and ChipRebel[5] decap, take die shots of, and reverse engineer chips for customers.
Modern integrated circuits can be encapsulated in plastic, ceramic, or epoxy packages.
Delidding may also be done to test the chip for radiation-tolerance with a heavy-ion beam[6][7][8] or in an effort to reduce the operating temperatures of an integrated circuit such as a processor, by replacing the thermal interface material (TIM) between the die and the IHS with a higher-quality TIM.
Chemical etching usually involves subjecting the (if made of plastic) IC package to concentrated or fuming nitric acid, heated concentrated sulfuric acid, white fuming nitric acid or a mixture of the two for some time, possibly while applying heat externally with a hot plate or hot air gun,[11][3] which dissolve the package while leaving the die intact.