Question

Use device identification method to find the IC of Fairchild chip manufactured in the year 1980.

This question was addressed to me in an interview for job.

I want to ask this question from Integrated Circuits, Types & Manufacturer’s Design topic in section IC Fabrication of Linear Integrated Circuits

Answer 1

To identify the Fairchild Integrated Circuit (IC) manufactured in 1980 using the device identification method, you would typically follow a procedure that involves examining the device's marking codes, which provide details about the IC's part number, manufacturer, and sometimes its production year. Here's how you would approach it:

1. Part Number Code:

• The part number of the IC usually consists of a series of alphanumeric characters. For example, for Fairchild ICs, the part number might start with a prefix indicating the product family (e.g., 74-series for logic ICs) followed by a specific identifier for the function (e.g., 7400 for NAND gates).

2. Manufacturer's Code:

• The first few characters in the part number are often indicative of the manufacturer's name. In the case of Fairchild, the part number might begin with F or Fairchild.

3. Date Code:

• The date code indicates the week and year of manufacturing. In many cases, the date code is a 4-digit number:
  • The first two digits represent the week of the year (e.g., 25 means the 25th week).
  • The last two digits represent the year of manufacture. For example, 80 corresponds to 1980.
• This could appear as part of the marking on the IC, such as 2501 (meaning the 25th week of 1980).

4. Identifying the IC:

• By looking at the part number and date code on the IC, you can often determine the IC family and the exact function of the IC. For example, a typical logic IC such as 74LS00 could be identified as a Quad 2-input NAND gate from Fairchild, with the date code indicating it was manufactured in 1980.

Example:

• If you were given a chip marked F74LS00 8032, this could be interpreted as:
  • F: Fairchild manufacturer
  • 74LS00: A Quad 2-input NAND gate from the 74-series logic family (LS stands for Low Power Schottky)
  • 80: Year of manufacture (1980)
  • 32: Week of manufacture (32nd week of 1980)

Conclusion:

To identify the specific IC, you would need to look at the part number and the date code. If you have the marking information from the IC, you can decode it using the steps above.