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AVR internals
AVR internals - a photo feature
This article takes a very physical approach at uncovering whats going on inside an AVR microcontroller. In the DVD UI hack project I accidentally burned two AVR's, and here I will put one of them completely out of its misery, while taking photos. Don't expect this to be a scientific endeavor, the purpose is merely the destructive pleasure and to satisfy curiosity!
Bring in the destined MCU:
Lets straighten the legs a little:
First attack was to hit it gently with a hammer while it was placed on a solid foundation. I tried to hit it askew on one end, to reduce the risc of breaking the core. It took a rather firm hit to crack it though:
As expected, most of the space in the DIP package is copper leads. The package was fastened with a clamp and hitting it sidewards got me closer to the core:
In the center of above image, some kind of metal shield can be seen. Its the part to the right, that contains the silicium under the white stuff. By pulling the lonely pin away from the package, combined with a bit of luck, I got the CPU die seperated:
Notice how small the core actually is and notice how the connections to the core reveal themselves from the package.
I really pushed to the limit of my digital cameras macromode trying to capture the core. These were the best shots I could get:
It looks like there is some kind of surface on the die, hindering a good view at the internal structure. It might be that the core didn't seperate cleanly from the package. Rotating the package under light gave funny reflections, indicating that a layer or two might have sticked to it.
Since the core really is too small to hang on the wall, I, well, smashed it completely... Here's some of the sad remains:
The following tools were used to crack open the defenceless AVR microcontroller:
Not exactly microtechnology I must confess...
By Lars Ole Pontoppidan, April 2006
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