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I have two ICs and I need to discover them. I've searched for the marking on top of them, but I didn't have success. I've tried some tools on the internet (this forum included), also nothing. I used Google advanced search tools, combining packages and nothing.

Info that I have on IC 1:

  • IB2 or 1B2 (it's not clear)
  • D0E0
  • On the pin 1 circle it has a "33J" engraved

enter image description here

Info that I have on IC 2:

  • CG6865 PHI
  • 1819 616
  • 857
  • □C

enter image description here

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    \$\begingroup\$ One of the main tools is context! What kind of product are they in? What are the surrounding components? For example, if you see an inductor and capacitors surrounding an IC, a good place to start looking is switch mode regulators. \$\endgroup\$
    – awjlogan
    Commented Sep 9, 2020 at 13:39
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    \$\begingroup\$ google basically, the more info you can add to the search the better. but expect to fail. \$\endgroup\$
    – old_timer
    Commented Sep 9, 2020 at 20:36
  • \$\begingroup\$ In the olden days when pins were 0.1 inch apart and packages had real estate, you stood a chance. With most SMT stuff the combination of shrinkage and deliberate design for non-repairability make your odds terrible. \$\endgroup\$
    – Ecnerwal
    Commented Sep 10, 2020 at 0:47
  • \$\begingroup\$ Related or duplicate electronics.stackexchange.com/questions/334128/… \$\endgroup\$
    – Voltage Spike ♦
    Commented Sep 11, 2020 at 0:53
  • \$\begingroup\$ someone else searching for CG6865 as well: monitor.net.ru/forum/threads/672996 \$\endgroup\$
    – Abdull
    Commented Feb 11 at 5:20

2 Answers 2

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This question will likely get closed, but I'll throw in my $0.02:

  1. Authoritative information - if you can get your hands on schematics or bills of material for these boards, the parts will be explicitly specified and you won't need to search at all. You could also try contacting technical support for the manufacturer and asking about those specific reference designators.

  2. Context (as mentioned by @awjlogan in the comments) - having a general idea about what the chip might be doing can help you narrow down which manufacturer may or may not make it - for instance, you would not check the website of an analog IC manufacturer for digital logic gate ICs or microcontrollers.

  3. Common marks - many larger ICs will have some form of date code (1819 in your second example is likely a date code). Very small ICs may omit it or shrink it down into a vendor-specific format. Some garden-variety SMT devices use a three-character alphanumeric code to describe the device (small transistors or MOSFETs). I don't think the characters in the embossed circles will help you those are likely batch- or process-related markings. Don't bother looking these up - focus on things which "look like" part numbers first.

  4. Trademark symbols - many ICs will have a logo, which you can look at to match the part with its maker. Neither of your examples seem to have this, so:

  5. Vendor names - 'PHI' on your second IC may indicate that this part was once a Philips Semiconductor part (which would be NXP / Nexperia) - it could also indicate where it was made (Phillipines).

There are just too many degrees of freedom for a sure-fire way of identifying mystery parts. Persistence and experience are necessary.

(For the record: my guess for IC #2 is a Cypress Semiconductor CG6865: "ENCORE USB COMBINATION LOW-SPEED USB AND PERIPHERAL CONTROLLER" which seems to be obsolete now. This took me less than a minute to find, knowing where to look and what to look for - this is what 20 years of experience in industry gives you!)

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  • \$\begingroup\$ Thanks a million! Yours tips really helped. Thanks to you I've found the 1B2 it's probably R5F2M12 from Renesas. \$\endgroup\$
    – Gabriel Godoi
    Commented Sep 24, 2020 at 11:33
  • \$\begingroup\$ Well done on finding a candidate. \$\endgroup\$
    – Adam Lawrence
    Commented Sep 28, 2020 at 15:20
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There is no such tools because of three reasons:

  1. Manufacturers are often like unstandard solutions. For example if you look at several SRAM datasheets (on field transistors!) you may see that power pins are called Vcc/gnd, Vdd/Vss or even Vcc/Vss. Once I saw with my own eyes both symbols (Vdd and Vcc) in the same datasheet! What to say about the standardization of labeling!
  2. Many datasheets are distributes on NDA. It's very difficult to collect all of unstandard labels.
  3. Manufacturers like vendor-lock. For example Analog Devices software LT-spice is not suitable to work with Texas Instruments ICs. Manufacturers are only interested in promoting their own labels.
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