There are some great new technologies for detecting counterfeit components. One of the most interesting is taking a fingerprint from each individual chip to identify them as legitimate later. It is a great idea, but it will be almost impossible to become a standard in the industry. It will be hard to get buy in from the component manufacturers. The manufacturer’s and the authorized distributor’s answer to counterfeits is “only buy from authorized sources”. Trying to get them to take fingerprints of parts during production to help them be authenticated when they reach the open market later will be impossible. Another obstacle will be the delayed benefit. Many of the chips we wish we could identify have been obsolete for over ten years. In ten years this database would be very helpful, but we are a society which needs immediate results in order to put any effort into something new. See the article describing this creative new technology.
Robb Hammond, founder and president of AERI (American Electronic Resource, Inc.). Founding member and former committee chair of the SAE AS6081 Standard created for the avoidance of counterfeit electronic components. Robb founded AERI in Costa Mesa, California, in 1994 as an independent distributor of hard-to-find, obsolete and allocated electronic components. AERI is AS9120B, ISO 9001:2015 and AS6081 certified, tests to AS6171 standards, and inspects every part in its in-house QC lab before it ships. Robb writes about electronic component shortages, sourcing strategy and counterfeit avoidance.
