What inside a glop top?

[bentomo]

One of those black spots on an electronic board. What is it? What's inside it? And why does what's inside it need to be covered by it?

 

[PalmerTech]

Tiny little silicon parts.

It is there to protect it from physical damage, corrosion, and static discharge.

All it is is black epoxy!

 

[eurddrue]

Tiny little silicon parts.

It is there to protect it from physical damage, corrosion, and static discharge.

All it is is black epoxy!

Don't forget the fact that it's probably patented/copywrited stuff that they're coving up. My question is how to get to the chip. I've tried on many, and had no success.

 

[themadhacker]

@ drue. carve VERY carefully.

 

[eurddrue]

I tried that. I must just suck.

 

[XCVG]

There is no chip below.

Think of the epoxy glob as a package, like a DIP or SSOP. There is only a silicon wafer underneath, probably directly wired to the PCB.

 

[themadhacker]

I must suck too. I couldn't do it, either.

 

[bentomo]

I saw someone on youtube remove it with a heat gun. But it was only a electrical tape replacement so it wasn't exactly the same.

 

[XCVG]

I've tried scraping; theoretically it's possible to do it that way but it'll take a long time. Sanding is the same as scraping, probably filing too. I've tried literally torching the glop top, no dice. Prying it off, no way to get a prying device under it. Desoldering? Ha, yeah right.

 

[jleemero]

Glop-Tops are SOMETIMES just a plain-ol' silicon wafer wired to the board.
Other times? Just a normal SMD chip is awaiting inside.

REGARDLESS, you can melt 'em, dremel 'em, and even magic-liquid 'em away.
'Tis just epoxy.


For us modders 'n' whatnot, Glop-Top chips are also SINFUL LITTLE DEVICES CREATED BY SATAN.
Of course, I'm quoting the Book of Modrom.

 

[Bibin]

The issue is that in trying to pry them up or chip away at them is that it is so hard to tell where the boundary of glop-top ends and useful stuff begins.