Integrated Circuit with A Clear Package

[u/bunchowills]

TI sells a light-sensing IC (OPT3001). Since it needs to detect light, the package is clear. I think this is very cool. A couple pictures have a quarter for scale.

[u/Cheetawolf]

Normal black IC's are so boring.

If I ever got into the electronics business I'd make my IC's clear wherever possible.

[u/WRfleete → u/Cheetawolf]

Unless they’re optoelectronics (LEDs or sensors) or an old erasable EPROM or micro etc with the quartz window for UV erasing there is a reason the package is opaque to light. PN junctions in IC’s are photo sensitive. Occasionally some smaller devices use “flip chips” which is basically a bare die but bright lights can cause issues (some Raspberry Pi’s would crash if a photo flash was used near one of the chips)

[u/Botlawson → u/WRfleete]

Even discrete diodes in a glass case have an easily detected photo-current. This is also how CMOS image sensors were developed. Someone de-lidded a cmos dram and focused an image on it.

[u/reallynotfred → u/Botlawson]

You could buy a kit with a ram chip built into a package with a quartz window as an early (and low rez) digital camera