Until I saw this YouTube video last week, I was not aware that it is possible to open IC packages with just mechanical force and a hot-air station. As you can see from the attached pictures, this method works fairly well. Only if the package is filled with epoxy, you have to go the old way with fuming nitric acid. But this method is not really suitable for home use where you usually do not have a chemical fume extractor. Below you can see a picture of a STM32F030 32bit microcontroller, taken through the eyepiece of a stereoscopic microscope:STM32F030 Die
The size of it is about 2.4x2.4 mm.
The other picture apparently shows an AD8009 current-feedback amplifier bought from ebay. There is no Analog Devices marking on the die, but something like 73A and vb1829. I'm not really sure if it is genuine or just another cheaper relabeled CFA:AD8009? Die
