analogZONE: Chip Art

analogZONE & Chipworks, Inc. present...
Tagging Chips: A Monthly Art Mural From The Nanometer World

July 2006: The Magical Mystery Pig

Click on the image to launch an enlargement in a new window.

The image of a smiling pig on the side of a truck delivering ham and bacon can cause a certain level of cognitive dissonance, but one must simply scratch one's head about the how this little piggy ended up immortalized in silicon. This image was found on a device removed from a Nokia cellular phone. The package was stamped with a Nokia series P/N 4396275. Research on the part number yielded few clues to the chip's function beyond the fact that it was an RF element. The ID die markings showed the fingerprints of Nokia and ST Microelectronics, indicating that this was some sort of jointly-developed device. But any clues as to why this photolithographic porker found its way onto the chip or what it might mean remain a mystery. If you can enlighten us and our readers about this month's chip art, please write us!

Editor's Note: analogZONE believes that this embedded art is in the public domain in that the part was purchased legally and reverse-engineered by Chipworks in the course of their legal examination for their client(s). There is no intention by analogZONE to breach any copyrights asserted by the manufacturer of this part, the originator of the artwork, or the Chipworks client; the image is offered in strict anonymity, in the spirit of examining this unique element within a technical arena on its artistic, rather than engineering, merits.

Click on the image to launch an enlargement in a new window.
The image of a smiling pig on the side of a truck delivering ham and bacon can cause a certain level of cognitive dissonance, but one must simply scratch one's head about the how this little piggy ended up immortalized in silicon. This image was found on a device removed from a Nokia cellular phone. The package was stamped with a Nokia series P/N 4396275. Research on the part number yielded few clues to the chip's function beyond the fact that it was an RF element. The ID die markings showed the fingerprints of Nokia and ST Microelectronics, indicating that this was some sort of jointly-developed device. But any clues as to why this photolithographic porker found its way onto the chip or what it might mean remain a mystery. If you can enlighten us and our readers about this month's chip art, please write us!