Why? Because it's interesting to see what's inside. Here are some chips that I bought on the Internet and had decapped and then photographed under a microscope. Die area estimates are from comparing the die to a ruler photographed with the chip.

Click on any photo for a larger version.

MAX17823

Die area: The area is about 20.9 mm², based on the following measurements:

• Top edge of the die about 16.1 hundredths of an inch (4084um).
• Side edge of the die about 20.2 hundredths of an inch (5119um).

LTC6811

Die area: The area of the larger die is about 9.2 mm², based on the following measurements:

• Top edge of the die about 11.0 hundredths of an inch (2798um).
• Side edge of the die about 12.9 hundredths of an inch (5119um).

• Top edge of the die about 3.8 hundredths of an inch (957um).
• Side edge of the die about 9.6 hundredths of an inch (2438um).

Isn't that second smaller die pretty?

ISL87600

This one I bought from some sketchy Chinese website. Die area 16.9mm².

bq76pl536

I can't find my photos. But the diea area is about 19.5 mm².

LTC6813

Coming in June 2019...