Is this an IC

[HighTechPower]

Hi. Please attached here find the pic of a circuit board. Is the big black thing fabricated on PCB is an IC? Why we manufactured it that way? Is it a custom made design? Under what conditions it is done this way instead of standard IC package?

 

[barry]

That big black thing is a blob of epoxy covering a wirebonded die. Maybe it's cheaper to build that way than a complete IC.

 

[dick_freebird]

A plastic package would add little cost provided
that you want a hundred thousand of them. But
this does not look like that kind of product, more
like a hobbyist type of deal. An open-cavity ceramic
package (often used for prototyping) would add
5 bucks to the cost and add nothing really to the
value. The "glob top" protects the die adequately
and hurts performance (HF / RF) less than or same
as packaging. We used to do COB / glob top a lot
in product development, to save money and time
(getting the plastic packaging flow, leadframe, etc.
sorted and stood up, takes that much more time
and money).

 

[RCinFLA]

Referred to in semicon industry as Glob top encapsulation.

If you have a high enough volume production of a product and invest in wirebonding equipment it is very low cost packaging.

With smaller geometry PCB technology now available at low cost, this method is fading away in favor of Flip chip attachement where solder bumps are put right on IC die pads. They are placed with normal pick and place machines and reflow soldered along with the rest of components.
https://www.masterbond.com/industries/glob-top-epoxies