SMD marking

CNin SOD-123

Marking codes are not standardised, and the same code is reused by unrelated makers for unrelated parts. Below is every part in our tables printed with it, and any printed with a code that is easy to misread as it, from the manufacturers' own marking tables.

6 parts are printed CN

Not sure which one you have?

Answer up to 4 quick questions and these 6 parts are ranked, with a meter test that settles it. It works on a dead part too.

BZT52-C18SOD-123Zener diode, 2 pins, NexperiaZener diode2 pinsNexperia
What it is
Zener diode
Maker
Nexperia
Package
SOD-123
Pins
2
Source
From the manufacturer's datasheet
Is it dead?
Diode range for the forward check, part lifted, red probe on the anode. A bench supply for the Zener voltage.
Working, it reads
About 0.6 to 0.8 V forward and open in reverse on the diode range. Its Zener voltage shows only on a supply: feed it through a resistor that sets about 5 mA, cathode to positive, read quickly, and it should hold near its rated voltage.
Dead, it reads
The same reading both ways round, near 0 V with a continuous beep or the same middling value: shorted.
Open both ways, forward too: failed open.
Holds well off its rated voltage on the supply test: drifted.
A soft knee, or a voltage that creeps on the supply test: leaky.
On the board:
On the board this is a first look only: the meter reads every path between those pins, and a short can be a neighbour. Lift one leg before you condemn it.
Compare:
If an identical part sits elsewhere on the board, measure it the same way: that is what this one should read.
Watch for:
A meter's diode range stops at about 2 to 3 V, so almost every Zener reads open in reverse on it, good or bad; a 3 V meter may just show a 2.4 or 2.7 V part. Above about 3 V the meter cannot tell a Zener from a plain diode.
A dead part still carries its marking. A short or an open says it has failed, not that it is a different part.
Datasheetfor BZT52-C18, opens in a new tab
MMSZ4686SOD-123Zener diode, 2 pins, Taiwan SemiconductorZener diode2 pinsTaiwan Semiconductor
What it is
Zener diode
Maker
Taiwan Semiconductor
Package
SOD-123
Pins
2
Source
From the manufacturer's datasheet
Is it dead?
Diode range for the forward check, part lifted, red probe on the anode. A bench supply for the Zener voltage.
Working, it reads
About 0.6 to 0.8 V forward and open in reverse on the diode range. Its Zener voltage shows only on a supply: feed it through a resistor that sets about 5 mA, cathode to positive, read quickly, and it should hold near its rated voltage.
Dead, it reads
The same reading both ways round, near 0 V with a continuous beep or the same middling value: shorted.
Open both ways, forward too: failed open.
Holds well off its rated voltage on the supply test: drifted.
A soft knee, or a voltage that creeps on the supply test: leaky.
On the board:
On the board this is a first look only: the meter reads every path between those pins, and a short can be a neighbour. Lift one leg before you condemn it.
Compare:
If an identical part sits elsewhere on the board, measure it the same way: that is what this one should read.
Watch for:
A meter's diode range stops at about 2 to 3 V, so almost every Zener reads open in reverse on it, good or bad; a 3 V meter may just show a 2.4 or 2.7 V part. Above about 3 V the meter cannot tell a Zener from a plain diode.
A dead part still carries its marking. A short or an open says it has failed, not that it is a different part.
Datasheetfor MMSZ4686, opens in a new tab
4 more parts have no package on record. Nothing rules them out, so they stay.
- LP5907SNX-3.3LDO regulator, 4 pins, Texas InstrumentsLDO regulator4 pinsTexas Instruments
  What it is
  LDO regulator
  Maker
  Texas Instruments
  Package
  Not recorded
  Pins
  4
  Details
  250mA, Low-Noise, Low-IQ LDO
  Source
  From the manufacturer's datasheet
  Is it dead?
  Voltage, board powered, black probe on ground. Then ohms with the power off.
  Working, it reads
  Input pin at the supply, output pin at its rated voltage, and the enable pin high if it has one.
  Dead, it reads
  Output equal to the input: the pass element has shorted. Everything after it may have taken the full input.
  Input present, enable high, no output: failed open, or holding itself off into a shorted load. Power off and measure output to ground.
  Power off, input to output near 0 Ω: shorted.
  On the board:
  An output at 0 V is often a shorted load with the regulator in current limit. Lift the output pin: if the short stays on the board, the regulator may be fine.
  Compare:
  The same regulator on another rail or another board shows the right voltages and the right resistances.
  Watch for:
  Makers put input, output and ground on different pins in the same package, so take them from this part's datasheet. Diode or ohms readings between its pins say little; check it powered.
  A dead part still carries its marking. A short or an open says it has failed, not that it is a different part.
  Datasheetfor LP5907SNX-3.3, opens in a new tab
- LP5907SNX3LDO regulator, 4 pins, Texas InstrumentsLDO regulator4 pinsTexas Instruments
  What it is
  LDO regulator
  Maker
  Texas Instruments
  Package
  Not recorded
  Pins
  4
  Details
  250mA, Low-Noise, Low-IQ LDO
  Source
  From the manufacturer's datasheet
  Is it dead?
  Voltage, board powered, black probe on ground. Then ohms with the power off.
  Working, it reads
  Input pin at the supply, output pin at its rated voltage, and the enable pin high if it has one.
  Dead, it reads
  Output equal to the input: the pass element has shorted. Everything after it may have taken the full input.
  Input present, enable high, no output: failed open, or holding itself off into a shorted load. Power off and measure output to ground.
  Power off, input to output near 0 Ω: shorted.
  On the board:
  An output at 0 V is often a shorted load with the regulator in current limit. Lift the output pin: if the short stays on the board, the regulator may be fine.
  Compare:
  The same regulator on another rail or another board shows the right voltages and the right resistances.
  Watch for:
  Makers put input, output and ground on different pins in the same package, so take them from this part's datasheet. Diode or ohms readings between its pins say little; check it powered.
  A dead part still carries its marking. A short or an open says it has failed, not that it is a different part.
  Datasheetfor LP5907SNX3, opens in a new tab
- LP5907SNX3.3NOPBG4LDO regulator, 4 pins, Texas InstrumentsLDO regulator4 pinsTexas Instruments
  What it is
  LDO regulator
  Maker
  Texas Instruments
  Package
  Not recorded
  Pins
  4
  Details
  250mA, Low-Noise, Low-IQ LDO
  Source
  From the manufacturer's datasheet
  Is it dead?
  Voltage, board powered, black probe on ground. Then ohms with the power off.
  Working, it reads
  Input pin at the supply, output pin at its rated voltage, and the enable pin high if it has one.
  Dead, it reads
  Output equal to the input: the pass element has shorted. Everything after it may have taken the full input.
  Input present, enable high, no output: failed open, or holding itself off into a shorted load. Power off and measure output to ground.
  Power off, input to output near 0 Ω: shorted.
  On the board:
  An output at 0 V is often a shorted load with the regulator in current limit. Lift the output pin: if the short stays on the board, the regulator may be fine.
  Compare:
  The same regulator on another rail or another board shows the right voltages and the right resistances.
  Watch for:
  Makers put input, output and ground on different pins in the same package, so take them from this part's datasheet. Diode or ohms readings between its pins say little; check it powered.
  A dead part still carries its marking. A short or an open says it has failed, not that it is a different part.
  Datasheetfor LP5907SNX3.3NOPBG4, opens in a new tab
- PMEG2020EPASSchottky diode, NexperiaSchottky diodeNot recordedNexperia
  What it is
  Schottky diode
  Maker
  Nexperia
  Package
  Not recorded
  Pins
  Not recorded
  Details
  20 V, 2 A low VF Schottky barrier rectifier
  Source
  From the manufacturer's datasheet
  Is it dead?
  Diode range, part lifted or one leg off the pad. Red probe on the anode.
  Working, it reads
  About 0.15 to 0.45 V anode to cathode, roughly half a silicon diode, and open the other way.
  Dead, it reads
  The same reading both ways round, near 0 V with a continuous beep or the same middling value: shorted.
  A reading the wrong way round as well: leaky.
  Open both ways: failed open.
  On the board:
  On the board this is a first look only: the meter reads every path between those pins, and a short can be a neighbour. Lift one leg before you condemn it.
  Compare:
  If an identical part sits elsewhere on the board, measure it the same way: that is what this one should read.
  Watch for:
  A large Schottky can read about 0.1 V forward and beep like a short, and leaks a little the wrong way when good, more when warm. It is shorted only if it reads the same both ways. Measure it cold, beside an identical cold one.
  A dead part still carries its marking. A short or an open says it has failed, not that it is a different part.
  Datasheetfor PMEG2020EPAS, opens in a new tab

1 more part is printed with a code easy to misread as CN

Printed with a code easy to misread

One character differs, and it is one that is easy to confuse under a lamp. The odd one out is marked on each.

TPS7A0325PDQNprinted GNLDO regulator, 4 pins, Texas InstrumentsLDO regulator4 pinsTexas Instruments
Printed GN on the part. Easy to misread as CN. Check that character with a loupe before you order anything.
What it is
LDO regulator
Maker
Texas Instruments
Package
Not recorded
Pins
4
Details
Nanopower IQ, 200nA, 200mA, Low-Dropout Voltage Regulator With Fast Transient Response
Source
From the manufacturer's datasheet
Is it dead?
Voltage, board powered, black probe on ground. Then ohms with the power off.
Working, it reads
Input pin at the supply, output pin at its rated voltage, and the enable pin high if it has one.
Dead, it reads
Output equal to the input: the pass element has shorted. Everything after it may have taken the full input.
Input present, enable high, no output: failed open, or holding itself off into a shorted load. Power off and measure output to ground.
Power off, input to output near 0 Ω: shorted.
On the board:
An output at 0 V is often a shorted load with the regulator in current limit. Lift the output pin: if the short stays on the board, the regulator may be fine.
Compare:
The same regulator on another rail or another board shows the right voltages and the right resistances.
Watch for:
Makers put input, output and ground on different pins in the same package, so take them from this part's datasheet. Diode or ohms readings between its pins say little; check it powered.
A dead part still carries its marking. A short or an open says it has failed, not that it is a different part.
Datasheetfor TPS7A0325PDQN, opens in a new tab

3 more parts have codes that begin with CN

Codes that begin with CN

For a marking with its end worn or burnt off. Each one shows its full printed code.

AOZ2380QIprinted CN00DC-DC converter, Alpha & Omega SemiconductorDC-DC converterNot recordedAlpha & Omega Semiconductor
Printed CN00. Only the start matches what you typed, so this fits only if the rest of the marking is worn off.
What it is
DC-DC converter
Maker
Alpha & Omega Semiconductor
Package
Not recorded
Pins
Not recorded
Details
Synchronous buck regulator
Source
From the manufacturer's datasheet
Is it dead?
Voltage with the board powered; ohms from each pin to ground with it off.
Working, it reads
Supply pin at its voltage and the output doing what the datasheet says. Readings between pins depend on the part.
Dead, it reads
A pin near 0 Ω to ground or to the supply pin where an identical part does not read that: failed short.
Supply present, output stuck: failed, or its load has.
On the board:
A pin shorted to ground on the board can be anything on that net. Lift the pin to be sure.
Compare:
The surest reference is the same IC on a working board, measured pin by pin.
Watch for:
Its protection diodes can read like junctions between pins, even like a transistor. That proves nothing either way.
A dead part still carries its marking. A short or an open says it has failed, not that it is a different part.
Datasheetfor AOZ2380QI, opens in a new tab
AOZ13986DI-02printed CN02Load switch, Alpha & Omega SemiconductorLoad switchNot recordedAlpha & Omega Semiconductor
Printed CN02. Only the start matches what you typed, so this fits only if the rest of the marking is worn off.
What it is
Load switch
Maker
Alpha & Omega Semiconductor
Package
Not recorded
Pins
Not recorded
Details
USB Type-C protection switch
Source
From the manufacturer's datasheet
Is it dead?
Voltage, board powered, black probe on ground.
Working, it reads
Switched on, the output pin sits at the input voltage. Switched off, it sits near 0 V.
Dead, it reads
Output at the input voltage while switched off: the pass element has shorted.
Input present and switched on, no output: failed open, or shut down into a shorted load. Power off and measure output to ground.
On the board:
An output near 0 Ω to ground is usually the load. Lift the output pin to see which.
Compare:
If an identical part sits elsewhere on the board, measure it the same way: that is what this one should read.
Watch for:
The pinout and whether the enable is active high or low differ between parts. The datasheet gives both.
A dead part still carries its marking. A short or an open says it has failed, not that it is a different part.
Datasheetfor AOZ13986DI-02, opens in a new tab
SN74LVC1G126DRLprinted CN7Logic gate, 5 pins, Texas InstrumentsLogic gate5 pinsTexas Instruments
Printed CN7. Only the start matches what you typed, so this fits only if the rest of the marking is worn off.
What it is
Logic gate
Maker
Texas Instruments
Package
Not recorded
Pins
5
Details
Single Bus Buffer Gate With 3-State Output
Source
From the manufacturer's datasheet
Is it dead?
Voltage with the board powered; ohms from each pin to ground with it off.
Working, it reads
Supply pin at its voltage and the output doing what the datasheet says. Readings between pins depend on the part.
Dead, it reads
A pin near 0 Ω to ground or to the supply pin where an identical part does not read that: failed short.
Supply present, output stuck: failed, or its load has.
On the board:
A pin shorted to ground on the board can be anything on that net. Lift the pin to be sure.
Compare:
The surest reference is the same IC on a working board, measured pin by pin.
Watch for:
Its protection diodes can read like junctions between pins, even like a transistor. That proves nothing either way.
A dead part still carries its marking. A short or an open says it has failed, not that it is a different part.
Datasheetfor SN74LVC1G126DRL, opens in a new tab

Open this in the search to correct a character or try another package.

6 parts are printed CN

Is it dead?

Is it dead?

Is it dead?

Is it dead?

Is it dead?

Is it dead?

Printed with a code easy to misread

Is it dead?

Codes that begin with CN

Is it dead?

Is it dead?

Is it dead?