I've got a few ST brand 2N3055 transistors that I bought for the sole purpose of opening up and using them for experiments in cheap radiation detection.
I'd like to de-cap them with as little damage as possible. I could probably borrow a dremel but I don't want to fling sparks and bits of metal inside during the cut. (I live in an apartment so I don't have a vise or a lot of tools here with me)
I don't suppose they just solder the cap on and I could just remove it with enough heat?
I found this picture of one opened and it looks like the cap is just bonded somehow to the outside.
http://obrazki.elektroda.net/68_1240402529.jpgIdeally to do this right, I'm going to need to block light out from the transistor as outside light can trigger it. Since Mica is used in Alpha particle probes to physically protect the inside of the Geiger tube but not block Alpha particles, I had an idea of using Mica that has been coated with a thin layer of ink from a marker to block the light but let Alpha radiation through.
Yep. Another one of my projects.
