For metal lid ceramic

Gently heat package. If possible, attach a heat spreader to the bottom. If possible, avoid clamping the ceramic directly or at least make it springy (to avoid thermal expansion stress)

When the top lid seal melts, use a magnet to pull it off. This avoids issues like a knife slicing bonds or sliding over and dropping metal.

Professional labs use miniature can openers to avoid getting any fragments into the package since failure analysis may want to see if the device failed from particulates.

While can openers are good for failure analysis, for RE purposes a Dremel can suffice followed by a good clean. See [Dremel TO-3] for an instructional video! They can also be worked at room temperature by prying up the metal and peeling it back.

Ceramic-metal lids can also be removed with a torch. However, it is easy to warp the ceramic package making it difficult to get a good image of the die.

• TO-3 Dremel: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lt_zFq4qzd0