An Aging-Resistant NAND Flash Memory Physical Unclonable Function

Abstract

This article demonstrates a novel technique for generating aging-resistant, physical unclonable function (PUF) using commercial off-the-shelf NAND flash memory chips. The technique utilizes a novel “program-disturb” method using a single memory page to extract the inherent process variations unique to each chip. In addition, it employs an adaptively tunable PUF generation method to reduce the aging effects on PUF accuracy. The experimental evaluation utilizing several commercial flash memory chips shows that the proposed technique ensures accuracy, uniqueness, and randomness of PUFs generated from a single memory page for at least 1000 PUF-generating operations. Unlike prior flash PUF techniques, the proposed technique does not involve complex memory characterization or lengthy postprocessing steps, making it suitable for a wide range of resource constraint systems.