An Asynchronous and Low-Power True Random Number Generator using STT-MTJ

Abstract

The emerging spin-transfer torque magnetic tunnel junction (STT-MTJ) technology exhibits interesting stochastic behavior combined with small area and low operation energy. It is, therefore, a promising technology for security applications, specifically the generation of random numbers. In this paper, STT-MTJ is used to construct an asynchronous true random number generator (TRNG) with low power and a high entropy rate. The asynchronous design enables the decoupling of the random number generation from the system clock, allowing it to be embedded in low-power devices. The proposed TRNG is evaluated by a numerical simulation, using the Landau-Lifshitz-Gilbert (LLG) equation as the model of the STT-MTJ devices. Design considerations, attack analysis, and process variation are discussed and evaluated. We show that our design is robust to process variation, thus achieving an entropy generating rate between 99.7 and 127.8 Mb/s with 6–7.7 pJ per bit for 90% of the instances.