Desynchronization of Self-Powered FN Tunneling Timers for Trust Verification of IoT Supply Chain

Abstract

The ability to precisely synchronize and desynchronize two spatially separated dynamical systems according to changes in their respective operating environment provides a powerful mechanism for authentication and trust verification in a supply chain. This paper explores the synchronization and desynchronization paradigm using our previously reported self-powered time-keeping device, to differentiate among passive Internet-of-Things (IoT) devices that were subjected to different variations in temperature or their ambient radio-frequency environment. The environmental variations were modeled as a modulation voltage that affects the rate of Fowler–Nordheim (FN) quantum tunneling and integration of electrons on a floating-gate, thus producing a time and history-dependent dynamic signature. We show that the operation of the self-powered FN device is reliable and repeatable even at single electron-per-second tunneling-rates and for durations greater than three years. We believe that the proposed solution could be cost-effective and scalable for authenticating different types of passive IoT ranging from credit cards, packaged chipsets, to pharmaceuticals.