Physical unclonable function with multiplexing units and its evaluation

Abstract

AbstractRecently, semiconductor counterfeiting has become an increasingly serious problem. Therefore, techniques to prevent counterfeiting by using random characteristic patterns that are difficult to control artificially have attracted attention. The physical unclonable function (PUF) is one of these techniques. It is a method of deriving ID information peculiar to a device by detecting random physical features that cannot be controlled during the device's manufacture. Because information such as the ID information is difficult to replicate, PUF is used as a technique to prevent counterfeiting. Several studies have been reported on PUF. The arbiter PUF, which utilizes the difference in signal propagation delay between selectors, is a typical method of composing PUF using delay characteristics. This paper proposes a new PUF which is based on the arbiter PUF. The proposed PUF introduces new multiplexing selector units. It attempts to generate an effective response using the orders of three signal arrivals. Experiments using FPGAs verify the validity of the proposed PUF. Although Uniqueness is degraded, Correctness, Steadiness, Randomness, and Resistance to machine learning attacks are improved in comparison with the conventional approach. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electron Comm Jpn, 96(6): 22–31, 2013; Published online in Wiley Online Library (wileyonlinelibrary.com). DOI 10.1002/ecj.11458