Abstract
In this article we describe the characteristics of a large integrated linear optical device containing Mach-Zehnder interferometers and describe its potential use as a physically unclonable function. We propose that any tunable interferometric device of practical scale will be intrinsically unclonable and will possess an inherent randomness that can be useful for many practical applications. The device under test has the additional use-case as a general-purpose photonic manipulation tool, with various applications based on the experimental results of our prototype. Once our tunable interferometric device is set to work as a physically unclonable function, we find that there are approximately 6.85x10E35 challenge-response pairs, where each challenge can be quickly reconfigured by tuning the interferometer array for subsequent challenges.
Highlights
P HYSICALLY unclonable functions (PUFs) or physical one-way functions (POWFs) have been suggested as a method to securely authenticate a networked device or remote user
We tested the largest PUF that would fit on the device, again with random challenge-response pairs (CRPs), and a repeated CRP
All of the CRPs were randomly selected in each variable from a uniform distribution over the v2π voltage range required for a complete switching response of a typical Mach-Zehnder interferometers (MZIs), detailed by the sinusoidal response from Equation 1, modified into a sine/cosine format shown in Equation 5
Summary
P HYSICALLY unclonable functions (PUFs) or physical one-way functions (POWFs) have been suggested as a method to securely authenticate a networked device or remote user. The operating scheme for all types of PUFs remains essentially identical: Given a set of specific inputs, referred to as the challenge, a PUF will generate a unique output response. These inputs and corresponding outputs are known as the challenge-response pairs (CRPs). The ongoing development of large-scale PICs, and large interferometric devices [9]–[13], along with the wide range of applications from general information processing [12], quantum key distribution [11], quantum optics [9], and even the development of deep-learning and optical neural networks [14], [15], suggest that such linear PICs will become ubiquitous components in the future. The ability to use any large circuit of interferometers as a PUF, combined with the growing size and number of such circuits, suggest that our device could become an ubiquitous component in the near future
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