Supply Chain Hardware Integrity for Electronics Defense (SHIELD) Using Small “Dielets”

Abstract

Abstract Under the DARPA/MTO SHIELD program, a Northrop Grumman led team is developing a supply chain traceability and authentication method to protect against the growing threat of counterfeit electronic parts. The foundation of our SHIELD solution is an advanced 100μm × 100μm × 20μm near-field RFID “dielet” fabricated on 14nm CMOS. This dielet will be embedded in a host component's packaging and provides a hardware root-of-trust through the integration of advanced key protection and cryptographic techniques. Throughout the life-cycle of the host component, the authenticity can be verified using an RF probe to energize and communicate with the dielet, performing a cryptographic challenge and providing a response to a centralized secure server and SHIELD authenticity database. This paper provides a general overview of the dielet design, packaging, and host component insertion. This research was developed with funding from the DARPA. The views, opinions and/or findings expressed are those of the author and should not be interpreted as representing the official views or policies of the Department of Defense or the U.S. Government.