Semiconductor Chip Authentication via Circuit Path Thresholds
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Solution Overview
Problem
The electronics supply chain faces challenges in identifying and restricting counterfeit semiconductor chips, which can lead to issues ranging from small problems like dropped calls to larger issues, and existing solutions require additional logic or identification circuit components, making them costly and impractical for existing chip designs.
Innovation Solution
A method that generates a unique identifier by performing tests on data-dependent circuit paths within semiconductor circuits, adjusting operating frequency and voltage, and using threshold frequencies and voltages to create a platform-specific identifier without requiring extra logic or circuit components, allowing software to verify the authenticity of the hardware platform.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If additional logic or identification circuit components are added to identify hardware platforms, then the ability to identify and restrict counterfeit chips is improved, but the device complexity and manufacturing cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The existing computational circuits perform dual functions: their primary computational task and generating identification data. The circuits identify themselves through their inherent operational characteristics (frequency, voltage thresholds) without requiring separate identification hardware, making the system self-identifying and eliminating the need for additional dedicated identification components.
Solution Approach 2:
Existing general-purpose computational circuits are made multi-functional by extracting identification characteristics from their normal operational parameters. The same circuits used for computation also serve as identification sources, allowing a single component to fulfill both computational and authentication roles, thereby reducing overall system complexity.
2Ease of manufacture
If existing chip designs are used without modification, then the ease of manufacture is improved, but the ability to generate unique identifiers is worsened
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of modifying circuit structure, the invention extracts unique identifiers from operational parameters (frequency and voltage thresholds) of existing circuits. These parameters naturally vary due to manufacturing tolerances and process variations, providing unique identification characteristics without requiring any changes to the chip design or manufacturing process.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention replaces physical hardware modification (adding identification circuits) with a software-based approach that measures and analyzes operational characteristics. Electrical and computational methods are used to extract identifiers from normal circuit operation rather than through physical structural changes, maintaining ease of manufacture while achieving identifier generation.
Data Source
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AI summary
A method and apparatus are provided for generating a unique identifier. One or more tests are performed over one or more data-dependent circuit paths for one or more circuits. The one or more tests are then repeated over the one or more data-dependent circuit paths for the one or more circuits while adjusting an operating frequency and/or operating voltage for each of the one or more circuits. A threshold frequency and/or threshold voltage is ascertained for each of the one or more data-dependent circuit paths. An identifier may then be generated based on a plurality of the threshold frequencies and/or threshold voltages ascertained for the one or more data-dependent circuit paths.