Health Test Circuit for Detecting Periodic Random Data

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing random number generators are prone to erroneous judgment of periodic data as random, leading to inaccurate verification of randomness, which compromises the security and confidentiality of cryptographic functions.

Innovation Solution

A health test circuit that processes random number data in units of n-bits, utilizing a serial-parallel converter, RCT and APT circuits, and result judgment to accurately verify randomness by setting the bit length and adjusting the configuration of the health test circuit based on the verification results.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Measurement precision

If normal judgement method is used for RCT and APT, then periodic data is erroneously judged as random number data, but verification accuracy of randomness is insufficient

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveverification accuracy of randomnessVSAvoidjudgement reliability
Core Design Contradiction:
Measurement precisionVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The patent segments the random number data into multiple blocks and performs RCT and APT on each block separately. This segmentation allows the system to detect periodic patterns that span across individual data points, as the same periodic sequence will appear repeatedly in different blocks, enabling accurate identification of non-random data while maintaining high verification accuracy.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

2Reliability

If health test is added to detect randomness deterioration, then security of cryptographic function is improved, but device complexity increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvesecurity of cryptographic functionVSAvoidcircuit complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent merges the RCT circuit and APT circuit into a unified health test system that shares common components such as the data blocking mechanism and result evaluation logic. This integration reduces the overall circuit complexity while maintaining the dual-functionality of detecting both repetitive patterns and proportional deviations in random number generation.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #5Merging (Combining)

Solution Approach 2:

The patent implements preliminary blocking of random number data into fixed-size units before performing RCT and APT tests. This preliminary organization of data into manageable blocks simplifies the subsequent testing process and enables efficient parallel processing, thereby reducing the computational complexity of the health test system while enhancing security monitoring capabilities.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

3Measurement precision

If data is processed in units of n-bits, then verification accuracy is improved, but processing complexity increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveverification accuracyVSAvoidprocessing complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
Measurement precisionVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent segments the bit stream into fixed-size n-bit blocks and processes each block through standardized RCT and APT procedures. This systematic segmentation transforms the complex task of analyzing arbitrary-length sequences into manageable, repeatable operations on uniform data units, improving verification accuracy while controlling processing complexity through standardization.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

Data Source

PatentEP4092522B1Semiconductor device and method for verifying random number data
Publication Date: 2025.12.24 RENESAS ELECTRONICS CORP
  • EP4092522B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP4092522B1 patent drawingFigure 2A~2B
  • EP4092522B1 patent drawingFigure 3

AI summary

A semiconductor device and a method of verifying random number data capable of preventing erroneous judgement of data having periodicity as a random number and verifying randomness of random number data with high accuracy are provided. The semiconductor device includes a random number generator for generating random number data as serial data, and a health test circuit for verifying randomness of the random number data. The health test circuit handles the random number data as a data string of n-bit data by dividing the random number data by n bits (n is an integer larger than or equal to two), and verifies randomness based on the n-bit data.