Random Number Generating Unit Using Access Timing Variations
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing random number generation methods, such as those using pseudo random numbers, are vulnerable to security breaches due to reproducibility and complexity in circuit design, particularly in digital systems where analogue amplification is required for noise-based methods, leading to large and complex circuits.
Innovation Solution
An information processing device generates random numbers based on unstable factors related to access operations, such as elapsed time or clock counter values, using a random number generating unit that includes counters and clock generating units, allowing for the creation of irreproducible random numbers through variations in clock cycles and access timings.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If noise-based random number generation using analogue circuits is used, then the randomness quality is improved, but the circuit size and complexity increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the mechanical/physical analogue noise generation system with a digital computational system. Instead of using physical noise sources requiring analogue amplification circuits, the invention uses a digital random number generator that computes pseudo-random numbers through digital operations, thereby eliminating the need for complex analogue circuits while maintaining randomness quality
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the fundamental parameter of random number generation from physical noise amplitude to digital computational sequences. By transforming the generation mechanism from analogue signal processing to digital algorithmic computation, the system achieves randomness without requiring large analogue amplifying circuits, thus resolving the contradiction between randomness quality and circuit complexity
2Device complexity
If pseudo random numbers are used, then the circuit size is reduced, but the security and irreproducibility deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces dynamic elements into the pseudo-random number generation by using unstable factors that change over time. The random number generator incorporates timing variations and operational fluctuations that occur during access operations, making the generation process dynamic rather than static. This dynamism ensures that even with the same seed, the output varies due to temporal variations in execution timing, thereby improving security and irreproducibility while maintaining compact circuit size
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements feedback mechanisms where the random number generation process incorporates information about the actual execution timing and operational state back into the generation algorithm. By feeding back the unstable factors (timing variations, access operation durations) into the pseudo-random number generator, the system enhances the randomness and security of the output, transforming deterministic pseudo-random generation into a more secure process that reflects actual system variability
3Reliability
If analogue amplifying circuits are used to amplify noise, then the random number quality is improved, but the manufacturing difficulty and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent substitutes the manufacturing-intensive analogue amplifying circuitry with a digital processing approach. Instead of manufacturing precise analogue components with specific gain characteristics, the invention uses digital logic and computational algorithms that are easier to manufacture with standard digital fabrication processes, thereby reducing manufacturing difficulty and cost while maintaining random number quality through software-based correction and uniformization
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses digital copying and processing of random seed values through computational operations rather than physical amplification of analogue signals. By copying digital representations of random seeds and processing them through digital algorithms, the system avoids the manufacturing complexities of analogue amplification circuits while achieving the desired random number quality through digital uniformization and correction techniques
Data Source
AI summary
A memory device includes a memory core that stores data, an access controlling unit that controls an access to the memory core, and a random number generating unit that generates a random number based on an unstable factor related to an access operation to the memory core performed by the access controlling unit.