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Physical unclonable functions based on crossbar arrays for cryptographic applications
Author(s) -
Lugli Paolo,
Mahmoud Ahmed,
Csaba György,
Algasinger Michael,
Stutzmann Martin,
Rührmair Ulrich
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
international journal of circuit theory and applications
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.364
H-Index - 52
eISSN - 1097-007X
pISSN - 0098-9886
DOI - 10.1002/cta.1825
Subject(s) - crossbar switch , computer science , cryptography , scalability , computer engineering , computer security , telecommunications , database
SUMMARY Due to their attractive, regular structure and their simple implementation, crossbar arrays have become one major emerging research area in the fields of nano‐devices and electronic circuits. This paper discusses novel applications of crossbars as various types of so‐called physical unclonable functions (PUFs) in the field of physical cryptography. The latter is a recent branch of cryptography and security that exploits the inherent, small‐scale randomness and disorder in physical structures. PUFs are the currently dominant primitive within this new field. In order to establish the applicability of crossbar structures as PUFs, two crossbars with rectifying junctions are investigated on the basis of real measurement data. In addition, the scalability of these crossbars with respect to their power dissipation and noise margin is evaluated in simulations. The types of PUFs as which crossbars can serve include weak PUFs and super high information content PUFs. We also discuss whether crossbar‐based PUFs allow the erasure and/or rewriting of response information on a single challenge‐response‐pair level, i.e. without affecting other PUF responses. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.