Nano-electromechanical Switch Based on a Physical Unclonable Function for Highly Robust and Stable Performance in...

Area of Science:

• Electrical Engineering
• Materials Science
• Computer Science

Background:

• Physical unclonable functions (PUFs) are crucial for hardware security, providing unique device identifiers.
• Nano-electromechanical (NEM) systems often suffer from stiction, a challenge hindering their reliability.
• Stiction, caused by adhesion forces, presents an opportunity for novel PUF implementations.

Purpose of the Study:

• To demonstrate a novel PUF device leveraging stiction in NEM switches.
• To explore the utilization of stiction as a feature for robust hardware security.
• To evaluate the performance and reliability of NEM-switch-based PUFs.

Main Methods:

• Fabrication and testing of a PUF device based on NEM switches.
• Intentional utilization of stiction, a phenomenon typically considered a defect.
• Evaluation of PUF uniqueness using interchip Hamming distance (interchip HD).
• Assessment of response uniformity in the generated bit-strings.
• Reliability testing under environmental stressors like high temperature, radiation, and microwaves.

Main Results:

• Successful demonstration of a PUF device utilizing NEM switch stiction.
• Stiction was found to provide random and unique responses critical for PUF performance.
• High interchip Hamming distance confirmed the uniqueness of the PUF responses.
• The PUF device exhibited stability and reliability under various harsh environmental conditions.

Conclusions:

• NEM-switch-based stiction can be effectively utilized to create robust and unique PUFs.
• This approach offers a promising solution for hardware-based security applications.
• The demonstrated PUF exhibits high reliability, making it suitable for demanding environments.