Voxelated opto-physically unclonable functions via irreplicable wrinkles.

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Cryptography
• Optics

Background:

• The proliferation of Internet of Things (IoT) devices necessitates advanced security measures due to increased digital risks.
• Physical Unclonable Functions (PUFs) provide unique, unpredictable digital values from physical properties but often require complex hardware.
• Existing PUF solutions face challenges in cost, complexity, and data storage capacity.

Purpose of the Study:

• To introduce a novel, cost-effective random wrinkles Physical Unclonable Function (rw-PUF) for enhanced security applications.
• To demonstrate the capability of rw-PUFs for multi-dataset storage and advanced 3D information encoding.
• To present a customizable and rapidly fabricated PUF solution leveraging liquid crystal properties.

Main Methods:

• Development of an rw-PUF using an optically anisotropic, simple, and cost-effective material with randomly oriented liquid crystal molecules.
• Characterization of the rw-PUF using a two-dimensional retardation map derived from the material's birefringence pattern.
• Implementation of customization via a spatial light modulator for rapid fabrication and introduction of 'polyhedron authentication' for 3D data storage.

Main Results:

• The rw-PUF successfully generates unique and unpredictable digital values based on physical characteristics.
• The material exhibits a complex birefringence pattern, enabling a 2D retardation map for secure identification.
• The proposed technique allows for multiple data sets to be stored within a single rw-PUF without physical modification and demonstrates 3D information storage feasibility.

Conclusions:

• The developed rw-PUF presents a viable, low-cost, and highly secure alternative to traditional PUF implementations.
• rw-PUFs offer significant advantages in data storage capacity and customizable fabrication for diverse security needs.
• The 'polyhedron authentication' concept showcases the potential for high-level security through 3D information storage in rw-PUFs.