Pre-Amplifier Based Entropy Source with Stable Output for use in a Physical Unclonable Function
Eric Hunt-Schroeder, Tian Xia · 2021
Physical Unclonable Functions (PUFs) produce full entropy keys without storing them. PUFs rely on a stable entropy source across voltage, temperature, and lifetime. Designed in GLOBALFOUNDRIES 14nm technology is a pre-amplifier based bitcell with >10x differential signal. A 1 Kb 2-d array includes a sense amplifier and current imbalance circuit to identify highly mismatched bitcells. Bits identified as highly mismatched are considered stable, solving one of the key challenges (repeatability) in developing a silicon based PUF.