Watermarking Superconducting Electronic Circuits in Classical and Quantum Computers
Ayisat Adedokun, Yerzhan Mustafa, Selçuk Köse · 2025
The increasing complexity and importance of superconducting electronics (SCE) circuits highlight the need for reliable intellectual property (IP) and unauthorized replication protection mechanisms. To address this need, a novel watermarking scheme for SCE circuits is proposed, providing a secure and tamper-resistant method for ownership verification. This scheme leverages frequency-dependent behavior in single-flux quantum (SFQ) logic circuits to embed a concealed watermark that remains inactive during conventional testing conditions and becomes detectable at higher frequencies. The operational principle of the proposed watermarking circuit, related hardware abstraction framework, and performance of the watermarking circuit are analyzed with extensive simulations. The results demonstrate that the watermark has minimal impact on the circuit performance while reliably generating verification patterns during testing.