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The development of a robust and secure hardware for the Internet of Things (IoT) and edge computing requires improvements in the existing low-power and low-cost hardware security primitives. Among the various available technologies, true random number generators (TRNGs) that leverage random telegraph noise (RTN) from nanoelectronics devices have emerged as effective solutions. However, the temporal instabilities in the RTN signal, such as the DC drift and temporary inhibition, are a few of the key reliability challenges for the TRNG circuits. In this study, we have utilized experimental RTN data collected from the commonly used gate dielectrics, including silicon dioxide (SiO2), hafnium dioxide (HfO2), and 2D crystalline hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) to identify the crucial reliability challenges for RTN-based TRNG circuits. We have analyzed the impact of RTN instabilities and of circuit parameters on the output randomness and propose reliability aware design guidelines. Finally, we design and simulate an RTN-based TRNG circuit using a 130 nm CMOS technology and evaluate its reliability at the circuit level.

In this work, we discuss the electrical characteristics of metal–insulator–metal (MIM) structures based on ultra‐thin hafnium oxides whose stoichiometry have been modified and a thermal treatment after gate metallization has also been applied. Here, we show that the current–voltage characteristics are improved for the annealed samples in terms of lower gate leakage current densities and higher breakdown electric fields. In addition, the role of the modulation in the oxygen concentration for HfO2on the MIM's current–voltage, capacitance–voltage, and resistive switching characteristics is also addressed. From these data, a trade‐off between current–voltage characteristics and basic memory performance is clearly seen, thus highlighting the importance of combining oxygen modulation and/or post‐metallization annealing in HfO2‐based MIM structures. Finally, the resistive switching effect is shown in the bipolar mode for some MIM structures and the dominant carrier conduction mechanism (just before the SET condition) is also obtained and related to Poole–Frenkel conduction.