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Because of chip fabrication outsourcing, piracy, reverse engineering, and counterfeiting are major concerns for the semiconductor industry as well as the government. To prevent these issues, Physical Unclonable Functions (PUFs) based methods have been proposed has a way to authenticate chips. PUFs extract randomness from the manufacturing variations of a device that is probabilistic in nature. PUFs are generally easy to implement, but, because of its random behavior, its response is hard to predict and model. Many existing PUF techniques such as arbiter and ring oscillator can be hard to implement inside a chip because of their large area overhead. Hence, we have proposed a novel low pass filter PUF design in this work based on the internal resistor and capacitor variations within an IC. We have simulated the setup in Cadence Virtuoso for a 45 nm technology node. The resultant output voltage of our proposed PUF will be different at the same cut-off frequency because of the manufacturing variations. Finally, the output of the low pass filter PUF is connected with an inverter to make the signal digital and after that, a digital counter is connected with the inverter to measure the pulse width that can be used for generating a unique PUF output. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Physical Unclonable Functions (PUFs) are probabilistic circuit primitives that extract randomness from the physical characteristics of a device. PUFs are easy and simple to implement and its random nature makes its behavior hard to predict and model. Most existing PUF designs are based on variation at the chip level and can not be implemented in a printed circuit board (PCB). Therefore, these PUFs can not be used to protect against counterfeit PCBs in a distributed supply chain. In this work, we propose a novel PUF design based on resistor and capacitor variations for low pass filters (LoPUF). We demonstrate the setup in a protoboard for different resistor-capacitor pairs (RC pairs) for reliable low pass filter PUF. Because of process variations, the voltage will be different at the same cut-off frequency for our proposed PUF. Finally, the output of the filter is connected to an inverter to measure the pulse width and best suitable pulses are used for ID generation based on our algorithm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The reverse engineering (RE) of electronic chips and systems can be used with honest and dishonest intentions. To inhibit RE for those with dishonest intentions (e.g., piracy and counterfeiting), it is important that the community is aware of the state-of-the-art capabilities available to attackers today. In this article, we will be presenting a survey of RE and anti-RE techniques on the chip, board, and system levels. We also highlight the current challenges and limitations of anti-RE and the research needed to overcome them. This survey should be of interest to both governmental and industrial bodies whose critical systems and intellectual property (IP) require protection from foreign enemies and counterfeiters who possess advanced RE capabilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]