Weak and Strong SRAM cells analysis in embedded memories for PUF applications

Abstract

[eng] The deployment of IoT platforms for SmartCity applications is demanding solutions to assure security and integrity levels. In this context, physical unclonable functions (PUF) may overcome the security drawbacks of storing the security key in a non-volatile memory. The existence of SRAM in embedded systems has driven the implementation of PUF solutions using memory circuit as entropy sources. The use of a non-specific memory design requires the need of identify the adequate cells useful for PUF applications. This work proposes a new methodology to distinguish the adequate cells based on mismatch factor calculation. The mismatch analysis using physical and performance parameters shows the viability of the selection methodology and computes the robustness of the responses in terms of probability of error in the start-up value.