Reduction of NBTI-Induced Degradation on Ring Oscillators in FPGA

Ring Oscillators are used for variety of purposes to enhance reliability on LSIs or FPGAs. This paper introduces an aging-tolerant design structure of ring oscillators that are used in FPGAs. The structure is able to reduce NBTI-induced degradation in a ring oscillator\u27s frequency by setting PMOS transistors of look-up tables in an off-state when the oscillator is not working. The evaluation of a variety of ring oscillators using Altera Cyclone IV device (60nm technology) shows that the proposed structure is capable of controlling degradation level as well as reducing more than 37% performance degradation compared to the conventional oscillators.The 20th IEEE Pacific Rim International Symposium on Dependable Computing (PRDC 2014), Nov 19-21, 2014, Singapor

Investigating and Leveraging EM and Backscattering Side Channels for Hardware Security

This dissertation is focused on investigating and leveraging side-channel leakage for hardware security. To help designers address and take advantage of electromagnetic (EM) side channels, two methods for locating the physical sources of EM side channels have been developed. Both methods are used to investigate how the EM side-channel sources change with frequency and program activity. The second half of this dissertation introduces two methods that use side channels for component authentication. The same properties that make side channels such a threat, also make them useful for authenticating electronic components. The first method uses EM side channels for identifying integrated circuits (ICs) installed on a device. Focusing on components already integrated onto a device lets designers authenticate devices assembled by third parties. The second method uses the recently defined backscattering side channel for detecting recycled ICs. Unlike other types of side channels, backscattering is directly affected by the IC aging. Since the backscattering side channel is nondestructive and requires no additional circuitry on the IC, it is low cost. The effect of aging on the side channel is then investigated through simulation and experimentation.Ph.D