MEMS sensors as physical unclonable functions

A fundamental requirement of any crypto system is that secret-key material remains securely stored so that it is robust in withstanding attacks including physical tampering. In this context, physical unclonable functions (PUFs) have been proposed to store cryptographic secrets in a particularly secure manner. In this thesis, the feasibility of using microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) sensors for secure key storage purposes is evaluated for the first time. To this end, we investigated an off-the-shelf 3-axis MEMS gyroscope design and used its properties to derive a unique fingerprint from each sensor. We thoroughly examined the robustness of the derived fingerprints against temperature variation and aging. We extracted stable keys with nearly full entropy from the fingerprints. The security level of the extracted keys lies in a range between 27 bits and 150 bits depending on the applied test conditions and the used entropy estimation method. Moreover, we provide experimental evidence that the extractable key length is higher in practice when multiple wafers are considered. In addition, it is shown that further improvements could be achieved by using more precise measurement techniques and by optimizing the MEMS design. The robustness of a MEMS PUF against tampering and malicious read-outs was tested by three different types of physical attacks. We could show that MEMS PUFs provide a high level of protection due to the sensitivity of their characteristics to disassembly.Eine grundlegende Anforderung jedes Kryptosystems ist, dass der verwendete geheime Schlüssel sicher und geschützt aufbewahrt wird. Vor diesem Hintergrund wurden physikalisch unklonbare Funktionen (PUFs) vorgeschlagen, um kryptographische Geheimnisse besonders sicher zu speichern. In dieser Arbeit wird erstmals die Verwendbarkeit von mikroelektromechanischen Systemen (MEMS) für die sichere Schlüsselspeicherung anhand eines 3-achsigen MEMS Drehratensensor gezeigt. Dabei werden die Eigenschaften der Sensoren zur Ableitung eines eindeutigen Fingerabdrucks verwendet. Die Temperatur- und Langzeitstabilität der abgeleiteten Fingerabdrücke wurde ausführlich untersucht. Aus den Fingerabdrücken wurden stabile Schlüssel mit einem Sicherheitsniveau zwischen 27 Bit und 150 Bit, abhängig von den Testbedingungen und der verwendeten Entropie-Schätzmethode, extrahiert. Außerdem konnte gezeigt werden, dass die Schlüssellänge ansteigt, je mehr Wafer betrachtet werden. Darüber hinaus wurde die Verwendung einer präziseren Messtechnik und eine Optimierung des MEMS-Designs als potentielle Verbesserungsmaßnahmen identifiziert. Die Robustheit einer MEMS PUF gegen Manipulationen und feindseliges Auslesen durch verschiedene Arten von physikalischen Angriffen wurde untersucht. Es konnte gezeigt werden, dass MEMS PUFs aufgrund der Empfindlichkeit ihrer Eigenschaften hinsichtlich einer Öffnung des Mold-Gehäuses eine hohe Widerstandsfähigkeit gegenüber invasiven Angriffen aufweisen

Some arithmetic Ramsey problems and inverse theorems

In this dissertation we study arithmetic Ramsey type problems and inverse problems, in various settings. This work consists of two parts. In Part I, we study arithmetic Ramsey type problems over abelian groups. This part consists of three chapters. In Chapter 2, using hypergraph containers, we study the rainbow Erdos-Rothschild problem for sum-free sets. In Chapters 3 and 4, we study the avoidance density for (k,l)-sum-free sets. The upper bound constructions are given in Chapter 3, answering a question asked by Bajnok. We also improved the lower bound for infinitely many (k,l) in both chapters, and a special case of the sum-free conjecture is verified in Chapter 4. In Part II, we study inverse problems over nonabelian topological groups. Preliminaries to topological groups are given in Chapter 5. In Chapter 6, we first obtain classifications of connected groups and sets which satisfy the equality in Kemperman's inequality, answering a question asked by Kemperman in 1964. When the ambient group is compact, we also get a near equality version of the above result with a sharp exponent bound, which confirms conjectures by Griesmer and by Tao. A measure expansion gap result for simple Lie groups is also presented. In Chapter 7, we study the small measure expansion problem in noncompact locally compact groups. The question that whether there is a Brunn-Minkowski inequality was asked by Henstock and Macbeath in 1953. We obtain such an inequality and prove it is sharp for a large class of groups (including real linear algebraic groups, Nash groups, semisimple Lie groups with finite center, solvable Lie groups, etc), answering questions by Hrushovski and by Tao

Topics in three flavor chiral dynamics

In this work, we investigate several processes in low-energy hadron physics by combining chiral perturbation theory (ChPT), the effective field theory of quantum chromodynamics (QCD) at low energies, with a unitarization method based on the Bethe-Salpeter equation. Such so-called chiral unitary approaches are capable of describing processes in the three flavor sector of the strong interaction which involve substantial effects from final-state interactions and the excitation of (subthreshold) resonances, a domain where the perturbative framework of ChPT is not applicable.In part I of this work we study η and η' decays which constitute a perfect tool to examine symmetries and symmetry breaking patterns of QCD being incorporated in a model-independent fashion in ChPT. In particular, these decays allow to investigate the breaking of isospin symmetry due to the light quark mass difference md - mu as well as effects of anomalies stemming from the quantum nature of QCD. For these reasons the decays of η and η' have also attracted considerable experimental interest. They are currently under investigation at several facilities including KLOE@DAFNE, Crystal Ball at MAMI, WASA-at-COSY, VES at IHEP, and CLEO at CESR. In part II we investigate low-energy meson-baryon scattering in the strangeness S = -1 sector which is dominated by the Λ(1405) resonance immediately below the KN threshold. The KN interaction below threshold is of relevance for the quest of possible deeply bound K-nuclear clusters and has recently received an additional tight constraint: the K-p scattering length as determined from kaonic hydrogen by the KEK and the DEAR collaborations. Apart from successfully describing a large amount of experimental data and furnishing predictions for yet unmeasured quantities, our calculations allow to interrelate different experimental observables providing important consistency tests of experiments. E.g. the DEAR results are shown to be inconsistent with previous K-p scattering data and we demonstrate that the Dalitz plot parameters of the two decay modes η -> 3 p0, η -> p+ p- p0 as determined in the (first) analysis of the KLOE Collaboration are not compatible. In fact, they violate an important isospin rule. By performing a large number of fits to experimental data with randomized starting points we are furthermore able to give for the first time in chiral unitary approaches error estimates for our results and predictions

Space programs summary no. 37-46, volume IV FOR the period June 1 to July 31, 1967. Supporting research and advanced development

Spacecraft guidance and control, propulsion, telecommunications, and systems analysis, and space science researc

The recovery of microwave scattering parameters from scatterometric measurements with special application to the sea

As part of an effort to demonstrate the value of the microwave scatterometer as a remote sea wind sensor, the interaction between an arbitrarily polarized scatterometer antenna and a noncoherent distributive target was derived and applied to develop a measuring technique to recover all the scattering parameters. The results are helpful for specifying antenna polarization properties for accurate retrieval of the parameters not only for the sea but also for other distributive scenes