Authentication of IC based on Electromagnetic Signature

IC Counterfeiting is becoming serious issue. The approach discussed here is to use Electromagnetic (EM) input to an IC and measure its EM input output response. The idea is to extract a signature from EM response which should be unique to one IC. The main purpose of this work is to show that it is possible to authenticate electronic chips from a nonintrusive method, based on the use of RF waves. IC authentication can be performed using Physical Unclonable Function (PUF). PUF are based on process variation inherent to semiconductor fabrication process. EM based authentication is also based on the same principle. Nevertheless, unlike PUF such a method does not need dedicated circuitry and thus may have lower cost of implementation and may be easier to industrialize. This work first focuses on FPGA which are a common target of counterfeiting. We first prove that FPGAs are sensitive to EM excitations and find the optimum configuration using a lightweight marker not as complex as PUF to optimize the sensitivity to EM excitation. Finally, a post processing is performed on the EM measurement to get the FPGA signature which is later used for authentication. The post-processing operations are being developed in order to deal with aging effects and other measurements issues commonly seen with RF measurement

Application de l’approche par changements d’échelle aux circuits planaires hyperfréquences

La complexification inhérente à l’essor des circuits microondes se traduit par la coexistence de plusieurs échelles dans un même circuit mais aussi par l’apparition de rapports de dimensions importants. Elle se traduit également sur le plan numérique par le fait que l’explosion même des moyens de calcul ne semble pas répondre au besoin des utilisateurs. En effet, on demande aux outils de simulation bien plus qu’un simple dimensionnement de structures, à savoir la mise au point de nouvelles techniques. L’enjeu n’est autre que de pouvoir analyser de manière rigoureuse des problèmes globaux allant du composant élémentaire jusqu’à la prise en compte des phénomènes de propagation en milieux complexes. Une modélisation électromagnétique basée sur une formulation par changements d’échelle a été développée et appliquée sur différents circuits planaires hyperfréquences. Cette méthode vise à s’affranchir des problèmes classiques de simulation, liés à la multiplicité des échelles mises en jeu dans une structure. Le caractère multi-échelle d’une structure est utilisé pour décomposer celle-ci en sous structures, encore appelées briques élémentaires de passage. Ces briques apparaissent comme de véritables constituants de base de n’importe quelles structures multi-échelles. Elles caractérisent le passage d’une échelle vers une autre, et sont associées à un multi-port. La prise en compte du problème global revient à mettre en cascade ces différents multi-ports. Cette démarche de type «Lego» apporte une certaine modularité qui facilite grandement la mise en place d’études paramétriques. Nous combinons la rapidité de calcul d’une formulation modale classique mais d’application très restreinte avec une approche flexible permettant l’étude de structures multi-échelles. Ceci conduit à une réduction très significative en terme de temps de calcul et d’espace mémoire par rapport aux méthodes numériques classiques. Pour illustrer notre approche, nous avons considéré l’étude de microcomutateurs MEMS, d’une antenne active et d’une cellule déphaseuse. Une validation expérimentale de la méthode est présentée, de plus les résultats obtenus ont confirmé l’efficacité d’une telle approche par rapport aux méthodes classiques. ABSTRACT : The complexification related to the rise of microwaves circuits results in the coexistence of several scales in the same circuit and in the appearance of important dimensions ratios. So numerically speaking, even the significant boom of computer resources doesnt seem to meet the user’s need. Indeed, simulation tools are not only used for a simple design of structures, but for the development of new techniques. The stake is none other than to be able to analyze precisely global problems from the elementary component to the consideration of the propagation phenomenon in complex mediums. An electromagnetic modeling based on a Scale changing technique formulation has been developed and applied to various microwave planar circuits. This method aims at bypass traditional problems of simulation, related to the multiplicity of scales present in a structure. The multiscale nature of a structure is used to break up this one into sub-structures, still called building blocs of transition. These blocs seem true basic components of any multiscale structure. They characterize the transition of a scale towards another, and are associated with an N-port network. Taking into account the entire problem corresponds to the cascading of these different N-ports. This "Lego" demarche brings modularity which largely eases the implementation of parametric studies. We combine the computing speed of a very restricted application based on a traditional modal formulation with a flexible approach allowing the study of multi-scales structures. This allows a substantial reduction in computational time and memory compared to classical numerical techniques. To illustrate this approach, the study of MEMS, of an active antenna and a MEMS-controlled Phase-shifters was carried out. An experimental validation of the method is presented ; moreover the results obtained have confirmed the effectiveness of such an approach compared to the traditional methods

Chipless labels detection by backscattering for identification and sensing applications

Chipless labels detection by backscattering for identification and sensing applications Détection d'étiquettes sans puce par rétrodiffusion pour des applications d'identification et de détectio

Electronically Re-Configurable, Non-Volatile, Nano-Ionics-Based RF-Switch on Paper Substrate for Chipless RFID Applications

International audienceThis article reports the first results of a Nafion® based solid state Non-Volatile 13 electronically reconfigurable RF-Switch integrated to a Co-Planar Waveguide transmission line 14 (CPW) in shunt mode, on flexible paper substrate. The switch is based on a Metal-Insulator-Metal 15 structure formed respectively using Silver-Nafion-Aluminum switching layers. The presented 16 device is fully passive and shows good performance till 3GHz, with an insertion loss less than 3dB 17 in the RF-On state and isolation greater than 15dB in the RF-Off state. Low power DC pulses in the 18 range 10V/0.5mA and-20V/0.15A are used to operate the switch. The device is fabricated in an 19 ambient laboratory condition, without the use of any clean room facilities. A brief discussion on the 20 results and a potential application of this concept in a re-configurable chipless RFID tag is also 21 given in this article. This study is a proof of concept, of fabrication of electronically Re-Configurable 22 and disposable RF electronic switches on low cost and flexible substrates, using a process feasible 23 for mass production. 2

Nafion-Based Fully Passive Solid-State Conductive Bridging RF Switch

International audienceThis letter reports the design and development of a Conductive Bridging RF-Switch with simple fabrication steps without the use of any clean room technologies. The reported device is a fully passive shunt mode RF-Switch on a Co-Planar Waveguide (CPW) transmission line, which operates in the DC to 3GHz range. This particular topology is chosen in contemplation to limitations imposed by the chosen realization process. The device is based on a Metal-Insulator (electrolyte)-Metal (MIM) structure, with Copper-Nafion ®-Aluminum switching layers. S21 switching between-1dB (RF-On) and-16dB (RF-Off) is demonstrated till 3GHz by the device. DC pulses in the range 18V/0.5mA and-20V/0.1A are used respectively to SET and RESET the switch, and the instantaneous power consumed for SET and RESET is respectively 1.7µW and 3mW. The SET and RESET state DC resistance of the switch are observed as 2Ω and 2MΩ subsequently. The model is initially simulated using commercial FEM based Electromagnetic modeling tool and validated experimentally

Numerical modelling of a composite fuselage manufactured by liquid resin infusion

FUSCOMP (FUSelage COMPosite) is a Research & Development program which has received the label from the Aerospace Valley competitiveness cluster. It will lead to a test of a composite fuselage demonstrator manufactured by the Liquid Resin Infusion (LRI) process. LRI is based on the moulding of high performance composite parts by infusing liquid resin on dry fibers instead of prepreg fabrics. The study of this proof of concept is based on the TBM 850 airframe, a pressurized business turboprop aircraft currently produced by DAHER-SOCATA. Technical achievements will concern numerical methods and finite elements analysis to be used for the modelling of this aircraft composite fuselage structure. Actual industrial projects face composite integrated structure issues as a number of structures (stiffeners,...) are more and more integrated onto the skins of aircraft fuselage. Indeed the main benefit of LRI is to reduce assembly steps which lead to cycle time gain and thus cost reduction. In particular, infusing components and sub-components at the same time avoids riveting parts altogether. However it is necessary to validate the dimensioning of the studied composite structure

Search for CP Violation in the Decay Z -> b (b bar) g

About three million hadronic decays of the Z collected by ALEPH in the years 1991-1994 are used to search for anomalous CP violation beyond the Standard Model in the decay Z -> b \bar{b} g. The study is performed by analyzing angular correlations between the two quarks and the gluon in three-jet events and by measuring the differential two-jet rate. No signal of CP violation is found. For the combinations of anomalous CP violating couplings, ${\hat{h}}_b = {\hat{h}}_{Ab}g_{Vb}-{\hat{h}}_{Vb}g_{Ab}$ and $h^{\ast}_b = \sqrt{\hat{h}_{Vb}^{2}+\hat{h}_{Ab}^{2}}$, limits of \hat{h}_b < 0.59$and$h^{\ast}_{b} < 3.02$ are given at 95\% CL.Comment: 8 pages, 1 postscript figure, uses here.sty, epsfig.st

Invading Basement Membrane Matrix Is Sufficient for MDA-MB-231 Breast Cancer Cells to Develop a Stable In Vivo Metastatic Phenotype

1 - ArticleIntroduction: The poor efficacy of various anti-cancer treatments against metastatic cells has focused attention on the role of tumor microenvironment in cancer progression. To understand the contribution of the extracellular matrix (ECM) environment to this phenomenon, we isolated ECM surrogate invading cell populations from MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells and studied their genotype and malignant phenotype. Methods: We isolated invasive subpopulations (INV) from non invasive populations (REF) using a 2D-Matrigel assay, a surrogate of basal membrane passage. INV and REF populations were investigated by microarray assay and for their capacities to adhere, invade and transmigrate in vitro, and to form metastases in nude mice. Results: REF and INV subpopulations were stable in culture and present different transcriptome profiles. INV cells were characterized by reduced expression of cell adhesion and cell-cell junction genes (44% of down regulated genes) and by a gain in expression of anti-apoptotic and pro-angiogenic gene sets. In line with this observation, in vitro INV cells showed reduced adhesion and increased motility through endothelial monolayers and fibronectin. When injected into the circulation, INV cells induced metastases formation, and reduced injected mice survival by up to 80% as compared to REF cells. In nude mice, INV xenografts grew rapidly inducing vessel formation and displaying resistance to apoptosis. Conclusion: Our findings reveal that the in vitro ECM microenvironment per se was sufficient to select for tumor cells with a stable metastatic phenotype in vivo characterized by loss of adhesion molecules expression and induction of proangiogenic and survival factors