Crypto Quantique collaborates with Attopsemi

11th October 2024

Caitlin Gittins

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Crypto Quantique has announced a collaboration with Attopsemi Technology, a provider of One-Time Programmable (OTP) intellectual property based in Hsinchu, Taiwan.

The partnership integrates Crypto Quantique’s QDID physical unclonable function (PUF) with Attopsemi’s I-fuse® OTP technology, allowing PUF error correction data to be securely stored within the OTP. This ‘helper data’ remains hidden from the user, preventing any possibility of manipulation or corruption, ensuring a highly secure approach. Moreover, the integration means that the helper data does not occupy non-volatile memory that may be needed for other system operations.

The QDID embedded hardware PUF, which complies with NIST standards, leverages the quantum tunnelling effect to generate unique, immutable, and unclonable random numbers, creating digital fingerprints within semiconductors, primarily in microcontrollers (MCUs) and systems on chips (SoCs). This technology works by measuring minuscule electron flows caused by quantum tunnelling through the variable gate oxide thickness during the CMOS manufacturing process. For the PUF fingerprint to be reliable, error correction is required, a function provided by the helper data.

Attopsemi’s I-fuse® OTP, recognised for its reliability, utilises a patented fuse structure and is programmed using heat-assisted electromigration below a defined breakpoint. It supports a broad voltage range for rapid in-field programming and requires a minimal silicon footprint of approximately 0.027 mm² for 8K bits.

By combining QDID and I-fuse® technologies, a secure and compact hardware root-of-trust can be established within any CMOS semiconductor produced at process nodes between 12 nm and 55 nm.

Shahram Mossayebi, Crypto Quantique’s CEO, said: "This collaboration is an important step in making our QDID PUF more accessible and easier to implement for our customers and their end users. It saves design time and cost while boosting security by eliminating the risk of side-channel attacks on stored security credentials."

Meisie Jong, Attopsemi’s CEO, added: “This application is a perfect example of how OTP technology can contribute to IoT device security, one of the biggest challenges facing embedded developers today. It makes PUF implementation simpler and more cost-effective.”