A physical unclonable function, or PUF, is a "digital fingerprint" that serves as a unique identity for a semiconductor device such as a microprocessor. PUFs are based on physical variations that occur naturally during semiconductor manufacturing, which makes it possible to differentiate between otherwise identical semiconductors.
The INNOSILICON™ PUF IP consists of PUF array and control logic. The PUF array contains 64 to 256 PUF cells and a readout circuit. Each PUF cell contains two units with identical physical design. The fabrication process will induce random variation in each unit. The readout circuit is used to compare the difference between the two units and extract a random PUF bit.
