Secure data storage based on physically unclonable functions

An encoding module configured to write data on a nonvolatile memory using a physically unclonable function, the encoding module comprising:

• an interface configured to couple to a plurality of memory bits on the nonvolatile memory;
• and
• a processor block configured to:
• determine, for the plurality of memory bits, a program threshold average and a program threshold variation;
• derive, from the program threshold average and the program threshold variation, a first bin threshold and a second bin threshold;
• group the plurality of bits into at least a first bit group, a second bit group, and a third bit group, based on at least the first bin threshold and the second bin threshold;
• determine, based on at least the grouping of the plurality of bits and a key mask, a set of bits to which the data is to be written;
• and
• performing a partial program of the data to the set of bits based on the program threshold average and the program threshold variation.

A method to read data from a nonvolatile memory using a physically unclonable function, the method comprising:

• applying at least one program pulse to at least one bit in a plurality of memory bits in the nonvolatile memory based on at least one of a program threshold average, a program threshold variation, and a bit group characterization associated with the at least one bit;
• reading a resulting state of the plurality of memory bits;
• and
• deriving a final data based on the resulting state and another data value.

A decoding module configured to read data from a nonvolatile memory using a physically unclonable function, the decoding module comprising:

• an interface configured to couple to a plurality of memory bits in the nonvolatile memory;
• and
• a processor block configured to:
• apply at least one program pulse to at least one bit in the plurality of memory bits based on at least one of a program threshold average, a program threshold variation, and a bit group characterization associated with the at least one bit, wherein the program threshold represents a number of program pulses to modify a bit in the plurality of memory bits from a first value to a second value as extracted from the reader;
• read a resulting state of the plurality of memory bits;
• and
• derive a final data based on the resulting state and another data value.