Physical Unclonable Functions in Integrated Circuit Chip Packaging for Security

Abstract

In the invention described, magnetic field characteristics of randomly placed magnetized particles are exploited by using the magnetic field fluctuations produced by the particles as measured by a sensor. The magnetized particles generate a complex magnetic field near the surface of an integrated circuit chip that can be used as a “fingerprint.” The positioning and orientation of the magnetized particles is an uncontrolled process, and thus the interaction between the sensor and the particles is complex. The randomness of the magnetic field magnitude and direction near the surface of the material containing the magnetic particles can be used to obtain a unique identifier for an item such as an integrated circuit chip carrying the PUF.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.