Power supply peak current measurement
AssigneeNXP USA, Inc.
InventorsMichael Andreas Staudenmaier, Vincent Aubineau, Michael Rohleder
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A peak current detector is integrated into a power supply, such as a power management integrated circuit, to detect glitch attacks imposed on the power rails inside the power supply. Integrated circuitry being supplied by the power supply periodically checks the state of the power supply via a secure communication channel to obtain the detected peak current values, which allow the integrated circuitry to detect those attacks and react accordingly to any possible threats.
Claims20
A power supply comprising:
- circuitry configured to output a voltage signal on a power output line;
- a peak detector configured to monitor current associated with the voltage signal for an occurrence of a glitch;
- and
- circuitry configured to output a signal from the power supply representing the occurrence of the glitch.
A method for detecting a glitch occurring on a power output line supplying a voltage signal from a power management integrated circuit (“PMIC”), the method comprising:
- monitoring of current associated with the voltage signal by a peak detector implemented within the PMIC;
- encrypting an output of the peak detector;
- and
- transmitting the encrypted output from the PMIC.
A power management integrated circuit (“PMIC”) comprising:
- a voltage regulator circuit configured to output a voltage signal onto a power output line;
- a peak detector configured to measure a current level on the power output line;
- and
- a communication interface configured to encrypt an output signal from the peak detector and to transmit the encrypted output signal from the PMIC.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.