Registration of a puf signature and regeneration using a trellis decoder

A method of registering a physically unclonable function (PUF), comprising:

• translating a sequence of raw sample values having a normal distribution into a sequence of binned values having a uniform distribution across a plurality of sub-bins of a plurality of bins by a translator circuit;
• generating helper data by a helper circuit and storing the helper data in a memory circuit, wherein the helper data includes centering values, and parity bits based on the sequence of binned values, wherein each centering value is associated with a raw sample value corresponding to a binned value of the sequence of binned values and indicates an offset of a sub-bin in one of the plurality of bins;
• and
• generating a check value based on symbols represented in the sequence of binned values by a check value generator and storing the check value in the memory circuit.

A circuit arrangement comprising:

• a translator circuit configured to translate, in response to operating in a registration mode, a first sequence of raw sample values having a normal distribution into a first sequence of binned values having a uniform distribution across a plurality of sub-bins of a plurality of bins, and to translate, in response to operating in a regeneration mode, a second sequence of raw sample values having a normal distribution into a second sequence of binned values having a uniform distribution across the plurality of sub-bins of the plurality of bins;
• a memory circuit configured to provide non-volatile storage of data;
• a helper circuit configured to generate helper data and store the helper data in the memory circuit in response to operating in the registration mode, wherein the helper data includes centering values, and parity bits based on the first sequence of binned values, wherein each centering value is associated with a raw sample value corresponding to a binned value of the first sequence of binned values and indicates an offset of a sub-bin in one of the plurality of bins;
• a check value generator configured to generate a first check value based on symbols represented in the first sequence of binned values and store the first check value in the memory circuit in response to operating in the registration mode;
• a distance calculator configured to generate, in response to operating in the regeneration mode, a set of distances from each raw sample value, respectively, based on the centering value associated with the raw sample value, wherein each distance in each set of distances is associated with a candidate symbol identifying one bin of the plurality of bins, and indicates a difference between the respective raw sample value and a raw sample value equivalent to a midpoint of a sub-bin offset by the associated centering value in the one bin of the plurality of bins;
• a trellis decoder configured to generate, in response to operating in the regeneration mode, a PUF signature that includes a sequence of final symbols based on the candidate symbols, sets of distances, and parity bits from the memory circuit;
• wherein the check value generator is configured to generate a second check value based on the sequence of final symbols in response to operating in the regeneration mode;
• and
• a validation circuit configured to indicate validity of the PUF signature based on the first check value and the second check value.