(V) Quantitative study of photoelectric laser stimulation for logic state imaging in embedded SRAM
(V) Quantitative study of photoelectric laser stimulation for logic state imaging in embedded SRAM
Thursday, November 4, 2021: 8:00 AM
105 AB (Phoenix Convention Center)
Summary:
The use of optical techniques for attacking integrated circuits (ICs) at the silicon level is increasingly being reported. Although these attacks can be complex to set, require skilled attacker and having access to expensive equipment, they are nonetheless very powerful. Among the different applications described in literature, there has been a focus on extracting data directly from embedded SRAM. Such attacks can provide access to highly sensitive information such as encryption keys and bypass various security strategy. Attacker usually exploits one of the several interactions that exist between light and semiconductor to generate an image which content is directly qualified by the data in memory (Logic State Image – LSI). Thermal laser stimulation (TLS) and laser probing (EOFM) have been well covered recently but Photoelectric Laser Stimulation (PLS) did not get as much attention. Considering the potential advantages of PLS over other techniques (e.g. lower power requirements to generate current/voltage change, effect can be triggered at shorter wavelength which may lead to an improved spatial resolution), we investigate in this paper if logic state images can be generated with PLS on a variety of devices and do a comparative assessment with state-of-the-art technologies to assess potential benefits and limitations.
The use of optical techniques for attacking integrated circuits (ICs) at the silicon level is increasingly being reported. Although these attacks can be complex to set, require skilled attacker and having access to expensive equipment, they are nonetheless very powerful. Among the different applications described in literature, there has been a focus on extracting data directly from embedded SRAM. Such attacks can provide access to highly sensitive information such as encryption keys and bypass various security strategy. Attacker usually exploits one of the several interactions that exist between light and semiconductor to generate an image which content is directly qualified by the data in memory (Logic State Image – LSI). Thermal laser stimulation (TLS) and laser probing (EOFM) have been well covered recently but Photoelectric Laser Stimulation (PLS) did not get as much attention. Considering the potential advantages of PLS over other techniques (e.g. lower power requirements to generate current/voltage change, effect can be triggered at shorter wavelength which may lead to an improved spatial resolution), we investigate in this paper if logic state images can be generated with PLS on a variety of devices and do a comparative assessment with state-of-the-art technologies to assess potential benefits and limitations.