A Novel Cross-Point Ferroelectric-Capacitor Array Based Parallel In-Memory Encryption for Energy-Efficient Secure-AI Applications

A novel parallel in-memory encryption design based on cross-point ferroelectric capacitor (FeCAP) arrays is proposed and experimentally demonstrated, realizing significantly improved energy efficiency. The proposed dual-layer FeCAP arrays with coupled signal subtracting method enables parallel computation with larger sensing margin $(\sim 2\times)$ than bitwise encryption for robust data en/decryption. Benefiting from the ultra-low-power bitwise XOR property of device, large energy reduction is achieved compared with conventional encryption scheme. With the great 3D stacking potential of hafnia-based FE, this work provides a promising solution towards 3D FE secure-CIM.