Hardware Security Assessment through Repair of Damaged Device

In this paper, the feasibility of content access to physically damaged electronic device was explored by performing package level repair through transplantation of its intact silicon chip from its faulty substrate package onto another functional one, and establishment of new electrical connections between them. This functionality restoration of a damaged device was investigated using an integration of various sample preparation techniques commonly used in microelectronics failure analysis. Different decapsulation techniques were also studied to identify the optimal processes for this application. The repaired device was tested to verify the restoration of its functionality, as well as the integrity of the stored data. This may pave the way for new hardware security assessment approach for electronic devices with other types of packaging.