A 0.071pJ/Bit Flexible Multi-Mode Logic-Compatible Multiple-Time Programmable (MTP) Memory-Based PUF

Physical unclonable functions (PUFs) provide a lightweight security primitive for resource-constrained IoT devices. In this brief, a novel high energy efficiency flexible multi-mode logic-compatible multiple-time programmable (MTP) memory-based PUF is proposed for key generation. The proposed PUF utilizes random distributions of read current in programming MTP cells as its entropy source. Moreover, it features a flexible multi-mode reconfigurable function, which is achieved by switching the programming/erasing (P/E) states to update the read current. The proposed PUF is manufactured in a 153-nm standard CMOS process. 50 chips were measured, and 1k stable response bits from each chip were utilized to demonstrate the performance. The proposed PUF achieves high-security performance of ~100% stability and 99.42% reliability while consuming an average core energy of only 0.071pJ/bit, along with a normalized cell area of $397F^{2}$ /bit. Intra-HD is 0.58%, inter-HD is 49.70%, and reconfigure-HD is 48.28%.