DA PUF for IoT Security with 0.02% BER at 0.96 to 1.44 V and –40 °C to 125 °C

Physical Unclonable Functions (PUFs) serve as lightweight hardware security primitives that leverage chip fabrication process variations for key generation and device authentication. However, the lack of reliable Challenge-Response Pairs (CRPs) and unrestricted query capabilities in current PUF-enabled applications introduces security vulnerabilities in resource-constrained devices. This paper introduces a novel Dual-State Analog PUF (DA PUF) design that is capable of operating as either a leakage PUF or an inverter PUF to represent the low-and high-state PUF, respectively. Our proposed Bit Configuration Strategy (BCS) significantly improves the reliability of PUF, achieving a reliability rate exceeding 99.98% in various working environments and voltage conditions. Additionally, the aggregate of reliable bits for both states is 1.88 (for the high state) and 2.13 (for the low state) times greater than that of a singular state. Within a temperature range of -40 to 125∘C, the temperature sensitivity is measured at 0. 000356%/∘C (high state) and 0.000417%/∘C (low state); and within a voltage range of 0.96 to 1.44 V, the voltage sensitivity is recorded at 0.05546%/V (high state) and 0.03342%/V (low state). In addition, we developed a lightweight and secure DA PUF-based authentication protocol that significantly increases the number of possible device certifications. Through the random oracle model, we demonstrate that our proposed protocol meets essential security and resistance requirements. Compared to recent relevant protocols, our approach offers lower computational and communication overhead, making it highly suitable for Internet of Things (IoT) devices.