A Solution for Built-in On-Chip Hardware Integrity Protection Adopting Resource-Optimized RO-PUF

Possessing a robust anti-counterfeiting structure, the Physically Unclonable Functions (PUF), particularly Ring Oscillator (RO) PUF, which are inherently nonreproducible, have recently been proposed as a promising tool for hardware authentication and integrity protection against device design attacks. This research aims to optimize the design of RO-PUF for implementation on the Field-programmable Gate Array (FPGA) platform and to automate the computation and evaluation of design integrity, thereby enabling wider applications for ROPUF. Furthermore, the research conducts experiments to evaluate the uniqueness and reproducibility of the designs, ensuring the detection of unauthorized hardware design modifications. By improving reliability and resource efficiency, this work contributes to the development of more reliable and efficient PUF-based security systems.