Design and Implementation of PUF-Based "Unclonable" RFID ICs for Anti-Counterfeiting and Security Applications

Physical unclonable functions (PUFs) exploit the physical characteristics of the silicon and the IC manufacturing process variations to uniquely characterize each and every silicon chip. Since it is practically impossible to model, copy, or control the IC manufacturing process variations, PUFs not only make these chips unique, but also effectively unclonable. Exploiting the inherent variations in the IC manufacturing process, PUFs provide a secure, robust, low cost mechanism to authenticate silicon chips. This makes PUFs attractive for RFID ICs where cost and security are the key requirements. In this paper we present the design and implementation of PUF enabled "unclonable" RFIDs. The PUF-enabled RFID has been fabricated in 0.18 mu technology, and extensive testing results demonstrate that PUFs can securely authenticate an RFID with minimal overheads. We also highlight the advantages of PUF based RFIDs in anti-counterfeiting and security applications.