Impact of Laser Attacks on the Switching Behavior of RRAM Devices

Abstract

The ubiquitous use of critical and private data in electronic format requires reliable and secure embedded systems for IoT devices. In this context, RRAMs (Resistive Random Access Memories) arises as a promising alternative to replace current memory technologies. However, their suitability for this kind of application, where the integrity of the data is crucial, is still under study. Among the different typology of attacks to recover information of secret data, laser attack is one of the most common due to its simplicity. Some preliminary works have already addressed the influence of laser tests on RRAM devices. Nevertheless, the results are not conclusive since different responses have been reported depending on the circuit under testing and the features of the test. In this paper, we have conducted laser tests on individual RRAM devices. For the set of experiments conducted, the devices did not show faulty behaviors. These results contribute to the characterization of RRAMs and, together with the rest of related works, are expected to pave the way for the development of suitable countermeasures against external attacks.

Carbon Nanotube Field Effect Transistor (CNTFET) and Resistive Random Access Memory (RRAM) Based Ternary Combinational Logic Circuits

“…The circuit schematic of RRAM is quite simple, having a two terminal metal-insulator-metal (MIM) structure, with the external voltage pulse causing a resistance change within the device [12,13]. Its physical mechanism relies on the formation and annihilation of a conductive filament (CF) in the oxide (dielectric) connecting the two metal electrodes [14,15]. This resistance shift between the high resistance state (HRS) and low resistance state (LRS) is effectively used for data storage in the form of "0" and "1" [16][17][18], respectively.…”

Ternary Arithmetic Logic Unit Design Utilizing Carbon Nanotube Field Effect Transistor (CNTFET) and Resistive Random Access Memory (RRAM)

“…Resistive random access memory (RRAM) has emerged as one of the effective solutions for addressing the continuous scaling down of electronic circuits. This is due to the fact that RRAM possesses many superior properties such as high storage density, non-volatility, good scalability, low ON-state resistance, and variable conductivity [19,20]. Taking into account the above-mentioned merits, RRAM can be considered as an effective technology candidate for intelligent computation with logic operation as an example.…”