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Latin America Optics and Photonics Conference

Physical Unclonable Functions based on random gratings

Frédéric Monet, Anthony Roberge, Raman Kashyap

Published Jan 1, 2022• 1 citation
Publisher

Abstract

Hardware-based irreproducible and unique keys such as Physical Unclonable Functions offer great potential for security and cryptographic applications. We demonstrate that the inscription of random gratings in optical fibers results in strongly performing PUF devices.
DOI
10.1364/laop.2022.th1a.5

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Physical Unclonable Functions (PUFs) are physical devices exploiting intrinsic randomness through the fabrication process that can be used for authentication and secure key generation. In this article, we describe a novel weak PUF architecture based on the inscription of random gratings in an optical fiber, which can be easily interrogated by a commercial instrument due to the enhanced backscatter. With PUF lengths of only 40 mm, we show that the false positive and false negative probabilities can reach below 10−27. We also describe a temperature and strain compensation algorithm to mitigate environmental fluctuations. Furthermore, we describe an alternative technique which increases the number of bits used for digitizing the PUF's signature, thus significantly decreasing the false identification probabilities by almost two orders of magnitude.
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Because of advancements in digital communication and associated technology, security and privacy have become crucial. Physical Unclonable Function (PUF) is one of the promising security solutions due to their adaptability, reliability, and secure nature. PUFs are unique identifiers that can be presented in many forms due to their unique structure and application. However, their application might be limited due to the reliability and fabrication process. Hence, a new PUF is proposed in this study, which comprises a semi-distributed fiber optic device. The proposed solution can overcome reliability concerns based on the unique behavior of biosensors and offers a simple fabrication process. Based on the random information of the physical characteristics, Physical Unclonable Functions has demonstrated potential for secure device authentication. This thesis describes the design, implementation, and evaluation of semi-distributed fiber optic devices as robust PUFs. Using intrinsic variability of fiber optic interferometric configurations, each device produces a unique spectrum showing good intra-device repeatability and high inter-device differentiation. Experimental validation of spectral reflectivity measurements confirms low internal variability, crucial for reliable authentication. In addition to these correlations, this research shows extensive simulations, allowing us to thoroughly analyze device uniqueness and stability, across a broad range of environmental scenarios. The proposed semi-distributed type of the fiber optic PUFs is promising solutions for secure and scalable authentication in applications that require high levels of security and integrity. This study represents a step towards the practical deployment and enhancement of fiber-optic PUF solutions into secure systems verification.
As quantum technologies advance, ensuring secure authentication of quantum devices has become increasingly important. Existing methods, often relying on stored cryptographic keys, are vulnerable to physical and side-channel attacks. Quantum Physical Unclonable Functions (QPUFs) offer a promising alternative by leveraging quantum phenomena such as superposition, entanglement, and quantum noise to produce unique, unclonable responses. However, many existing QPUF designs are based on simulations or report only idealized, best-case results. This work presents and evaluates a set of QPUF circuits on IBM’s real quantum hardware, assessing their performance in terms of instability, randomness, and uniqueness to identify the most effective configurations. Our results show that specific configurations can achieve a positive balance between stability and device distinguishability, reaching 0.05 instability, 0.48 uniqueness, and 0.75 randomness. These findings provide a solid foundation for implementing robust authentication protocols tailored for quantum devices in real-world settings.