A 28NM Integrated True Random Number Generator Harvesting Entropy from MRAM

This paper presents an integrated True Random Number Generator (TRNG) based on the random switching behavior of Magnetic Tunnel Junctions (MTJs) under low write current. A complete TRNG is designed with minimal overhead to an existing embedded MRAM in 28nm CMOS. To the best of our knowledge, this is...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in2018 IEEE Symposium on VLSI Circuits pp. 171 - 172
Main Authors Kaiyuan Yang, Qing Dong, Zhehong Wang, Yi-Chun Shih, Yu-Der Chih, Chang, Jonathan, Blaauw, David, Svlvester, Dennis
Format Conference Proceeding
LanguageEnglish
Published IEEE 01.06.2018
Subjects
Energy efficiency
Entropy
Magnetic tunneling
NIST
Switches
Throughput
Writing
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DOI10.1109/VLSIC.2018.8502431

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Summary:This paper presents an integrated True Random Number Generator (TRNG) based on the random switching behavior of Magnetic Tunnel Junctions (MTJs) under low write current. A complete TRNG is designed with minimal overhead to an existing embedded MRAM in 28nm CMOS. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first experimental study of this random process and the first TRNG implemented with commercial STT-MRAM technology. The prototype adds only 180μm 2 to a standard MRAM array for TRNG operation. It passes all NIST randomness tests across -25 to 100°C, while consuming 18pJ/bit with 66Mbps throughput at the nominal condition.
DOI:10.1109/VLSIC.2018.8502431