METHOD AND DEVICE FOR PROTECTING AN INTEGRATED CIRCUIT AGAINST BACKSIDE ATTACKS
First Claim
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1. A method, comprising:
- forming a microcircuit on a front side of a semiconductor substrate, forming the microcircuit including forming an active layer on the front side of the substrate, forming conductive layers with conductive tracks formed on the active layer, forming insulating layers between the conductive layers, and forming in the active and conductive layers a circuit to be protected against laser beam attacks;
forming photodiodes in the active layer of the semiconductor substrate between components of the circuit to be protected, each of the photodiodes being configured to supply a respective photodiode signal representative of a light intensity received by the photodiode from a back side of the substrate opposite to the front side;
forming on the semiconductor substrate a comparison circuit configured to compare each photodiode signal with a first threshold value; and
forming on the semiconductor substrate a processing circuit configured to activate a detection signal when one of the photodiode signals crosses the first threshold value.
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Abstract
A method for detecting an attack, such as by laser, on an electronic microcircuit from a backside of a substrate includes forming the microcircuit on the semiconductor substrate, the microcircuit comprising a circuit to be protected against attacks, forming photodiodes between components of the circuit to be protected, forming a circuit for comparing a signal supplied by each photodiode with a threshold value, and forming a circuit for activating a detection signal when a signal at output of one of the photodiodes crosses the threshold value.
39 Citations
26 Claims
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1. A method, comprising:
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forming a microcircuit on a front side of a semiconductor substrate, forming the microcircuit including forming an active layer on the front side of the substrate, forming conductive layers with conductive tracks formed on the active layer, forming insulating layers between the conductive layers, and forming in the active and conductive layers a circuit to be protected against laser beam attacks; forming photodiodes in the active layer of the semiconductor substrate between components of the circuit to be protected, each of the photodiodes being configured to supply a respective photodiode signal representative of a light intensity received by the photodiode from a back side of the substrate opposite to the front side; forming on the semiconductor substrate a comparison circuit configured to compare each photodiode signal with a first threshold value; and forming on the semiconductor substrate a processing circuit configured to activate a detection signal when one of the photodiode signals crosses the first threshold value. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A microcircuit, comprising:
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a semiconductor substrate; an active layer formed on a front side of the substrate; conductive layers formed on the active layer of the substrate, each including conductive tracks; insulating layers formed between the conductive layers; a circuit to be protected, formed in the active and conductive layers; a plurality of photodiodes formed in the active layer among components of the circuit to be protected, each of the photodiodes being configured to supply respective a light intensity signal representative of a light intensity received by the photodiode from a back side of the substrate opposite to the front side; and a detector circuit linked to the photodiodes, configured to compare the light intensity signals with a first threshold value, and to activate a detection signal when one of the light intensity signals crosses the threshold value. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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17. A device, comprising:
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a semiconductor substrate; an active layer formed on a front side of the substrate; conductive layers formed on the active layer of the substrate, each including conductive tracks; insulating layers formed between the conductive layers; a first integrated circuit formed in the active and conductive layers; a plurality of photodiodes formed in the active layer and distributed within an area defined by the first integrated circuit, each of the photodiodes being configured to detect light applied to the photodiode from a back side of the substrate opposite to the front side; a second integrated circuit formed in the active and conductive layers and having a plurality of inputs, each coupled to a respective one of the plurality of photodiodes, the second integrated circuit being configured to detect a level of light exceeding a first threshold that reaches any of the plurality of photodiodes from the back side of the substrate, and to produce a corresponding detection signal; and a packaging of the first integrated circuit and plurality of diodes configured to prevent light exceeding the first threshold from reaching any of the plurality of photodiodes. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20, 21, 22)
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23. A method, comprising:
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detecting light impinging on a portion of an integrated circuit formed on a semiconductor substrate, where the detected light impinges from a backside of the substrate; and producing a detection signal if the detected light exceeds a threshold value representing a maximum value of light that can penetrate packaging of the integrated circuit, as originally manufactured, during normal operation of the circuit. - View Dependent Claims (24, 25, 26)
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Specification