POWER SUPPLY FOR RING-OSCILLATOR BASED TRUE RANDOM NUMBER GENERATOR AND METHOD OF GENERATING TRUE RANDOM NUMBERS

• US 20150199176A1
• Filed: 01/14/2014
• Published: 07/16/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 01/14/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: NVIDIA Corporation
• Original Assignee: NVIDIA Corporation
• Inventors: Idgunji, Sachin
• Granted Patent: US 9,195,434 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/26 Power supply means, e.g. regulation thereof for memories G11C
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 7/588 Random number generators, i.e. based on natural stochastic processes

Abstract

A true random number generator, a method of generating a true random number and a system incorporating the generator or the method. In one embodiment, the generator includes: (1) a ring oscillator including inverting gates having power inputs and (2) a time-varying power supply coupled to the power inputs to provide power thereto and including power perturbation circuitry operable to perturb the power provided to at least one of the power inputs.

Claims

1. A true random number generator, comprising:

a ring oscillator including inverting gates having power inputs; and

a time-varying power supply coupled to said power inputs to provide power thereto and including power perturbation circuitry operable to perturb said power provided to at least one of said power inputs.

2. The generator as recited in claim 1 wherein said power perturbation circuitry is operable to perturb said power provided to all of said power inputs.

3. The generator as recited in claim 1 wherein said power perturbation circuitry is operable independently to perturb said power provided to multiple of said power inputs.

4. The generator as recited in claim 1 wherein said power perturbation circuitry is operable temporarily to starve said at least one of said inverting gates of a nominal operating current.

5. The generator as recited in claim 1 wherein said time-varying power supply is operable to receive power from a standard integrated circuit power rail.

6. The generator as recited in claim 1 wherein said power perturbation circuitry is operable to perturb said power based on switch and enable signals received thereby.

7. The generator as recited in claim 1 wherein a further ring oscillator provides an enable signal to said power perturbation circuitry.

8. A method of generating true random numbers, comprising:

causing a ring oscillator having inverting gates to oscillate;

perturbing power provided to at least some of said inverting gates to change an operation of said at least some of said inverting gates; and

latching an output signal provided by said ring oscillator.

9. The method as recited in claim 8 wherein said perturbing comprises perturbing power provided to all of said inverting gates.

10. The method as recited in claim 8 wherein said perturbing comprises independently changing said operation of said at least some of said inverting gates.

11. The method as recited in claim 8 wherein said perturbing comprises temporarily starving said at least one of said inverting gates of a nominal operating current.

12. The method as recited in claim 8 further comprising receiving power from a standard integrated circuit power rail.

13. The method as recited in claim 8 wherein said perturbing comprises perturbing said power based on received switch and enable signals.

14. The method as recited in claim 8 wherein said perturbing comprises perturbing based on an enable signal received from a further ring oscillator.

15. A true random number generator system, comprising:

a true random number generator, including;

a ring oscillator including inverting gates having power inputs, and

a time-varying power supply coupled to said power inputs to provide power thereto and including power perturbation circuitry operable independently to perturb said power provided to at least some of said power inputs;

further ring oscillators coupled to said time-varying power supply and operable to drive said power perturbation circuitry; and

a pseudo-random number generator coupled to an output of said true random number generator and operable to generate a pseudo-random number sequence based on a seed provided by said true random number generator.

16. The system as recited in claim 15 wherein said power perturbation circuitry is operable to perturb said power provided to all of said power inputs.

17. The system as recited in claim 15 wherein said power perturbation circuitry is operable temporarily to starve said at least one of said inverting gates of a nominal operating current.

18. The system as recited in claim 15 wherein said time-varying power supply is operable to receive power from a standard integrated circuit power rail.

19. The system as recited in claim 15 further comprising a latch coupled between said output of said true random number generator and said pseudo-random number generator and operable to generate said seed.

20. The system as recited in claim 15 further comprising an entropy analyzer coupled to said output of said true random number generator.