Determining an identifier

• US 9,742,571 B2
• Filed: 08/06/2014
• Issued: 08/22/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 08/06/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Infineon Technologies AG
• Original Assignee: Infineon Technologies AG
• Inventors: Meyer, Bernd
• Primary Examiner(s): HENDERSON, ESTHER BENOIT
• Application Number:
  US14/452,906
• Publication Number:
  US 20150046718A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,112 Days
• Field of Search: None
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/0866 involving user or device identifiers, e.g. serial number, physical or biometrical information, DNA, hand-signature or measurable physical characteristics
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/0877 using additional device, e.g. trusted platform module [TPM], smartcard, USB or hardware security module [HSM]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/3278 using physically unclonable functions [PUF]

Abstract

A method for determining an identifier on the basis of a multiplicity of cells is proposed, wherein the cells are subdivided into subsets, wherein the fact of whether a reconstructable information item is determinable is ascertained for each of the subsets, wherein, if a reconstructable information item is determinable for a subset, the reconstructable information item is determined and stored, wherein, if a reconstructable information item is not determinable for a subset, an error information item is determined and stored for this subset.

Claims

1. A method for determining an identifier of a memory based on a plurality of cells of the memory, the method comprising:

subdividing the cells into subsets; and

ascertaining whether a reconstructable information item is determinable for each of the subsets,

wherein, if a reconstructable information item is determinable for a subset, determining and storing the reconstructable information item as a bit of a bit sequence of the identifier, and

wherein, if a reconstructable information item is not determinable for a subset, determining and storing for this subset an error information item as one or more bits of the bit sequence of the identifier.

2. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the error information item is determined according to a predefined scheme.

3. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the error information item is fixedly predefined or randomly determined for the subset.

4. The method as claimed in claim 1, further comprising:

providing an error set comprising at least one cell,

wherein the error information item is determined based on a reconstructable information item of the error set and is stored.

5. The method as claimed in claim 4, further comprising:

recursively applying the subdividivision of the error error set into subsets.

6. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the identifier comprises at least one reconstructable information item.

7. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the identifier is determined by means of an error correction based on at least one of the at least one reconstructable information item and the at least one error information item.

8. The method as claimed in claim 1, further comprising:

ascertaining that a reconstructable information item is determinable for a subset if at least one of the cells of the subset yields the same result for a predefined number of measuring operations or reading operations.

9. The method as claimed in claim 1, further comprising:

ascertaining that a reconstructable information item is not determinable for a subset if none of the cells of the subset yields the same result for a predefined number of measuring operations or reading operations.

10. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the cells are volatile or novolatile memory cells of a semiconductor component.

11. A non-transcient computer-readable medium comprising program instructions for causing a computer to perform a method for determining an identifier of a memory based on a plurality of cells of the memory, the method comprising:

subdividing the cells into subsets; and

ascertaining whether a reconstructable information item is determinable for each of the subsets,

wherein, if a reconstructable information item is determinable for a subset, determining and storing the reconstructable information item as a bit of a bit sequence of the identifier, and

wherein, if a reconstructable information item is not determinable for a subset, determining and storing for this subset an error information item as one or more bits of the bit sequence of the identifier.

12. A device for determining an identifier of a memory, comprising:

a plurality of cells; and

a logical circuit configured to take in account for each subset a predefined number of cells, and ascertain whether a reconstructable information item is determinable for each of the subsets,

wherein, if a reconstructable information item is determinable for a subset, the reconstructable information item is determinable and storable as a bit of a bit sequence of the identifier, and

wherein, if a reconstructable information item is not determinable for a subset, an error information item is determinable and storable for this subset as one or more bits of the bit sequence of the identifier.

13. The device as claimed in claim 12, wherein the logical circuit is further configured to determine by means of an error correction the identifier based on at least one of the at least one reconstructable information item and the at least one error information item.

14. The device as claimed in claim 12, wherein the device is a semiconductor component.

15. The device as claimed in claim 12, wherein the device is integrated on an individual chip.

16. A system comprising at least one device as claimed in claim 12.