MRI: Acquisition of a High Resolution Photon Emission/Electro-Optical Microscope for Non-invasive Evaluation of Electronic Devices and Systems Security

This project, acquiring a new high resolution microscope, aims to allow users to analyze the performance of electronic devices and systems. With a user friendly interface and the use of intuition, the instrument is expected to maximize its accessibility for on-site use and for off campus users. The platform will be used for teaching, education, and outreach. This effort is shared by six universities in Florida. The effort enables:

- Remote access capability to reach over 500 students every year both on and off campus;

- Material and expertise on hardware security related topics for educators to incorporate in their classroom curricula;

- Help to bring experts into their classrooms to discuss real-world applications; and

- Exposure of undergraduates to advanced microscopy techniques.

This new high resolution photon emission and electro-optical microscope enables the analysis by visualizing the transistor functionality non-destructively. When analyzing performance in this fashion, maximum impact is gained from multiple features such as:

- New high sensitive detectors that enable high resolution;

- Laser scanning configuration that enable static and dynamic failure analysis;

- Static laser scanning stimulation that contribute to identify the source of shorts and resistive defects; and

- Electro-optical probing and frequency mapping that enable rapid identification of regions of interest.

The unique capabilities of the instrument constitute a critical enabling parameter for research in hardware and system security areas. These include:

- Counterfeit detection by providing more detailed data than general electrical tests in less expensive and non-destructive manner;

- Semi-invasive physical attacks by enabling advanced contactless probing techniques and laser injection to measure circuit activity;

- Trojan detection by performing trust analysis of fabricated integrated circuits for validation of security and trust; and

- Reverse and anti-reverse engineering by complementing conventional reverse engineering and extracting the intellectual property blocks critic information.