Comparative Analysis of SRAM PUF Temperature Susceptibility on Embedded Systems

Abstract: An SRAM Physical Unclonable Function (PUF) can distinguish SRAM modules by analyzing the inherent randomness of their start-up behavior. However, the effectiveness of this technique varies depending on the design and fabrication of the SRAM module. This study compares two similar microcontrollers, both equipped with on-chip SRAM, to determine which device produces a better SRAM PUF. Both microcontrollers are programmed with an identical SRAM PUF authentication routine and tested under varying ambient temperatures (ranging from 10 °C to 50 °C) to evaluate the impact of temperature on SRAM PUF performance. One embedded SRAM works significantly better than the other, even though the two models are closely related. The presented results can be used early in the design process to compare arbitrary on-chip SRAM models and see which is best suited for implementing an SRAM PUF.