Physically unclonable function (PUF) structure by self-assembly

This research reports a physically unclonable function (PUF) structure applied to the information security field of the industrial internet of things. The PUF consists of an array of circular holes processed on a silicon wafer substrate and randomly self-assembled PS microspheres within the holes. The manufacturing process of the PUF is compatible with semi-conductor technology. The resulting random structure cannot be artificially designed and controlled, thus featuring unclonability. The key information of the PUF is extracted by using an optical microscope to collect PUF images to form challenge-response pairs. A anti-counterfeiting code is generated by counting and assigning values to the number of PS microspheres in the micropores. The PUF can be applied to information security fields such as identity authentication and encrypted communication, enabling identity authentication throughout the entire supply chain and full life cycle of industrial Internet of Things products, as well as highly secure encrypted communication.