Electrical component with random electrical characteristic

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2016078999-A1
Application number	US-201414488647-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Sep 17, 2014
Priority date	Sep 17, 2014
Publication date	Mar 17, 2016
Grant date	—

Abstract

An electrical component is formed with a directed self assembly portion having a random electrical characteristic, such as resistance or capacitance. The random pattern can be produced by using a directed self assembly polymer with guide structures 2 including randomness inducing features. The electrical components with the random electrical characteristics may be used in electrical circuits relying upon random variation in electrical characteristics, such as physically unclonable function circuitry. The electrical components may be resistors and/or capacitors.

First claim

We claim:

1 . An electrical component having a portion with a shape corresponding to a random pattern to give said electrical component a random electrical characteristic.

2 . An electrical component as claimed in claim 1 , wherein said electrical component is a resistor and said random electrical characteristic is resistance.

3 . An electrical component as claimed in claim 2 , wherein said portion comprises a conductor layer between electrical contacts.

4 . An electrical component as claimed in claim 3 , wherein said conductor layer comprises tracks of conductive material having said random pattern separated by tracks of less conductive material.

5 . An electrical component as claimed in claim 3 , wherein said conductor layer is a metal conductor layer.

6 . An electrical component as claimed in claim 1 , wherein said electrical component is a capacitor and said random electrical characteristic is capacitance.

7 . An electrical component as claimed in claim 6 , wherein said portion comprises an insulator layer between capacitor electrodes.

8 . An electrical component as claimed in claim 6 , wherein said insulator layer comprises tracks of material having a first dielectric constant and said random pattern separated by tracks of material having a second dielectric constant that is less than said first dielectric constant.

9 . An electrical component as claimed in claim 1 , wherein said random pattern is a two-dimensional pattern having a major plane and said two-dimensional pattern has a substantially disordered behavior measured in at least one direction within said major plane.

10 . An electrical component as claimed in claim 1 , wherein said random pattern is a two-dimensional pattern having a major plane and said two-dimensional pattern has a substantially disordered behaviour measured in all directions within said major plane.

11 . An electrical component as claimed in claim 1 , wherein said shape of said portion is determined with directed self assembly.

12 . A method of forming an electrical component with a random electrical characteristic comprising the step of forming at least a portion of said electrical component with directed self assembly to have a shape corresponding to a random pattern.

13 . A method as claimed in claim 12 , wherein said directed self assembly forms a pattern layer used to determine a shape of said portion formed with one or more subsequent processing steps.

14 . A method as claimed in claim 12 , wherein said self directed assembly gives said portion a shape corresponding to a random pattern.

15 . A method as claimed in claim 14 , wherein said random pattern is a two-dimensional pattern having a major plane and said two-dimensional pattern has a substantially disordered behaviour measured in all directions within said major plane.

16 . A method as claimed in claim 12 , wherein said electrical component is a resistor and said random electrical characteristic is resistance.

17 . A method as claimed in claim 12 , wherein said electrical component is a capacitor and said random electrical characteristic is capacitance.

18 . Apparatus comprising:
an electrical component as claimed in claim 1 ; and circuitry coupled to said electrical component to generate an operating characteristic controlled by said random electrical characteristic.

19 . Apparatus as claimed in claim 18 , wherein said apparatus is physically unclonable function circuitry.

20 . An electrical component comprising:
at least one guide structure; and a directed self assembly portion with a shape controlled by said at least one guide structure, wherein said at least one guide structure has one or more randomness inducing features with a size greater than a manufacturing tolerance size for said guide.

Assignees

• Advanced Risc Mach Ltd

Inventors

• Shifren Lucian
• Chandra Vikas
• Bhargava Mudit

Classifications

• H01C1/14 Primary

  Terminals or tapping points specially adapted for resistors; Arrangements of terminals or tapping points on resistors · CPC title

• H01G4/14

  Organic dielectrics · CPC title

• H04L9/0866

  involving user or device identifiers, e.g. serial number, physical or biometrical information, DNA, hand-signature or measurable physical characteristics · CPC title

• G09C1/00

  Apparatus or methods whereby a given sequence of signs, e.g. an intelligible text, is transformed into an unintelligible sequence of signs by transposing the signs or groups of signs or by replacing them by others according to a predetermined system (cryptographic typewriters G09C3/00) · CPC title

• H01G4/33 Primary

  Thin- or thick-film capacitors {(thin- or thick-film circuits; capacitors without a potential-jump or surface barrier specially adapted for integrated circuits, details thereof, multistep manufacturing processes therefor)} · CPC title