“With FD-SOI’s advantages against laser fault injection attacks due to its thin-film architecture and channel isolation, the technology presents a compelling foundation for next-generation secure IC design,” according to French semiconductor research lab Leti.
The two organisations aim to gain credibility for the technology for users seeking SESIP and Common Criteria certification for automotive, industrial IoT and infrastructure products, though experimental validation, optimisation, practical demonstrations, and the creation of application guidelines.
“In an era marked by increasing attacks on connected systems and autonomous vehicles, the need for embedded hardware capable of resisting physical tampering has never been greater,” said CEA-Leti CTO Jean-René Lequepeys. “FD-SOI’s unique combination of performance, energy efficiency and attack resistance offers an ideal answer for industries that demand both trust and efficiency.”
Wafer-maker Soitec will create wafers with jointly-designed security-optimised stack-ups, and GlobalFoundries will make proof-of-concept ICs.
“By combining our substrate innovation capabilities with CEA-Leti’s research excellence, we aim to demonstrate the full potential of FD-SOI in addressing today’s most pressing security challenges,” said Soitec CTO Christophe Maleville.
Some of the technical aims are: enhanced protection against back-side and invasive physical attacks, embedding anti-tamper features, and embedding physical unclonable functions (PUFs) for hardware fingerprinting.
Vulnerabilities in the supply-chain will also be explored
This project builds on research results from the Leti Fames pilot line which fabricates 7 and 10nm ICs in Grenoble.
