Resistive RAM-based PUF: Challenges and Opportunities

The demand for electronic device authentication is growing sky-high due to the widespread use of IoT devices. An effective method for hardware-level device authentication is CMOS-based Physically Unclonable Function (PUF). Since CMOS technology is hitting the power and memory wall, emerging memory devices are becoming quite popular for designing lightweight novel PUFs. One of the intriguing PUF design alternatives is resistive random-access memory (ReRAM), which has attracted substantial research interest due to its inherent stochasticity, CMOS process compatibility, high-density integration, and non-volatility. Researchers have been working on ReRAM-based PUF with various design structures that use derivatives from device to circuit-level advancements, opening up a new pathway for developing novel ReRAM-based PUF design solutions every day. However, reliability, accuracy, and circuit-level overheads still remain a concern. In this paper, we presented recent developments in ReRAM-based PUF architecture, issues that must be addressed, and prospects for future research topics in this area.