Electrical engineering

Physics

Bitstream

Resistive random-access memory

Operating system

Algorithm

Random access

NIST

Engineering

Voltage

Array data structure

Power (physics)

Random number generation

Non-volatile memory

Programming language

Electronic engineering

Computer science

Quantum mechanics

Generator (circuit theory)

Speech recognition

Computer hardware

Computer vision

Decoding methods

Resistive touchscreen

IEEE Transactions on Nanotechnology

A novel True Random Number Generator circuit fabricated in a 130 nm HfO <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">2</sub> -based resistive RAM process is presented. The generation of the random bit stream is based on a specific programming sequence applied to a dedicated memory array. In the proposed programming scheme, all the cells of the memory array are addressed at the same time while the current provided to the circuit is limited to program only a subset of the memory array, resulting in a stochastic distribution of cell resistance values. Some cells are switched in a low resistive state, other cells are slightly programmed to reach an intermediate resistance state, while the remaining cells maintain their initial high resistance state. Resistance values are next converted into a bit stream and confronted to National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) test benchmarks. The generated random bit stream has successfully passed twelve NIST tests out of fifteen. Compared to state-of-the-art resistive RAM-based true random number generators, our proposed methodology is the first one to leverage on programming current limitation at a memory array level.

True Random Number Generator Integration in a Resistive RAM Memory Array Using Input Current Limitation