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arXiv:2303.07406cs.AR

Infra-Red, In-Situ (IRIS) Inspection of Silicon

Andrew 'bunnie' Huang

Abstract

This paper introduces the Infra-Red, In Situ (IRIS) inspection method, which uses short-wave IR (SWIR) light to non-destructively "see through" the backside of chips and image them with lightly modified conventional digital CMOS cameras. With a ~1050 nm light source, IRIS is capable of constraining macro- and meso-scale features of a chip. This hardens existing micro-scale self-test verification techniques by ruling out the existence of extra circuitry that can hide a hardware trojan with a test bypass. Thus, self-test techniques used in conjunction with IRIS can ensure the correct construction of security-critical hardware at all size scales.

arXiv comments
8 pages, 19 figures
Journal reference
DOI
Subjects
cs.ARHardware Architecture cs.CRCryptography and Security eess.IVImage and Video Processing physics.app-phApplied Physics

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Linked by 2 identifiable commenters in 2 comments across 2 threads, from Dec 2023 to Mar 2026.

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Discussed in comments2 threads

  1. OpenTitan Shipping in Production 1 comment

    • These things should be manufactured to be IRIS-compatible. IRIS is the "Infra-Red, In Situ" technique which lets you image the silicon of a chip through the packaging to verify that you don't have a counterfeit. https://arxiv.org/pdf/2303.07406 Like, for example, the Boachip-1x…

      nerdsniperView on HNParent context

  2. The New Essential Guide to Electronics in Shenzhen 1 comment

    • Ah yes. The Precursor is real now, you can read more at https://precursor.dev. As a baseline it can function as a password/authentication token manager, but as another user mentioned we're adding messaging features now. Another thing I'm working on is IRIS, a non-destructive…

      bunnieView on HNParent context

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