New Trust Approach Demonstration

Abstract

This project funds a program of research to develop and demonstrate the next generation, technology-driven approach to microelectronics trust and assurance, to include state-of-the-art (SOTA) microelectronics, to ensure continued access to SOTA microelectronic technologies, while maintaining the required level of assurance in all environments. DoD’s ability to access commercial technology for its custom secure, trusted and assured needs is diminishing as SOTA suppliers become fewer and more focused on serving the global commercial market. DoD’s technology needs are broad, and relying on a single source supplier is not feasible. Alternative, advanced manufacturing methods, technologies, and design tools are needed to produce secure, trusted and assured SOTA parts from commercial sources and to preserve access to these advanced nodes while protecting DoD and Defense Industrial Base (DIB) intellectual property (IP) from exploitation. It is also intended to dramatically improve the capabilities of the Joint Federated Assurance Center (JFAC) with regard to verification and validation in support of microelectronics assurance. This program of research will demonstrate innovative design, manufacturing, imaging, tagging, and control and assessment approaches for protecting DoD’s microelectronics supply chain and IP, including alternatives for trusted, strategic radiation-hardened electronics in advanced technology nodes for next-generation strategic systems, obfuscation and disaggregation technologies, and other assurance mitigations. It will demonstrate advanced imaging technologies and forensics, Design for Assurance techniques, active hardware assurance controls, electronic component markers, and a data and analysis capability to enable auditing and independent verification and validation of commercial designs. It also demonstrates and implements concepts for the cost-effective production of custom microelectronics in low volumes and protection of sensitive IP from exploitation. Assurance technologies that can be applied in a broad range of trusted and commercial environments can mitigate the risks associated with sole-source suppliers, and increase the ability of the U.S. Government (USG) to leverage commercial capabilities. The suite of demonstrated technologies, e.g., alternative manufacturing methods and design tools, will enable DoD to obfuscate the purpose of sensitive devices, verify their origin and function, and protect sensitive IP from exploitation even while using the global supply chain for most hardware. In cases where the risk involved precludes that level of commercial collaboration, low-volume manufacturing technologies demonstrated under this project would permit DoD to more cheaply produce low volumes of sensitive microelectronics in trusted environments. The project will also support demonstration of a repository of third-party IP and electronic design automation (EDA) tools to expedite circuit design and transition promising technologies to use.

Document Details

• Document Type: Project
• Publication Date: Oct 01, 2020
• Source ID: 809_0605294D8Z_5_0400_PB_2020

Tags

Readers

• Cybersecurity.
• Integrated Circuit Design and Technology.
• Military Science and Technology Research and Modernization.

Technology Areas

• Microelectronics