Untrusted analog components add risks for critical infrastructure

Rising concern over the source and destination of chips, and the components within them, is driving a global effort to tag them in a way that is permanent, immutable, and unclonable.

While these types of efforts are gaining traction in the digital world, analog/mixed signal content in chips and systems lacks such tags. The absence of ID technology leaves them vulnerable to counterfeits and thus compromises the end system’s performance. This exposure to counterfeits also includes sensors and discrete components. All of these components are used in critical infrastructure and security-sensitive markets, as well as in complex systems that are subject to import/export restrictions. The challenge now is to remove these exposures by using end-to-end tracking of physical IDs that support a trusted supply chain solution. But it’s not so simple.

A physical ID is a linchpin technology. It can be read during manufacturing and in the field, but it needs to be immutable and unclonable. However, while digital ICs can leverage available ID technology, there is no equivalent for mixed-signal/analog ICs, sensor ICs, or discrete components. This is a problem for critical infrastructure (as defined by the U.S. government) in the telecommunication, aerospace, defense, and utility sectors, which comprise roughly 20% of today’s global semiconductor total addressable market (TAM), or about $150 billion.

Read more at Semiconductor Engineering