Design of a TRNG in 600-nm IGZO-TFT FlexICs for Secure IoT Applications

João Cabacinho; Diogo Sousa; João Marcelino; Marco Fernandes; Pedro Barquinha; João Goes; João Casaleiro; Luis Bica Oliveira

doi:10.1109/ISCAS56072.2025.11043564

Design of a TRNG in 600-nm IGZO-TFT FlexICs for Secure IoT Applications

João Cabacinho, Diogo Sousa, João Marcelino, Marco Fernandes, Pedro Barquinha, João Goes, João Casaleiro, Luis Bica Oliveira

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Conference contribution › peer-review

2 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

As the demand for secure Internet of Things (IoT) devices increases, the need for hardware security solutions has become more critical, particularly in applications with strict power and area constraints. Thin-film transistors (TFTs) are an emerging technology, that enables the integration of complex circuits onto thin, flexible substrates offering both low-cost manufacturing and compatibility with large-area system implementations. This paper, presents, to the best of the authors' knowledge, the first true random number generator (TRNG) based on jittered oscillator sampling, implemented in 600 nm Indium-Gallium-Zinc-Oxide (IGZO) TFT flexible integrated circuits (FlexICs) technology.The proposed TRNG achieves a throughput of 1.33 Mbits/s, an energy consumption of 4.68 nJ/bit, and occupies an area of 0.920 mm². The TRNG showed promising results by passing 8 NIST (National Institute of Standards and Technology) randomness tests under nominal conditions. This opens new opportunities for embedding security primitives in flexible electronics, allowing for integration of hardware security in wearable electronics, biomedical devices, communication tags and other applications.

Original language	English
Title of host publication	ISCAS 2025 - IEEE International Symposium on Circuits and Systems, Proceedings
Publisher	Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE)
ISBN (Electronic)	9798350356830
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1109/ISCAS56072.2025.11043564
Publication status	Published - 2025
Event	2025 IEEE International Symposium on Circuits and Systems, ISCAS 2025 - London, United Kingdom Duration: 25 May 2025 → 28 May 2025

Publication series

Name	Proceedings - IEEE International Symposium on Circuits and Systems
ISSN (Print)	0271-4310

Conference

Conference	2025 IEEE International Symposium on Circuits and Systems, ISCAS 2025
Country/Territory	United Kingdom
City	London
Period	25/05/25 → 28/05/25

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

SDG 7 Affordable and Clean Energy

Keywords

Dynamic Entropy
Flexible Integrated Circuits (FlexICs)
Hardware Security
IGZO
Ring Oscillator
True Random Number Generator (TRNG)

Access to Document

10.1109/ISCAS56072.2025.11043564

Cite this

Cabacinho, J., Sousa, D., Marcelino, J., Fernandes, M., Barquinha, P., Goes, J., Casaleiro, J., & Oliveira, L. B. (2025). Design of a TRNG in 600-nm IGZO-TFT FlexICs for Secure IoT Applications. In ISCAS 2025 - IEEE International Symposium on Circuits and Systems, Proceedings (Proceedings - IEEE International Symposium on Circuits and Systems). Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). https://doi.org/10.1109/ISCAS56072.2025.11043564

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abstract = "As the demand for secure Internet of Things (IoT) devices increases, the need for hardware security solutions has become more critical, particularly in applications with strict power and area constraints. Thin-film transistors (TFTs) are an emerging technology, that enables the integration of complex circuits onto thin, flexible substrates offering both low-cost manufacturing and compatibility with large-area system implementations. This paper, presents, to the best of the authors' knowledge, the first true random number generator (TRNG) based on jittered oscillator sampling, implemented in 600 nm Indium-Gallium-Zinc-Oxide (IGZO) TFT flexible integrated circuits (FlexICs) technology.The proposed TRNG achieves a throughput of 1.33 Mbits/s, an energy consumption of 4.68 nJ/bit, and occupies an area of 0.920 mm2. The TRNG showed promising results by passing 8 NIST (National Institute of Standards and Technology) randomness tests under nominal conditions. This opens new opportunities for embedding security primitives in flexible electronics, allowing for integration of hardware security in wearable electronics, biomedical devices, communication tags and other applications.",

keywords = "Dynamic Entropy, Flexible Integrated Circuits (FlexICs), Hardware Security, IGZO, Ring Oscillator, True Random Number Generator (TRNG)",

author = "Jo{\~a}o Cabacinho and Diogo Sousa and Jo{\~a}o Marcelino and Marco Fernandes and Pedro Barquinha and Jo{\~a}o Goes and Jo{\~a}o Casaleiro and Oliveira, \{Luis Bica\}",

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Cabacinho, J , Sousa, D , Marcelino, J, Fernandes, M, Barquinha, P , Goes, J, Casaleiro, J & Oliveira, LB 2025, Design of a TRNG in 600-nm IGZO-TFT FlexICs for Secure IoT Applications. in ISCAS 2025 - IEEE International Symposium on Circuits and Systems, Proceedings. Proceedings - IEEE International Symposium on Circuits and Systems, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), 2025 IEEE International Symposium on Circuits and Systems, ISCAS 2025, London, United Kingdom, 25/05/25. https://doi.org/10.1109/ISCAS56072.2025.11043564

Design of a TRNG in 600-nm IGZO-TFT FlexICs for Secure IoT Applications. / Cabacinho, João ; Sousa, Diogo ; Marcelino, João et al.
ISCAS 2025 - IEEE International Symposium on Circuits and Systems, Proceedings. Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), 2025. (Proceedings - IEEE International Symposium on Circuits and Systems).

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Conference contribution › peer-review

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AU - Sousa, Diogo

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AU - Fernandes, Marco

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AU - Goes, João

AU - Casaleiro, João

AU - Oliveira, Luis Bica

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N2 - As the demand for secure Internet of Things (IoT) devices increases, the need for hardware security solutions has become more critical, particularly in applications with strict power and area constraints. Thin-film transistors (TFTs) are an emerging technology, that enables the integration of complex circuits onto thin, flexible substrates offering both low-cost manufacturing and compatibility with large-area system implementations. This paper, presents, to the best of the authors' knowledge, the first true random number generator (TRNG) based on jittered oscillator sampling, implemented in 600 nm Indium-Gallium-Zinc-Oxide (IGZO) TFT flexible integrated circuits (FlexICs) technology.The proposed TRNG achieves a throughput of 1.33 Mbits/s, an energy consumption of 4.68 nJ/bit, and occupies an area of 0.920 mm2. The TRNG showed promising results by passing 8 NIST (National Institute of Standards and Technology) randomness tests under nominal conditions. This opens new opportunities for embedding security primitives in flexible electronics, allowing for integration of hardware security in wearable electronics, biomedical devices, communication tags and other applications.

AB - As the demand for secure Internet of Things (IoT) devices increases, the need for hardware security solutions has become more critical, particularly in applications with strict power and area constraints. Thin-film transistors (TFTs) are an emerging technology, that enables the integration of complex circuits onto thin, flexible substrates offering both low-cost manufacturing and compatibility with large-area system implementations. This paper, presents, to the best of the authors' knowledge, the first true random number generator (TRNG) based on jittered oscillator sampling, implemented in 600 nm Indium-Gallium-Zinc-Oxide (IGZO) TFT flexible integrated circuits (FlexICs) technology.The proposed TRNG achieves a throughput of 1.33 Mbits/s, an energy consumption of 4.68 nJ/bit, and occupies an area of 0.920 mm2. The TRNG showed promising results by passing 8 NIST (National Institute of Standards and Technology) randomness tests under nominal conditions. This opens new opportunities for embedding security primitives in flexible electronics, allowing for integration of hardware security in wearable electronics, biomedical devices, communication tags and other applications.

KW - Dynamic Entropy

KW - Flexible Integrated Circuits (FlexICs)

KW - Hardware Security

KW - IGZO

KW - Ring Oscillator

KW - True Random Number Generator (TRNG)

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DO - 10.1109/ISCAS56072.2025.11043564

M3 - Conference contribution

AN - SCOPUS:105010622562

T3 - Proceedings - IEEE International Symposium on Circuits and Systems

BT - ISCAS 2025 - IEEE International Symposium on Circuits and Systems, Proceedings

PB - Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE)

T2 - 2025 IEEE International Symposium on Circuits and Systems, ISCAS 2025

Y2 - 25 May 2025 through 28 May 2025

ER -

Cabacinho J , Sousa D , Marcelino J, Fernandes M, Barquinha P , Goes J et al. Design of a TRNG in 600-nm IGZO-TFT FlexICs for Secure IoT Applications. In ISCAS 2025 - IEEE International Symposium on Circuits and Systems, Proceedings. Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). 2025. (Proceedings - IEEE International Symposium on Circuits and Systems). doi: 10.1109/ISCAS56072.2025.11043564

Design of a TRNG in 600-nm IGZO-TFT FlexICs for Secure IoT Applications

Abstract

Publication series

Conference

UN SDGs

Keywords

Access to Document

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