IEEE TCAS-I paper on reconfigurable in-cache MPUF systems using SOT-MRAM true randomness

👏 Paper title: Reconfigurable and Dynamically Transformable In-Cache-MPUF System With True Randomness Based on the SOT-MRAM.

This work explores secure hardware primitives built directly inside cache memory. Physical unclonable functions benefit from device-level variation and randomness, while in-cache integration reduces the need for separate security blocks and keeps sensitive operations close to memory.

The proposed in-cache MPUF system uses spin-orbit-torque MRAM and exploits thermal noise as a true randomness source. Its reconfigurable and dynamically transformable design supports flexible challenge-response behavior, strengthening security primitives while reusing memory structures already present in computing systems.

By integrating security functionality into cache-like memory structures, the design reduces the need for separate cryptographic hardware blocks. It also benefits from the non-volatility and stochastic properties of SOT-MRAM, which can be turned into useful entropy sources.

The result is a security-oriented memory design that combines storage, randomness, and configurable identity generation. This is especially relevant for lightweight authentication and hardware security in systems where area and energy overhead must remain low.