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Microelectronics Platforms

The Microelectronics Platform houses the equipment and the software dedicated specifically to research in Microelectronics. It operates in partnership with the CNFM (Coordination Nationale pour la Formation en Micro-électronique et en nanotechnologies, the French Government coordination agency for Microelectronics and Nanotechnology), and Polytech Montpellier, the University of Montpellier School of Engineering.

Equipment and software are available in the following fields:

Testing and Characterization

Laurent de KNYFF
Technical Manager
Thierry GIL
Technical Manager

This platform includes equipment for the characterisation and testing of electronic components and systems. An engineer provides technical support for the use of this equipment and for the design of test benches.

Key words: Oscilloscopes, Parameter Analyser, Microscope, Infrared Camera.

  • The platform hosts equipment for the testing and characterization of integrated circuits, including 2 calculation servers and 15 workstations:
    • A VERIGY V93000 Industrial Tester housed in the CNFM building in Montpellier;
    • A Keyence VHX Microscope (x1000);
    • A Climate Chamber (-35°C to +170°C);
    • A Shaker (196N, 9kHz);
    • Various measurement equipment, such as two 3.5-GHz Oscilloscopes, a 3-GHz Spectrum Analyzer, a 3-GHz Signal Generator, a 6705 Keysight Power Analyzer, a DN2-496-08 Spectrum Acquisition Board (60 MSamples/s).

Integrated Circuit Design

Jérémie SALLES
Technical Manager

The IC design platform brings together design tools for the simulation, verification and fabrication of integrated circuits and micro and nano systems. An engineer provides technical support to users for the design of circuits and manages the installation of tools and the archiving of projects.

Key words: Design, Simulation, Verification of integrated circuits.

The platform supports the following software suites:

Cyber-physical Security

Laurent de KNYFF
Technical Manager
Philippe MAURINE
Scientific Manager
Florent BRUGUIER
Scientific Manager

The platform uses various experimentation benches for the analysis of security vulnerabilities in integrated circuits and embedded systems. It is co-funded by the FEDER-FSE 2014-2020 Operations Program, Languedoc-Roussillon Region (219 k€). This equipment is used for both research and training purposes, in partnership with the French CNFM (http://web-pcm.cnfm.fr/secnum/).

 

The Cyber-physical Security platform includes several experimentation benches, as well as related analysis software:

  • Side channel analysis benches and radio protocols
    • Electromagnetic Radiation
    • Current
  • Electromagnetic Harmonic Injection bench (Figure 1).
  • Electromagnetic Pulse Injection bench (Figure 2).
  • Thermal Analysis bench (Figure 3).
  • Analysis software (DPA, CPA, MIA, HCA, etc.) and Differential Fault Analysis (DFA).

Figure 1: Electromagnetic Harmonic Injection Bench

This platform is dedicated to the analysis of the resistance of components and integrated systems to fault attacks injected via the electromagnetic channel. It produces strong electric harmonics between 1Hz and 1GHz in a controlled manner. Moreover, the amplitude and/or phase of these fields can be modulated. The coupling of these continuous waves with components allows researchers to alter and study the behavior of components and integrated systems, and more specifically of the analog blocks (random number generators, PLL, embedded signal generators, etc.).

Plateformeharmonique

Figure 2: Electromagnetic Pulse Injection Bench

This platform is dedicated to the analysis of the resistance of components and integrated systems to fault attacks injected via the electromagnetic channel. On command and with great precision, it produces EM pulses of high amplitude and short duration (5ns to 100ns). These pulses generate parasitic currents within the components and integrated systems which can be used to bypass security mechanisms or reveal secrets.

PlateformePulse

Figure 3: Thermal Analysis Bench

Based on a fast and high-detection InAs sensor, this platform is dedicated to the thermal characterization of components and integrated systems. Applications include searching for Trojans, and fighting against the counterfeiting and reverse engineering of components.

web-thermique2

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