Granted Patent B2

US 9,418,247 · App. 13/762,237 · Granted Aug 16, 2016

Inventors: Sanjay Bhandari (San Jose, CA); Tony Maraldo (San Jose, CA)

Assignee: MCUBE INC.

G06F21/73

Abstract

Claims (35)

1. A method for implementing a security mechanism in an integrated MEMS (Micro-Electro-Mechanical-Systems) device including, the integrated MEMS device configured with a MEMS sensor, a MEMS test module, and an internal pattern generator, the integrated MEMS device being further configured with an output register associated with a corresponding sensing operation, wherein, in a test mode, the output register is configured to receive a value from the internal pattern generator or internal logic, the integrated MEMS device being electrically coupled to a computing system programmed to perform the method, the method comprising:

reading, by a processor disposed within the computing system, a device ID from a device ID register disposed within the integrated MEMS device;

determining, by the processor, whether the device ID of the integrated MEMS device is valid;

determining, by the processor, a random value, wherein determining the random value includes enabling, by the MEMS test module a MEMS process to determine the random value or by setting a value associated with a duty cycle of the internal pattern generator in the output register and then reading from the output register to obtain the value from the internal pattern generator;

writing, by the processor, the random value to a security register disposed within the integrated device;

determining, by the processor, a configuration value;

writing, by the processor, the configuration value to a security configuration register disposed within the integrated device;

determining, by a logic module disposed within the integrated device, an operation result via a logic operation using the random value and the configuration value;

writing the operation result to the security register;

determining, by the processor, a validation result using the logic operation;

reading, by the processor, the operation result from the security register; and

determining, by the processor, whether the integrated MEMS device is valid using the device ID, the validation result, and the operation result.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the security configuration register comprises the device ID register.

3. The method of claim 2 wherein the logic module comprises a XOR logic module coupled to the security register and the logic operation comprises an XOR operation.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein the logic module comprises a linear feedback shift register (LFSR) module coupled to the security register.

5. The method of claim 4 wherein the logic operation comprises a linear feedback shift register (LSFR) operation, the LFSR operation being performed k times where k is an integer greater than or equal to 1; and

wherein reading the operation result from the security register comprises reading the operation result from the security register after waiting k clock cycles.

6. The method of claim 4 wherein the configuration value comprises a polynomial.

7. A computing system for processing data from an integrated MEMS (Micro-Electro-Mechanical-Systems) device electrically coupled to the computing system, the system comprising:

the integrated MEMS device including a MEMS sensor, a MEMS test module, an internal pattern generator, a logic module, a device ID register, a security register, a security configuration register, and an output register associated with a sensing operation, wherein, in a test mode, the output register receives a respective value from the internal pattern generator;

a tangible memory for storing a plurality of executable instructions;

a processor coupled to the tangible memory and the integrated MEMS device, wherein the processor is programmed to perform a plurality of functions by the plurality of executable instructions;

wherein the plurality of executable instructions comprise:

executable code that programs the processor to read a device ID from the device ID register;

executable code that programs the processor to determine whether the device ID of the integrated MEMS device is valid;

executable code that programs the processor to determine a random value, wherein the code that programs the processor to determine the random value includes

executable code that enables, by the MEMS test module a MEMS test process to determine the random value by setting a value associated with a duty cycle of the internal pattern generator in the output register, and then reading from the output register to obtain the value from the internal pattern generator;

executable code that programs the processor to write the random value to the security register;

executable code that programs the processor to determine a configuration value;

executable code that programs the processor to write the configuration value to the security configuration register;

executable code that programs the logic module to determine an operation result via a logic operation using the random value and the configuration value;

executable code that programs the processor to write the operation result to the security register;

executable code that programs the processor to determine a validation result using the logic operation;

executable code that programs the processor to read the operation result from the security register; and

executable code that programs the processor to determine whether the integrated MEMS device is valid using the device ID, the validation result, and the operation result.

Assignments (10)

Continuity (2)