A Comprehensive Review on Physical Unclonable Functions Based on Resistive Random Access Memory

Chip authentication and secure communication have become crucial due to the increasing use of mobile computing and the Internet of Things (IoT). Hardware-based security concepts typically offer optimum performance in terms of a high level of security, low power consumption, and large-area density. Hardware security becomes much more crucial in order to safeguard the enormous volumes of private information sensitive data stored on edge devices. Physical unclonable functions (PUFs) are becoming more and more popular as hardware security primitives because they can create truly random digital keys by taking advantage of the intrinsic randomness in the device. Among the most promising options for delivering the necessary hardware security features at a very low area-energy-runtime budget are emerging nonvolatile memory technologies. Among the emerging nonvolatile memory devices, the performance of resistive random access memory (RRAM) stands out primarily owing to its high-density integration. RRAM has received significant attention from both industry and academia, as it is considered suitable for implementing beyond Von Neumann architectures. Additionally, RRAM offers fluctuations in switching resistances, random telegraph noise, and sneak path current that make them suitable for designing security hardware such as PUFs. This paper provides a background on the basics of PUFs, and then presents in detail the protocols, functionality, and methodologies proposed in the PUFs based on RRAM. Finally, the future outlook for PUFs based on RRAM is presented in this review.