Project overview
The SPICA project brings together experts from the UK, Germany and Indonesia to create new ways of making electronic devices secure, especially those that need to work in extremely cold environments?like those found in quantum computers, satellites, and cryogenic sensors. Most security features in electronics we have today, such as those that generate random numbers or create unique digital fingerprints, rely on conventional transistor technology. However, these technologies don?t work well at very low temperatures, which can make them unreliable and easier to hack. To solve this, our team is exploring the use of a new type of electronic component called a memristor. Memristors are tiny, fast, and use very little power. They work in a way that is similar to how connections in the human brain operate, changing their properties based on the movement of atoms inside them. SPICA will exploit this unpredictable atomic movement to generate truly random numbers and create unique digital fingerprints encoded in atomic scale that are impossible to replicate?even in freezing conditions. Our project brings together specialists in materials, device engineering, and circuit design from three leading institutions. By combining our skills, we aim to develop new, energy-efficient and deployable security primitives that are reliable even at extremely low temperatures. Our work will help protect cutting-edge technologies from hacking and tampering, paving the way for next-generation semiconductor security. Ultimately, this collaboration will help us build long-term partnerships and open up new research opportunities in the field of secure, tamper-resistant electronics.
