Silkworms Create Image Sensor-based Security Device

PRNewswire: A physical unclonable function (PUF) is a physical feature that takes advantage of microscopic differences in electronics to create unique security "keys." These keys, when read by an electronic device, help establish or refute the authenticity of the input, thereby either granting or denying access. Now, researchers from the Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology, Korea, have designed the first natural PUF. Using native silk fibers obtained from Bombyx mori (domesticated silkworms), the research team designed PUF-based tags. These tags were then used to devise a lens-free, optical (light-based), and portable PUF (LOP-PUF) module.

"When a beam of light hits the disordered silk fibers of an optimal density, it causes light diffraction. The nanostructures in individual microfibers enhance the contrast of light intensity with respect to the background. The diffracted light is then captured by an image sensor. Since the pattern of the microholes is naturally-made, it is unique, giving rise to a unique pattern of light," explains Young Min Song, professor at the Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology.

The research paper "Revisiting silk: a lens-free optical physical unclonable function" by Min Seok Kim, Gil Ju Lee, Jung Woo Leem, Seungho Choi, Young L. Kim & Young Min Song is published in Nature Communications.