Open Source IC Design of a Cryptographic ASIC

Drane, Trevor

Student Work

Open Source IC Design of a Cryptographic ASIC

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This project focuses on implementing a version of Ascon, an algorithm selected by NIST as part of the Lightweight Cryptography standard, into an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) design. The new standard aims to address the security needs of small wireless devices with limited power applications. An ASIC design benefits these applications by drastically improving efficiency for specific tasks compared to general-purpose processors. This implementation adapts a high-speed design into a serial format by adding a serial-to-parallel interface with several test modes and a simplified input/output to improve the design’s compatibility with commonly used test platforms. As physical implementations of this standard are relatively untested, this project delivers an open-source ASIC implementation of Ascon offering a valuable tool for further evaluation and research.

This report represents the work of one or more WPI undergraduate students submitted to the faculty as evidence of completion of a degree requirement. WPI routinely publishes these reports on its website without editorial or peer review.

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