Modeling Hardware Trojans in 3D ICs

Abstract

Three-dimensional (3D) integration facilitates to integrate increasing number of transistors into a single package. Despite of improved performance and power efficiency, the integration of multiple dies into the same package potentially leads to new security threats, such as 3D hardware Trojans. In this work, we first provide a thorough survey of reported hardware Trojans in 3D integrated circuits and systems, and then propose comprehensive 3D hardware Trojan models. A case study is performed to verify the implementation feasibility of thermal-triggered 3D Trojan. The activation speed of the 3D Trojan is compared to its 2D counterpart to confirm that 3D IC provides a better environment to hide thermal Trojans.