New transistor design disguises key computer chip hardware from hackers

TechXplore.com  December 7, 2020 When a voltage is applied an N type and a P type transistors perform computations. Right tools could clearly identify them—allowing you to go backwards, find out what each individual circuit component is doing and then reproduce the chip. A team of researchers in the US (Purdue University, University of Notre Dame) has shown that high-performance, low-voltage, two-dimensional black phosphorus FETs that have reconfigurable polarities are suitable for hardware security applications. Black phosphorus is so thin that it would enable electron and hole transport at a similar current level, making the two types of transistors appear […]