A Side-Channel Attack-Resilient Single-Slope ADC for Image Sensor Applications

Korpe C., Ahmad K., Ozturk E., Tihaiya K., Tran R., Yang H., ...Daha Fazla

21st International Conference on Synthesis, Modeling, Analysis and Simulation Methods, and Applications to Circuits Design, SMACD 2025, İstanbul, Türkiye, 7 - 10 Temmuz 2025, (Tam Metin Bildiri) identifier identifier

  • Yayın Türü: Bildiri / Tam Metin Bildiri
  • Doi Numarası: 10.1109/smacd65553.2025.11092095
  • Basıldığı Şehir: İstanbul
  • Basıldığı Ülke: Türkiye
  • Anahtar Kelimeler: side-channel attack (SCA), analog to digital converter (ADC), Single-Slope ADC, CNN
  • Boğaziçi Üniversitesi Adresli: Evet

Özet

Power side-channel attacks (PSAs) pose a significant threat to analog-to-digital converters (ADCs) by exploiting power consumption patterns to extract sensitive data. While extensive research has focused on securing successive approximation register (SAR) ADCs, the vulnerabilities of Single-Slope (SS) ADCs remain largely unexplored. This paper presents a systematic analysis of PSA threats in SS ADCs using convolutional neural networks (CNNs), identifying key mechanisms of information leakage, such as ramp generation non-idealities and comparator switching behavior. To enhance PSA resilience, we propose an improved SS ADC design that integrates dummy comparators and randomized ramp generators. This design dynamically alters power consumption patterns by introducing varying ramp slopes, effectively obscuring attack-related leakage signatures. Post-layout simulations suggest that some information leakage remains but also confirm significant security improvements.