Fault Model Analysis of Laser-Induced Faults in SRAM Memory Cells

International audienceThe use of a laser to inject faults into SRAM memory cells is well known. However, the corresponding fault model is often unknown or misunderstood: the induced faults may be described as bit-flip or bit-set/reset faults. We have investigated in this paper whether the bit-set/reset fault model or bit-flip fault model may be encountered in SRAMs. First, the fault model of a standalone SRAM was considered. Experiments revealed that the relevant fault model was the bit-set/reset. This result was further investigated through electrical simulations based on the use of an electrical model of MOS transistors under laser illumination. Then, fault injections have been performed on the RAM memory of a micro-controller to check the validity of the previous results based on experiments and simulations