Heading to DAC 2025 with Microsoft: Novel TRNG Verification with a High-Performance Simulation Methodology
In our data-driven world, the need for robust security solutions continues to grow. At the heart of modern cryptographic systems lies True Random Number Generators (TRNGs), devices that generate unpredictable values essential for encryption. Microsoft and Siemens EDA have joined forces in a pioneering collaboration on TRNG verification. At Design Automation Conference (DAC) 2025, we’ll present an innovative simulation methodology that makes these critical security components easier to verify—bringing a fresh approach to the hardware security verification workflow. Read on for an exclusive preview of our DAC presentation.
TRNGs: How Random Numbers Protect Your Data
A True Random Number Generator (TRNG) is essential for hardware to generate truly random numbers using natural random phenomena, such as noise. The inherent unpredictability of noise provides an ideal mechanism for creating entirely random outputs, making them nearly impossible to predict. This unpredictability significantly enhances security in various data encryption applications. One popular type of TRNG is the ring-oscillator-based TRNG. This type is favored because its structure relies on elements commonly used in analog circuits, making it easy to implement.
The TRNG Verification Challenge
The major challenge in verifying and qualifying a TRNG during the design flow is ensuring its true randomness. This involves efficiently extracting the TRNG’s characteristics and simulating them to confirm the design’s reliability. Given the complexity of data variability needed to meet modern encryption requirements, more bits of random data are added, increasing the difficulty of detecting any regular patterns and reinforcing the encryption’s overall effectiveness from the outside. However, simulating these TRNGs is extremely time-consuming, often taking more than a year, especially when verifying data variability with time-domain simulations. This makes the entire design flow impractical and challenging.
Advancing TRNG Verification with Solido Simulation Suite
Microsoft and Siemens EDA collaborated to address TRNG verification challenges using the Solido Simulation Suite. This comprehensive solution combines Analog FastSPICE (AFS) and Symphony to deliver precise simulation and advanced analysis capabilities. For post-processing analysis, Solido Waveform Analyzer performs efficient noise modeling to validate TRNG randomness.
Join Microsoft & Siemens EDA at DAC 2025
DAC 2025 has chosen our TRNG verification methodology paper for the IP Engineering track. We invite you to attend our session, where we will go through the details of our cutting-edge methodology, present compelling results, and showcase how we leveraged the capabilities of Solido Simulation Suite to overcome TRNG verification challenges.
Don’t miss this opportunity to gain valuable insights and stay ahead of the curve in the dynamic field of IP engineering. See you at DAC 2025!
To learn more about Solido Simulation Suite, visit: https://eda.sw.siemens.com/en-US/ic/solido/simulationsuite/
To learn more about Design Automation Conference (DAC) 2025, visit: https://www.dac.com/
