Missions

The Hubert Curien laboratory in Saint-Etienne is participating in a French national project (PEPR ARSENE: https://www.pepr-cybersecurite.fr/projet/arsene/).
The aim of the ARSENE project is to contribute to the French research community's work on securing processors, securing their integration into system-on-chips, new security primitives, methodologies and tools for securing embedded software and secure operating system kernels. These new technologies will be implemented and demonstrated using dedicated ASIC components.
As part of this project, the Hubert Curien laboratory is helping to characterise and take into account the contribution of flicker noise in the generation of true random numbers, and to design online tests to measure this noise and distinguish it from the thermal noise.

Activités

- Study and modelling of flicker noise in ring oscillators.
- Extraction of flicker noise and study of its contribution to the entropy per bit of the generator.
- Analysis of the statistical properties of the numbers generated.
- Proposal of on-board tests dedicated to the proposed generators, based on their stochastic models and noise sources (thermal and/or flicker).

Compétences

- Analysis and stochastic modelling of existing implementations (FPGA/ASIC)
- Good knowledge of digital electronics and embedded systems.
- Skills in FPGA design tools (Intel, Xilinx or Microsemi) and simulation tools (Modelsim).
- Skills in data analysis tools (Python, R).
- Skills in english.

Contexte de travail

The SESAM team (Secure Embedded Systems and Hardware Architectures) of the Hubert Curien Laboratory (UMR CNRS 5516) is one of the French and European university leaders in the field of hardware security. It is internationally recognised for its work on random number generation in integrated circuits (ASIC and FPGA). It collaborates with many companies and university laboratories.
The SESAM team has been involved for more than 3 years in the European project HECTOR. The objective of this project was to develop cryptographic primitives, including random number generators (RNGs) and their integration into complete cryptographic systems. Several generators were implemented in reconfigurable circuits (FPGAs) and application-specific circuits (ASICs) and tested in evaluation boards specially designed for this type of testing.
The role of the SESAM team in this new project is to assess more precisely the impact of flicker noise in the generation of true random numbers. Use it to determine its contribution to the entropy of the generator, or measure it to distinguish it from thermal noise, whose contribution to entropy is known.
If you join the Hubert Curien Laboratory, we can offer you :
- A stimulating working environment in close contact with research staff
- 44 days' leave / RTT per year
- Excellent working conditions (flexible working hours, teleworking)
- Partial reimbursement of travel expenses (75%) + sustainable mobility package of up to €300/year
- A site accessible by public transport + private car park.

Le poste se situe dans un secteur relevant de la protection du potentiel scientifique et technique (PPST), et nécessite donc, conformément à la réglementation, que votre arrivée soit autorisée par l'autorité compétente du MESR.