RING OSCILLATOR BASED DESIGN-FOR-TRUST

A ring oscillator (RO) based Design-For-Trust (DFTr) technique is described. Functional paths of integrated circuit (IC) are included in one or more embedded ROs by (1) selecting a path in the IC, based on path selection criteria, that has one or more unsecured gates, and (2) embedding one or more ROs on the IC until a stop condition is met. An input pattern to activate embedded RO is determined. Further, a golden frequency which is a frequency at which the embedded RO oscillates, and a frequency range of the embedded RO are determined. A Trojan in the IC may be detected by activating the embedded RO (by applying the input pattern), measuring a frequency at which the embedded RO oscillates, and determining whether or not a Trojan is present based on whether or not the measured frequency of the RO is within a predetermined operating frequency range of the RO.