Low power hardware providing high power encryption
The product, called the AES IP module, is designed for minimum area and low power. The circuit architecture can be customized to provide different versions tailored to the needs of the application without compromising the security provided. Its external interface can also be adapted according to user needs so that it can be incorporated into the customers' integrated circuit designs. The new hardware module provides encryption and decryption using the Advanced Encryption Standard (AES), a set of security algorithms approved by the US National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and also known as the Rijndael algorithm. By providing this encryption module in hardware rather than software greater speeds and higher energy efficiency can be achieved. The module provides for symmetric encryption, meaning that both encryption and decryption are carried out using the same key. The module is delivered with hardware description, set of supported functions, testing strategy and a unit for setting up the AES key. It is therefore of great interest to companies such as silicon system integrators.
