Core Processes of Printer Chip Reverse Engineering---Gate-level Netlist Reconstruction

Core Processes of Printer Chip Reverse Engineering---Gate-level Netlist Reconstruction

Toner chip reverse engineering is a technology that strips the chip materials layer by layer through chemical methods and analyzes the internal structure of the chip using a scanning electron microscope (SEM). 

Attackers can infer the chip's functions and design code by extracting the circuit layout and gate - level netlist. This method is usually used to crack the design logic of the chip.

It is essentially a technology that reverse - deduces the printer chip design logic through physical deconstruction + micro - analysis, with a dual nature of “technical research” and “security risks”. 

This series article will help you understand this technology more comprehensively from four dimensions: core processes, key objectives, application scenarios (legal vs illegal), and protection methods:

Core Processes of Printer Chip Reverse Engineering (from “disassembly” to “deduction”)

The “chemical stripping + SEM analysis” is the core step of physical deconstruction, but a complete reverse requires the cooperation of multiple links. It can be divided into 5 steps specifically:

Gate - level Netlist Reconstruction

The “gate - level netlist” is the core intermediate file of chip design (similar to the “skeleton of the circuit”), recording the types, quantities, and connection methods of all logic gates (AND gates, OR gates, NOT gates, etc.).

During the reverse process, it is necessary to map the physical structure (such as the unit composed of transistors) to logic gates according to the extracted circuit layout, and finally generate a gate - level netlist similar to the original design.

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