Nanostructured Composite Sensors for Multiscale RE Detection and Identification

Billions of dollars have been invested by the United State to acquire the most technologically advanced military hardware in history, and, thereby provide battlefield advantages to military personnel. Protection of our sophisticated weapons systems and their components is critical for the continued maintenance of our technological advantages. Detecting and counteracting the newest methods of reverse engineering is vital to the protection of U.S. technology from compromise. Implementing software countermeasures alone is insufficient, especially when protecting and authenticating multiple components at the system level. Sensors covertly applied to individual components provide a solution. The focus of Phase I of this project was to develop a materials based sensor to detect, respond to, and provide a unique signature of reverse engineering attempts through circuitry monitoring. Phase II of this project shall further develop the design of the nanoengineered sensor to detect interrogation attempts though changes in capacitance and fluorescence, generate local voltages, and provide a unique, covert, and physically unclonable signature. Phase II includes the investigation of the sensor"s ability to classify attacks and the optimization of system performance. At the conclusion of Phase II, a prototype will be demonstrated and delivered to the government.