International Business Machines Corporation

Apple Inc.

International Business Corporation

David Clifford Long

Mark J LaPlante

James A Busby

Michael J Fisher

Thomas Weiss

William Louis Brodsky

John Richard Dangler

William Santiago-Fernandez

Michael T Peets

James G Balz

John Ulrich Knickerbocker

Jon Alfred Casey

Silvio Dragone

Arthur J Higby

Keith C O'Neil

Glenn A Pomerantz

Phillip Duane Isaacs

Brenda Lee Peterson

Edward N Cohen

Robert L Weiss

Benjamin V Fasano

David L Edwards

James N Humenik

Mark William Kapfhammer

Stefano Sergio Oggioni

Joshua Monroe Cobb

Kevin M Prettyman

Harvey Charles Hamel

Matthew Stephen Doyle

Russell Alan Budd

Raschid Jose Bezama

Charles Hampton Perry

Lester W Herron

Uldis Artis Ziemins

Harsaran S Bhatia

Thomas J Fleischman

Robert Anthony Rita

Donald Rene Wall

Richard Francis Indyk

David B Goland

Roger Scott Krabbenhoft

Gregory M Johnson

Robert P Westerfield, Jr

Mukta G Farooq

Michael A Gaynes

John G Torok

Krishna Gandhi Sachdev

Thomas Anthony Wassick

Krishna Seshan

Sudipta Kumar Ray

Krystyna Waleria Semkow

Frank Louis Pompeo

Subhash Laxman Shinde

Brian Richard Sundlof

Harry David Cox

Dinesh Gupta

Jason Lee Frankel

Thong N Nguyen

Jawahar P Nayak

Levi A Campbell

Kenneth Parker Rodbell

Laertis Economikos

Govindarajan Natarajan

Prabjit Singh

Sushumna Iruvanti

Noah B Singer

Patrick Anthony Coico

Arthur Gilman Merryman

Donald Merte

Michael Berger

Gerald Keith Bartley

David Carroll Challener

Darryl John Becker

Mark Kenneth Hoffmeyer

David L Questad

Jeffrey Allen Zitz

Vijayeshwar Das Khanna

Bruce John Chamberlin

Matteo Cocchini

Mark James Jeanson

Mario John Interrante

James Marc Leas

John Saunders Corbin, Jr

Scott Marshall Mansfield

Peter Jeffrey Brofman

Thomas Edward Lombardi

Rao Venkateswara Vallabhaneni

Glenn Graham Daves

Kenneth Charles Marston

Arunava Gupta

Carl R Peterson

Luc Gilbert Guerin

Paul F Bodenweber

Virendra R Jadhav

Ryan Elsasser

Yuet-Ying Yu

Ajay Prabhakar Giri

Michael J Domitrovits

Robin A Susko

John Blake Pavelka

A structure of a circuitry substrate for securing an area from tampering is disclosed. The structure includes a circuitry substrate with at least one of a top tamper enclosure and a bottom tamper enclosure covering a component in a protected area of the circuitry substrate. The top and bottom tamper enclosures are adhesively bonded to a surface of the circuitry substrate, and a tear initiation site is added to a side of the perimeter of circuitry substrate bordering the protected area that includes at least one tamper enclosure, such that the tear initiation site is located and configured to enable propagation of a delamination of at least one internal layer of the circuitry substrate and a severing of a security circuit when a removal force is applied to the at least one of the top tamper enclosure and the bottom tamper enclosure.

Tearing security feature of printed circuit substrates

An electronic component includes a first trace configured to transmit a first signal and a second trace configured to transmit a second signal. The electronic component further includes a layer of conductive material separated from the first and second traces by a layer of insulative material. The electronic component further includes a first vertical wall formed in direct contact with the layer of conductive material. The electronic component further includes a second vertical wall formed in direct contact with the layer of conductive material. The second vertical wall is separated from the first vertical wall by a void, and the void extends between the first trace and the second trace.

Electronic component comprising first and second conductive traces and a void formed in an insulative layer between the first and second traces providing crosstalk reduction

Aspects include a cryptographic hardware security module having a secure embedded heat pipe and methods for assembling the same. The cryptographic hardware security module can include a printed circuit board having one or more components. The cryptographic hardware security module can further include an encapsulation structure having a top can and a bottom can. The top can is fixed to a first surface of the printed circuit board and the bottom can is fixed to second surface of the printed circuit board opposite the first surface. A heat pipe is positioned between the top can and the component. The heat pipe includes two or more 180-degree bends. A portion of the heat pipe extends beyond a secure region of the encapsulation structure.

Cryptographic hardware security module with secure embedded heat pipe

A tamper detection system may include organic material and a tamper detection circuit embedded in the organic material. A portion of the organic material is ablated away to form an incision in the organic material. A portion of the tamper detection circuit obstructs a fragment of the ablation path. The tamper detection circuit remains intact. The incision enables a gas flow between a first side of the organic material and a second side of the organic material.

Secure ventilation through protective flexible sensors

Tamper-respondent assemblies are provided which include an enclosure mounted to a circuit board and enclosing one or more components to be protected within a secure volume. A tamper-respondent sensor covers, at least in part, an inner surface of the enclosure, and includes at least one tamper-detect circuit. A monitor circuit is disposed within the secure volume to monitor the tamper-detect circuit(s) for a tamper event. A pressure connector assembly is also disposed within the secure volume, between the tamper-respondent sensor and the circuit board. The pressure connector assembly includes a conductive pressure connector electrically connecting, at least in part, the monitor circuit and the tamper-detect circuit(s) of the tamper-respondent assembly, and a spring-biasing mechanism to facilitate breaking electrical connection of the conductive pressure connector to the tamper-detect circuit(s) with a tamper event.

Tamper-respondent assemblies with pressure connector assemblies

An electronic system can be used to monitor temperature. The electronic system can include a characterized dielectric located adjacent to a plurality of heat-producing electronic devices. The electronic system can also include a leakage measurement circuit that is electrically connected to the characterized dielectric. The leakage measurement circuit can be configured to measure current leakage through the characterized dielectric. The leakage measurement circuit can also be configured to convert a leakage current measurement into a corresponding output voltage. A response device, electrically connected to the leakage measurement circuit can be configured to, in response to the output voltage exceeding a voltage threshold corresponding to a known temperature, initiate a response action.

Leakage characterization for electronic circuit temperature monitoring

An electronic system can include an electronic module and a trace circuit that provides a perimeter that encloses the electronic module. A sensing circuit within the electronic system can be configured to detect a discontinuity in the perimeter. In response to detecting the discontinuity in the perimeter, the sensing circuit can initiate, from a response device, a response signal.

Leakage characterization and management for electronic circuit enhancement

A uniform thickness flex circuit is taught that uses more than one dielectric layer. A first dielectric layer is more flexible and capable of reliably bending at a radius of curvature at which a second dielectric layer cannot be reliably bent. The second dielectric layer has at least one more desirable electrical characteristic than the first dielectric area, for example leakage. Use of the uniform thickness flex circuit to protect sensitive material in an electronic enclosure is also described.

Dielectric material change to optimize electrical and mechanical properties of flex circuit

Tamper-respondent assemblies and methods of fabrication are provided which include at least one tamper-respondent sensor and a detector. The at least one tamper-respondent sensor includes conductive lines which form, at least in part, at least one tamper-detect network of the tamper-respondent sensor(s). In addition, the tamper-respondent sensor(s) includes at least one interconnect element associated with one or more conductive lines of the conductive lines forming, at least in part, the tamper-detect network(s). The interconnect element(s) includes at least one interconnect characteristic selected to facilitate obscuring a circuit lay of the at least one tamper-detect network. The at least one interconnect element is undetectable by x-ray, and the conductive lines are detectable by x-ray. In operation, the detector monitors the tamper-detect network(s) of the tamper-respondent sensor(s) for a tamper event.

Tamper-respondent assembly with interconnect characteristic(s) obscuring circuit layout

Tamper-respondent assemblies and fabrication methods are provided which utilize liquid crystal polymer layers in solid form. The tamper-respondent assemblies include a circuit board, and an enclosure assembly mounted to the circuit board to enclose one or more electronic components coupled to the circuit board within a secure volume. The assembly includes a tamper-respondent sensor that is a three-dimensional multilayer sensor structure, which includes multiple liquid crystal polymer layers, and at least one tamper-detect circuit. The at least one tamper-detect circuit includes one or more circuit lines in a tamper-detect pattern disposed on at least one liquid crystal polymer layer of the multiple liquid crystal polymer layers. Further, a monitor circuit is provided disposed within the secure volume to monitor the at least one tamper-detect circuit of the tamper-respondent sensor for a tamper event.

Tamper-respondent sensors with liquid crystal polymer layers

Tamper-respondent assemblies and fabrication methods are provided which incorporate enclosure-to-circuit board protection. The tamper-respondent assemblies include a circuit board, and an enclosure mounted to the circuit board along an enclosure-to-board interface. The enclosure facilitates enclosing at least one electronic component coupled to the circuit board within a secure volume. A tamper-respondent electronic circuit structure facilitates defining the secure volume, and includes one or more tamper-detect circuits including at least one conductive trace disposed, at least in part, within the enclosure-to-board interface. The conductive trace(s) includes stress rise regions to facilitate tamper-detection at the enclosure-to-board interface. An adhesive is provided to secure the enclosure to the circuit board. The adhesive contacts, at least in part, the conductive trace(s) of the tamper-detect circuit(s) at the enclosure-to-board interface, including at the stress rise regions of the conductive trace(s).

Enclosure-to-board interface with tamper-detect circuit(s)

Embodiments of the invention are directed to a method for creating a secure volume. A method includes adhering a flexible circuit to a surface of an enclosure. A first portion of the flexible circuit extends outward from the perimeter of the enclosure. A second portion of the flexible circuit is adhered to the center portion of the enclosure. Pressure is applied to the flexible circuit to ensure that it is affixed to the enclosure. The flexible circuit and the enclosure are then subjected to an annealing temperature. The duration and temperature are based on the adhesive and flexible circuit material. The extended portion of the flexible circuit is coated with an adhesive and folded over the second portion of the flexible circuit. Pressure is applied to the folded flexible circuit. The folded flexible circuit is then subjected to an annealing temperature.

Creating a secure volume

The present invention relates to a method to fabricate a tamper respondent assembly. The tamper respondent assembly includes an electronic component and an enclosure fully enclosing the electronic component. The method includes printing, by a 3-dimensional printer, a printed circuit board that forms a bottom part of the enclosure and includes a first set of embedded detection lines for detecting tampering events and signal lines for transferring signals between the electronic component and an external device. The electronic component is assembled on the printed circuit board, and a cover part of the enclosure is printed on the printed circuit board. The cover part includes a second set of embedded detection lines. Sensing circuitry can be provided for sensing the conductance of the first set of embedded detection lines and the second set of embedded detection lines to detect tampering events.

Enclosure with tamper respondent sensor

A battery pack is provided which includes an enclosure. The enclosure includes a battery cell compartment and a vent. The battery cell compartment is a sealed compartment, except for the vent, and the vent facilitates pressure-induced venting of gas from the battery cell compartment. One or more battery cells are disposed within the battery cell compartment, and the battery pack also includes a filter system associated with the enclosure. The filter system filters the pressure-induced venting of gas from the battery cell compartment resulting from a thermal runaway event at a battery cell of the one or more battery cells within the battery cell compartment of the enclosure.

Pressure-induced battery pack venting with filtering

A process for deforming a flex circuit using a fixture assembly including a base plate having a recess, a wrinkle reducer plate, a stiffening block and a punch. The process including heating the fixture assembly; applying a force to the punch deforming the flex circuit into the recess in the base plate; holding the punch in contact with the flex circuit while heating the fixture assembly; cooling the fixture assembly with the punch in contact with the flex circuit; subsequent to cooling the fixture assembly, removing the force of the punch; and removing the flex circuit from the fixture assembly. The flex circuit having a recessed portion resulting from deforming the flex circuit into the recess in the base plate and a flat portion surrounding the recessed portion.

3-D flex circuit forming

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Wappingers Falls, NY, United States of America

David Clifford Long