Monolithic Cryptographic Sensor

Description: This chip, fabricated in X‑FAB 180 nm CMOS, demonstrates a proof‑of‑concept hardware approach for sensor‑level data provenance technology. The core idea is to cryptographically sign sensor data at the exact moment it is generated, directly within the chip. By tightly binding the signal to a hardware‑generated signature and timestamp, any subsequent manipulation of the data becomes detectable.

In this prototype, the concept is implemented and validated using a voltage sensor optimized for biomedical applications. The underlying architecture, however, is sensor‑agnostic and transferable to other domains. The same approach can be adopted for CMOS image sensors, microphones, and a wide range of physical sensors. When integrated into cameras or recording devices, this technology could facilitate the distinction between genuine sensor data, such as legitimate photos, videos, or audio recordings, and manipulated or AI‑generated deepfakes. 

Design Team: ETH Zurich 

Publications: Cardes, F., Bürgel, S., Yuan, X. et al. In-sensor cryptographic signature generation to link a physical process and an immutable digital entity. Nat Electron (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41928-026-01593-5