The design of integrated circuits requires, at the end of the chain, circuit editing and failure analysis tools. One of these tools is the probing of electrical potential levels using an electron beam available in a SEM (Scanning Electron Microscope) to determine the electrical signal present in an area of the circuit, which may be a metal level or a transistor. This electronic probing technique was widely used in the 90s, and then partially abandoned despite a few recurrent publications on the technique. In recent years, this technique has been revived by using the backside of the component, probing via the silicon substrate and accessing the active areas of the component.
These debugging and failure analysis tools are also tools for attacking integrated circuits. This thesis topic falls within the scope of hardware cybersecurity and so-called invasive attacks. The PhD student will implement this electron beam probing technique on commercial SEMs and under conditions of use specific to cybersecurity. Various techniques will be considered to improve the probed signals and their use.