Two new SHA-3 IP cores optimize performance, resources

Article By : Majeed Ahmad

The resource-optimized compact version requires less than 1,000 LUTs while performance-optimized version achieves a throughput of 40+ Gbps in high-end FPGAs.

Two new IP cores for secure hash algorithm 3 (SHA-3) standard feature more versatile algorithm support. That encompasses support for all four variants of SHA-3 hashing algorithms—224, 256, 384, and 512 bits—as well as for SHAKE and cSHAKE versions and the derivatives KMAC, TupleHash, and ParallelHash.

These two SHA-3 IPs unveiled by Xiphera have an identical pin-out, which means that either one of the IP cores can be instantiated without affecting the rest of the design, including software drivers. The resource-optimized compact version XIP3030C requires less than one thousand lookup tables (LUTs) in a typical implementation. Next, the performance-optimized version XIP3030H achieves a throughput of 40+ Gbps in high-end FPGAs.

The identical pin-out of the two new SHA-3 IP cores allows for trade-offs where a compact solution with XIP3030C can be easily changed to XIP3030H that offers very high hashing speeds if a need emerges. One likely application could be the soon-to-be-launched post-quantum cryptography (PQC) algorithms, which internally use different variants of SHA-3.

Source: Xiphera

Hashing, one of the fundamental operations in cryptography, can be defined as a one-way function where an input message of arbitrary size—for instance, a file, a password, or the hash of a previous message— is mapped to a fixed-size output known as hash. Hash functions are commonly used in a variety of applications, spanning from verifying the integrity of messages and files to generating and verifying digital signatures to verifying passwords in blockchain technology.

Hash functions are also used in cryptographic primitives such as pseudorandom number generators (PRNGs) and message authentication codes (MACs). For hash standards, SHA-2 and SHA-3 algorithm families are considered highly secure and are used in numerous cryptographic applications today. Here, it’s worth noting that SHA-3 is significantly faster in hardware than SHA-2.

 

This article was originally published on EDN.

Majeed Ahmad, Editor-in-Chief of EDN and Planet Analog, has covered the electronics design industry for more than two decades.

 

Virtual Event - PowerUP Asia 2024 is coming (May 21-23, 2024)

Power Semiconductor Innovations Toward Green Goals, Decarbonization and Sustainability

Day 1: GaN and SiC Semiconductors

Day 2: Power Semiconductors in Low- and High-Power Applications

Day 3: Power Semiconductor Packaging Technologies and Renewable Energy

Register to watch 30+ conference speeches and visit booths, download technical whitepapers.

Leave a comment