Patent ID: 8532947

Claim:
A method of identifying an integrated circuit comprising: producing an electromagnetic field using an electrically conductive network of the integrated circuit by passing a transient electrical signal through the electrically conductive network, with the transient electrical signal comprising at least one of a transient current and a transient voltage, and with said electrically conductive network comprising at least one pair of electric circuits; storing, in a non-volatile memory of said integrated circuit, a value of a digital word forming an identification code for the integrated circuit, with the bit of the digital word being associated with at least one of the pair of electric circuits, the characteristics of transient electrical signal being based upon on the value of the digital word and a direction of flow of the transient currents in at least one of the pair of electric circuits; producing two transient currents having directions based upon the value of the bit using the pair of electric circuits; and analyzing a magnetic field produced above and between each of the pair of circuits to determine the identification code to thereby identify the integrated circuit.