Cryptography & Data Integrity

ML-KEM / Kyber CBD Noise Sampler

Bare-core centered-binomial noise sampler for post-quantum ML-KEM and ML-DSA secret/error vectors — bit-exact vs pq-crystals, ASIL-B DMR safety.

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ASIL-B

target

92.01%

SPFM

94.66%

LFM

Informational

FMEDA

13.6K

gates

1.0.0

version

Interfaces at a glance

Block diagram

Place-and-route snapshot

Physical implementation

ML-KEM / Kyber CBD Noise Sampler routed place-and-route layout on the Nangate45 PDK — A real synthesis and place-and-route pass on this RTL, routed on the open Nangate45 / FreePDK45 PDK — evidence the block closes physically, not just in simulation. Target-PDK timing, area, and power sign-off figures are shared under NDA.

The deliverable

What you’re licensing

Bare-core centered-binomial noise sampler for post-quantum ML-KEM and ML-DSA secret/error vectors — bit-exact vs pq-crystals, ASIL-B DMR safety. It is delivered as a licensable soft-IP block engineered as an ASIL-B Safety Element out of Context — not just RTL, but the complete functional-safety work package needed to carry it into an ISO 26262 program:

Synthesizable RTL

Portable, vendor-neutral SystemVerilog that drops onto your existing SoC fabric — no foundry or EDA-tool lock-in.

Per-IP FMEDA report

SPFM / LFM / PMHF computed against the ASIL target per ISO 26262-5 — the quantitative analysis your assessor asks for.

Safety manual

Assumptions of use, the safety mechanisms and their diagnostic coverage — written to drop straight into your safety case.

IP-XACT + integration docs

A machine-readable descriptor plus register and integration documentation for fast, low-risk bring-up.

Self-checking testbench

A self-checking testbench and a one-command build, so you can reproduce every claim on day one.

mlkem_cbd is the centered-binomial-distribution (CBD) noise sampler of post-quantum ML-KEM (Kyber, FIPS 203) and ML-DSA (Dilithium, FIPS 204), turning the pseudorandom byte stream produced by the PRF (SHAKE-256) into the small “noise” polynomials that hide Kyber’s secrets.

Key Features

Centered-binomial-distribution sampling for η ∈ {2, 3} (η₁/η₂ across the Kyber parameter sets): a = popcount(first η bits), b = popcount(next η bits), coefficient = a − b ∈ [−η, η], one coefficient per cycle (256 cycles/poly)
Bare compute core: no bus, no register file — direct PRF byte-buffer load and coefficient read-back plus an eta/start/busy/done handshake, meant to sit behind a host or orchestrator sequencer
Drop-in engine for mlkem_kem’s FIPS 203 KeyGen/Encaps/Decaps orchestrator: one of five shared compute engines behind a generic LOAD → RUN → READ phase sequencer, selected per noise term via cb_eta = ETA1/ETA2
Bit-exact against the pq-crystals golden model (tools/mlkem_cbd_gold.py, cross-checked vs cbd2/cbd3): both η=2 and η=3 match 256/256 sampled coefficients
Control-FSM duplicate-DMR (err_code 9) feeding a shared safety_monitor, with DFT fault-injection ports (fi_parity/fi_dmr) to prove the mechanisms — an ISO 26262 ASIL-B SEooC building block
Coefficient-RAM SECDED is a stated integrator Assumption of Use (wrap in ecc_sram, credited at its measured DC) — the real protection against a corrupted PRF byte stream, since the coeff-count parity line is DFT-only in this revision
FMEDA PASS at ASIL-B — SPFM 92.01%, LFM 94.66%, PMHF 2.99×10⁻⁸/h (informational Technology-Preview)

Standards & Compliance

FIPS 203 (ML-KEM/Kyber) and FIPS 204 (ML-DSA/Dilithium) noise sampling, pq-crystals reference algorithms; ISO 26262 ASIL-B SEooC (SPFM 92.01%, LFM 94.66%, PMHF 2.99×10⁻⁸/h, informational Technology-Preview)

Functional Safety

ASIL-B target (SEooC) · SPFM 92.01% · LFM 94.66% · Informational — not gated

Informational FMEDA — this IP is reported but NOT gated. The SPFM/LFM figures above are engineering estimates from a model that is not held to the ASIL metric gates (QM, safety-by-composition, a vendor-core overlay, or a pre-sign-off Technology Preview, depending on the IP). They are not a certification claim and must not be relied on as one. See the safety manual for this IP’s exact status, assumptions of use, and any open items.

ISO 26262:2018 · FMEDA available · Safety Manual included

Register Map

See datasheet for full register reference.

Getting Started

// Minimal instantiation
mlkem_cbd #(
 .ADDR_W(6)
) u_mlkem_cbd (
 .clk (clk),
 .rst_n (rst_n),
 // APB4
 .p_paddr (paddr),
 .p_psel (psel),
 .p_penable (penable),
 .p_pwrite (pwrite),
 .p_pwdata (pwdata),
 .p_prdata (prdata),
 .p_pready (pready),
 // Safety
 .err_clear (1'b0),
 .err_valid (err_valid),
 .err_code (err_code)
);

Configure via the CTRL register after reset to enable the IP and set operating parameters. Monitor err_valid / err_code for any safety faults reported by the built-in safety monitor.

Applications

Where it fits

Typically deployed in secure boot, firmware authentication, key storage, and confidential on-board communication.

The case

Why license it, not build it

Skip 12–18 months

The FMEDA and the safety case are already generated. You integrate a finished safety element — you don’t stand up a safety-IP program to originate one.

One vendor, one safety story

Every block in the catalog shares the same safety architecture, fault-reaction model, and FMEDA methodology — so subsystems roll up cleanly.

Verified, not vapor

The RTL builds and passes today; the safety metrics come from analysis and fault injection against real RTL, not a datasheet promise.

Interested in ML-KEM / Kyber CBD Noise Sampler?

Pricing, the per-IP FMEDA, safety manual, and RTL data room are shared under a mutual NDA.

Talk to us →See related IP

Figures are pre-silicon engineering-grade estimates for a Safety Element out of Context (SEooC); final ASIL sign-off is the integrator’s, supported under NDA. FMEDA and Safety Manual available under NDA.

circuit-design.space · +1-971-357-1400 · anovickis@circuit-design.space