A self-timed arithmetic unit for elliptic curve cryptography

Abstract

This paper describes an efficient implementation of a crypto arithmetic unit, which computes the modular-operations of addition, multiplication, and inversion in prime fields. These calculations are important for an application in elliptic curve cryptography (ECC). The hardware is designed in a self-timed and low-power approach. The paper discusses the pros and cons of this approach compared to a synchronous implementation.