Planar ultra thin glass seals with optical fiber interface for monitoring tamper attacks on security eminent components

•A new optical seal for temper detection of unauthorized access for security relevant electronics is proposed.•The seal consists of optical sensory waveguide structures in ultra thin glass, which can be read out via fiber optics.•Femtosecond laser pulses were used for generation of integrated optics and optical signature in ultra thin glass transparencies.

Optical seals consisting of waveguide Bragg grating sensor structures in ultra thin glass transparencies have been developed to cover security relevant objects for detection of unauthorized access. For generation of optical signature in the seals, femtosecond laser pulses were used. The optical seals were connected with an optical fiber to enable external read out of the seal. Different attack scenarios for getting undetected access to the object, covered by the seal, were proven and evaluated. The results presented here, verify a very high level of security. An unauthorized detaching and subsequent replacement by original or copy of the seals for tampering would be accompanied with a very high technological effort, posing a substantial barrier towards an attacker. Additionally, environmental influences like temperature effects have a strong but reproducible influence on signature, which in context of a temperature reference database increases the level of security significantly.