ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF SMALL CHIP COUNT DEVICE IN AN INFORMATION BARRIER

Year
2005
Author(s)
Morag Smith - Los Alamos National Laboratory
Robert P. Landry - Los Alarnos National Laboratory
Kate Frame - Los Alamos National Laboratory
Richard Williams - Los Alamos National Laboratory
Duncan W. MacArthur - Los Alamos National Laboratory
Abstract
An information barrier, or IB, acts as a barrier to the dissemination of classified information while allowing limited non-classified information to be displayed. In a measurement system incorporating an IB, classified information is acquired within the system and compared with predefined values. The only information allowed to cross the IB are the results of this comparison. Therefore, the measurement system used within an IB is subject to unique requirements in order to prevent the long-term storage and release of classified information. This paper will analyze the ramifications of various data acquisition and analysis hardware systems and examine the advantages and disadvantages of systems that use a reduced number of integrated circuits. A PC/104 format single board computer using a version of the Intel 80486 processor will be analyzed and compared to various programmable-logic devices (PLDs), field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), and single-chip microprocessors (such as the 8051, PSoC, and Z8). Venders of chips that are examined include Atmel, Cypress Semiconductors, Dallas Semiconductors, Philips, Xilinx, Zilog, and others.