2026-06-09 –, Poster Island B
The emergence of quantum computers threatens traditional cryptographic schemes, requiring the development of post-quantum algorithms. In this paper, we study the performance of the Hamming Quasi-Cyclic (HQC) scheme, the new Key Encapsulation Method (KEM) ratified by NIST in March 2025. We analyze different implementation approaches for the Sargantana RV64GBV core using the standard RISC-V bit-manipulation (B) and vector (V) extensions. We compare reference implementations against auto-vectorized code and then provide an overview of how to analyze and profile these implementations using RAVE.
This study analyzes the performance characteristics of the HQC post-quantum Key Encapsulation Mechanism on a RISC-V RV64 processor with vector extensions. Multiple polynomial multiplication kernel implementations used in HQC on the Sargantana RV64GBV core are evaluated. Auto-vectorization and cycle-accurate hardware simulation enable comparison of scalar and vectorized implementations across various HQC security levels. Furthermore, the RAVE emulator framework profiles vector execution to identify key performance bottlenecks.
