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Laser Physics Letters

Random number generation based on polarization mode noise of vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers

M-Y Zhu, Yijia Liu, Q. F. Yu, Hong Mei Guo

Published Aug 24, 2012• 7 citations
Publisher

Abstract

We propose an implementation of random number generation based on the measurement of polarization mode noise in vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers (VCSEL). By measuring the phase difference between two laser beams with perpendicular polarization directions, a 40 Gbps generation speed is achieved with a simple post-processing method. The random sequence we generated passes both the standard statistical test suites (Diehard and NIST-STS) and 3σ criterion. Our setup is compact and easy for implementation, and it also has a better efficiency in extracting randomness from VCSEL compared with existing methods.

DOI
10.7452/lapl.201210076

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We propose an implementation of random number generation based on the measurement of polarization mode noise in vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers (VCSEL). By measuring the phase difference between two laser beams with perpendicular polarization directions, a 40 Gbps generation speed is achieved with a simple post-processing method. The random sequence we generated passes both the standard statistical test suites (Diehard and NIST-STS) and 3σ criterion. Our setup is compact and easy for implementation, and it also has a better efficiency in extracting randomness from VCSEL compared with existing methods.
We experimentally study a quantum random number generator based on the random excitation of the linearly polarized modes of a gain-switched vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser (VCSEL). Our device is characterized by having polarization switching under continuous wave operation. By measuring the linear polarization mode that is excited in each pulse we collect a sufficient number of bits to evaluate if a standard statistical test suite is passed. We consider linear and Von Neumann post-processing methods in order to reduce the bias with different levels of bits rejection. The post-processed bit strings pass all tests in the standard test suite for random number generators provided by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). We finally compare the results obtained with different post-processing functions, including several [ n , k , d ] linear BCH codes. We show that large values of n and k are the best choice to obtain simultaneously improved throughput and randomness.
We have experimentally demonstrated that the random excitation of the linear orthogonal polarization modes of a gain-switched vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser (VCSEL) can be used for quantum random number generation. Our VCSEL presents polarization switching under continuous wave operation. Adjusting the modulation conditions and sampling times, both polarization modes of the VCSEL can be excited with equal probability. Random bits are obtained comparing the two orthogonal polarized signals at a sampling time. The random bits obtained pass some of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) statistical tests.
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Random numbers are essential in a great variety of applications ranging from stochastic simulations to secure communications. In this thesis, we report a technique for quantum random number generation based on the dynamics of light polarization in a vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser (VCSEL). We show that two linearly polarized modes with slightly different wavelengths and gains appear within the cavity of the VCSEL laser. Due to spontaneous emission noise, VCSELs undergo random polarization switching at certain bias currents. We experimentally analyze the probability of appearance of each mode as a function of the biasing conditions. By periodically modulating a VCSEL at the polarization switching region defined under continuous-wave operation, random digits can be generated directly from the output of the pulsed VCSEL at a much higher bit rate. The results presented in this research demonstrate the feasibility of generating random numbers at rates up to 100 Mbit/s using a commercial VCSEL.
We report a characterization of the polarization fluctuations observed when gain-switching vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers (VCSELs) for quantum random number generation (QRNG) applications. We compare our experimental measurements with the results obtained from a stochastic rate equations model that incorporates the intrinsic parameters of the VCSEL found using the state-of-the-art experimental techniques. The good agreement obtained between our experiments and simulations can be used to establish a validation process that permits monitoring of the device behavior to detect malicious intrusion or malfunctioning of the QRNG. Simulations of the model are used to look for parameters that maximize the QRNG performance. Along this direction we consider the performance when considering a VCSEL with vanishing values of the amplitude and phase anisotropies. We show that in this system the obtained raw bits have a low bias value that is independent of the sampling time chosen to obtain the random bit and of the parameters of the modulation. We also use the simulations of the model to predict the QRNG performance at high modulation frequencies. We show that random bits obtained at several Gbps rates, after appropriate post-processing, fully pass the NIST statistical test.