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Optical quantum random number generator based on parity of the number of photons detected in equal time intervals

Qiurong Yan, Baosheng Zhao, Hua Zhang, Qinghong Liao, Ming-Jun Chen

Published Jun 1, 2015• 0 citations
OpenAlex

Abstract

An optical quantum random number generator based on parity of the number of photons detected in the equal time intervals was proposed. Light emitted from a continuous wave laser diode is attenuated into discrete single-photon sequence. The single photon is detected by a single-photon avalanche photodiode module. Random bit is extracted by measuring the parity of number of photons detected in equal time interval. The random bit extraction circuit based on field programmable gate array was developed. The influences of the size of time interval and the performance parameters of single photon module on performance of the designed random number generator were analyzed. In order to achieve a random bit generator with small deviation and fast generation rate, a method of setting time interval automatically according to average counting rate was proposed. A random bit generation rate of 2 Mbit/s was obtained when the designed random number generator works on a counting rate of 20 Mcps and the equal time interval is set as 0.5 μs. The random bit sequences were tested by random number test program ENT and STS. The test results show that the generated random bit sequences fully meet the standards of true random numbers, and do not require post-processin ©, 2015, Chinese Optical Society. All right reserved.

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An optical quantum random number generator based on parity of the number of photons detected in the equal time intervals was proposed. Light emitted from a continuous wave laser diode is attenuated into discrete single-photon sequence. The single photon is detected by a single-photon avalanche photodiode module. Random bit is extracted by measuring the parity of number of photons detected in equal time interval. The random bit extraction circuit based on field programmable gate array was developed. The influences of the size of time interval and the performance parameters of single photon module on performance of the designed random number generator were analyzed. In order to achieve a random bit generator with small deviation and fast generation rate, a method of setting time interval automatically according to average counting rate was proposed. A random bit generation rate of 2 Mbit/s was obtained when the designed random number generator works on a counting rate of 20 Mcps and the equal time interval is set as 0.5 μs. The random bit sequences were tested by random number test program ENT and STS. The test results show that the generated random bit sequences fully meet the standards of true random numbers, and do not require post-processin ©, 2015, Chinese Optical Society. All right reserved.
This paper proposes and demonstrates an optical quantum random number generator based on distribution of single photon pulse amplitude of a photomultiplier tube. The light emitted from ultraviolet LED is attenuated into discrete single photon sequence. After these photons are detected by the photomultiplier tube, the single-photon pulses with random distribution are output. Digital values of peaks of these single-photon pulses are used as the entropy sources of random number generation. In order to reduce the bias of the raw extracted random number, the SHA-256 post processing method based on FPGA is proposed and implemented. When our designed quantum random number generator works at a counting rate of 500 kc/s, 7 random bits can be extracted on average per detected photon, and a random number generation rate of 3.5 Mbit/s is obtained. The random bit sequences are tested by random number test programs ENT and STS. The test results show that the generated random bit sequences fully meet the standards of true random numbers. ©, 2015, Board of Optronics Lasers. All right reserved.
This paper proposes and demonstrates an optical quantum random number generator based on distribution of single photon pulse amplitude of a photomultiplier tube.The light emitted from ultraviolet LED is attenuated into discrete single photon sequence.After these photons are detected by the photomultiplier tube,the single-photon pulses with random distribution are output.Digital values of peaks of these single-photon pulses are used as the entropy sources of random number generation.In order to reduce the bias of the raw extracted random number,the SHA-256 post processing method based on FPGA is proposed and implemented.When our designed quantum random number generator works at a counting rate of 500kc/s,7random bits can be extracted on average per detected photon,and a random number generation rate of 3.5Mbit/s is obtained.The random bit sequences are tested by random number test programs ENT and STS.The test results show that the generated random bit sequences fully meet the standards of true random numbers.
Quantum random number generators adopting single photon detection have been restricted due to the non-negligible dead time of avalanche photodiodes (APDs). We propose a new approach based on an APD array to improve the generation rate of random numbers significantly. This method compares the detectors' responses to consecutive optical pulses and generates the random sequence. We implement a demonstration experiment to show its simplicity, compactness and scalability. The generated numbers are proved to be unbiased, post-processing free, ready to use, and their randomness is verified by using the national institute of standard technology statistical test suite. The random bit generation efficiency is as high as 32.8% and the potential generation rate adopting the 32 × 32 APD array is up to tens of Gbits/s.
A quantum random generator based on photon detection is here presented. The system consists of a photon source, typically a commercial LED, coupled with a detector with single photon detection capability. The detector is composed of a Single-Photon Avalanche Diode (SPAD) and a time stamp circuit, which samples the arrival time of impinging photons within a predefined temporal window. The proposed implementation optimizes the area, allowing embedding all circuitry into a single pixel, and increases the efficiency of random bit extraction. Moreover, the adopted fast pre-charge mode of the SPAD quenching circuit reduces the afterpulsing probability, and hence possible undesirable correlation in the resulting random bit sequence. Thanks to the implemented random bit extraction, experimental results show that the pixel has a flat behavior for a significant range of light intensity, which makes the pixel robust against variations of external PVT parameters. The maximum achievable bit rate has been measured equal to 1 Mbps, while random sequences are shown to pass NIST tests without any post-processing.
Experimental demonstration of a quantum random number generator based on one single-photon avalanche diode (SPAD) detector, a T / ( T − t ) pulse-shaped laser, and an field-programmable gate array (FPGA) acquisition module is presented. An integrated laser driver drives an external laser diode at 670 nm wavelength, whereas the SPAD with a photon detection probability of 18.5% is integrated together with an active quenching-resetting circuit. The SPAD detector generates counts for the interarrival time (IAT) measurement system implemented in an FPGA, where the change of the IATs between consecutive pulses is used to derive a random bit stream. It is shown how the application of a pulse-shaped laser driver can increase the performance of the system as compared to the continuous-wave operation of the laser diode to achieve the maximum generation rate of 5 Mbps while using a single SPAD. The generated numbers pass all randomness tests of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), Dieharder, and ENT test (pseudorandom number sequence test) suits.
We report upon the realization of a novel multi-bit optical quantum random number generator by continuously measuring the arrival positions of photon emitted from a LED using MCP-based WSA photon counting imaging detector. A spatial encoding method is proposed to extract multi-bits random number from the position coordinates of each detected photon. The randomness of bits sequence relies on the intrinsic randomness of the quantum physical processes of photonic emission and subsequent photoelectric conversion. A prototype has been built and the random bit generation rate could reach 8 Mbit/s, with random bit generation efficiency of 16 bits per detected photon. FPGA implementation of Huffman coding is proposed to reduce the bias of raw extracted random bits. The random numbers passed all tests for physical random number generator.