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Scientific Reports

A simple high-speed random number generator with minimal post-processing using a random Raman fiber laser

Frédéric Monet, Jean-Sébastien Boisvert, Raman Kashyap

Published Jun 23, 2021• 37 citations
Publisher

Abstract

A simple novel method for random number generation is presented, based on a random Raman fiber laser. This laser is built in a half-open cavity scheme, closed on one side by a narrow-linewidth 100 mm fiber Bragg grating. The interaction between the randomly excited lasing modes of this laser, in addition to nonlinear effects such as modulation instability, allow the generation of random bits at rates of up to 540 Gbps with minimal post processing. Evaluation of the resulting bit streams' randomness by the NIST statistical test suite highlights the importance of evaluating the physical entropy content, as bit sequences generated by this random laser pass all the statistical tests with a significance level of 0.01, despite being generated at more than twice the theoretical entropy generation speed.

DOI
10.1038/s41598-021-92668-0

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A simple novel method for random number generation is presented, based on a random Raman fiber laser. This laser is built in a half-open cavity scheme, closed on one side by a narrow-linewidth 100 mm fiber Bragg grating. The interaction between the randomly excited lasing modes of this laser, in addition to nonlinear effects such as modulation instability, allow the generation of random bits at rates of up to 540 Gbps with minimal post processing. Evaluation of the resulting bit streams' randomness by the NIST statistical test suite highlights the importance of evaluating the physical entropy content, as bit sequences generated by this random laser pass all the statistical tests with a significance level of 0.01, despite being generated at more than twice the theoretical entropy generation speed.
True random numbers are essential for cryptography and secure communications. Algorithmically generated pseudo-random numbers lack true physical randomness, while conventional lasers as physical entropy sources introduce time-delay signatures (TDS) and require complex post processing. To address this challenge, this study presents a high speed, real-time true random bit generator utilizing a modeless Raman fiber laser (RFL). A modeless RFL was constructed using an ultra-low reflectivity (-27 dB) fiber Bragg grating (FBG) and a high-reflectivity FBG serving as cavity mirrors. The laser delivers stable modeless Raman lasing within the pump power range of 5 W to 10 W. Compared with multilongitudinal-mode operation, the modeless laser exhibits significantly lower temporal coherence. By truncating the four least significant bits of the 8-bit digitized temporal intensity signal from the modeless RFL, random bit sequences were generated at a rate of 320 Gbps. The resulting random bit stream shows a uniform distribution of bits 0 and 1, its autocorrelation function contains no TDS, and it successfully passes the NIST statistical test. In contrast, the same generation method fails to produce qualified random bits when applied to the Raman fiber laser operating in the multilongitudinal-mode regime. The demonstrated modeless RFL system combines real-time operation, high speed, and stability, offering a robust physical entropy source for cryptographic and secure communication applications.
We investigate the generation of random numbers via the quantum process of spontaneous Raman scattering. Spontaneous Raman photons are produced by illuminating a highly nonlinear chalcogenide glass (As2S3) fiber with a CW laser at a power well below the stimulated Raman threshold. Single Raman photons are collected and separated into two discrete wavelength detuning bins of equal scattering probability. The sequence of photon detection clicks is converted into a random bit stream. Postprocessing is applied to remove detector bias, resulting in a final bit rate of ∼650 kb/s. The collected random bit-sequences pass the NIST statistical test suite for one hundred 1 Mb samples, with the significance level set to α=0.01. The fiber is stable, robust and the high nonlinearity (compared to silica) allows for a short fiber length and low pump power favourable for real world application.
We demonstrate for the first time, to the best of our knowledge, a high-speed physical random bit generator at gigabits/second without the time-delay signature based on chaotic power fluctuations of a random fiber laser. The random fiber laser is configured using a ring structure with semiconductor optical amplifiers as the optical gain and a fiber random grating as the random feedback medium. The long-length ring cavity provides a large number of densely spaced cavity modes that co-exist within the gain bandwidth tailored by the optical filter. Unlike fixed cavity modes in conventional fiber ring lasers, these modes are less phase-correlated due to the random distributed feedback from the fiber random grating fabricated by a plane-by-plane inscription technique without phase control, leading to intensified lasing output fluctuations with high-dimensional chaotic dynamic natures without specific cavity features, when the random fiber laser is operated slightly above the lasing threshold. Random bit generation at a bit rate up to ∼1.6 Gbps is achieved with verified randomness through standard tests. Different from the previously reported schemes requiring offline post-processing procedures, this physical random number generator can function in real time, offering high-quality randomness and security assurance for pertinent applications.
True random numbers with high security originate from non-deterministic physical processes. Random laser with random feedback arising from multiple elastic scattering in a highly disordered structure is an ideal physical entropy source theoretically. In this work, a secure optical ultrafast random number generator based on random laser spectra was demonstrated. Unlike the usual method of recording laser intensity over time, the random laser spectrum under each pump pulse was recorded and converted into random numbers through post-processing. Approaches in three different dimensions—space, spectrum and time were used to increase the rate of random number generation. The randomness of resulting random bit streams was verified by the NIST statistics tests. Experimental results showed that an instantaneous bit rate of 810 terabits per second with off-line post-processing could be theoretically reached with an ideal experimental condition. This novel technique has big advantages in secure communications and promises to further increase the speed of random number generators to the lever of petabits per second or even higher.