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International Conference on Transparent Optical Networks

Experimental Study of Quantum Random Number Generation Using Polarization Switching in Gain-Switched VCSELs

Iván Rivero, Marcos Valle-Miñón, Ana Quirce, Angel Valle A

Published Jul 2, 2023• 0 citations
Publisher

Abstract

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.

DOI
10.1109/icton59386.2023.10207401

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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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In this paper, we report an experimental and theoretical study of the random excitation of the linearly polarized modes of a gain-switched VCSEL characterized by having polarization switching under continuous wave operation. We show that equal probability of excitation of both linearly polarized modes can be achieved by adjusting the modulation conditions and the sampling time. Our VCSEL is such that the bistable region associated to the polarization switching is very narrow, indicating that the random process of excitation of the polarizations works independently of the existence of those bistable regions. A characterization of the random polarization switching is performed by analyzing the dependence of the probability of excitation, autocorrelation, and histograms of both polarized signals on the modulation conditions and sampling times. We finally present preliminar results on random number generation using the analyzed system.
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 to monitor the device behaviour 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 on the sampling time chosen to obtain the random bit and on 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.
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.
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.