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IET Quantum Communication

Stochastic performance analysis of a time‐of‐arrival quantum random number generator

Ágoston Schranz, Balázs Solymos, Miklós Telek

Published Dec 12, 2023• 8 citations
Publisher

Abstract

Abstract The performance analysis of a quantum random number generator (QRNG), operating based on the interarrival time differences between consecutive photon detections from a coherent light source, is presented. The proposed analysis approach accurately takes into account the physical properties of the single‐photon detection systems, such as discretised time measurement, the correlations induced by the asynchronous arrival of photons with respect to the time resolution grid, and the dead time after observations and provides the QRNG's relevant performance measures, such as the joint distribution of bits, lag‐ r correlations, the bit generation overhead and the bit generation time. Analysis results are verified by computer simulations.

DOI
10.1049/qtc2.12080

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Abstract The performance analysis of a quantum random number generator (QRNG), operating based on the interarrival time differences between consecutive photon detections from a coherent light source, is presented. The proposed analysis approach accurately takes into account the physical properties of the single‐photon detection systems, such as discretised time measurement, the correlations induced by the asynchronous arrival of photons with respect to the time resolution grid, and the dead time after observations and provides the QRNG's relevant performance measures, such as the joint distribution of bits, lag‐ r correlations, the bit generation overhead and the bit generation time. Analysis results are verified by computer simulations.
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Abstract A bit generation algorithm of a photon arrival times based quantum random number generator is proposed and investigated in terms of the quality of generated bits, bit generation efficiency and bit generation rate. The method's performance is analyzed mathematically, considering the properties of the physical equipment, such as discretized time measurement, inaccurate knowledge about the photon arrival rate and dead time. The proposed bit generation algorithm is also tested in a physical experiment.
A quantum random number generation method based on measuring the time differences between photon detections is analyzed mathematically in terms of bit generation efficiency and bit generation rate. It was found that these two values cannot be maximized simultaneously by altering the incident photon rate of a light source with Poisson statistics, but the generation rate can be increased at the expense of efficiency. Analytical results are presented for both an idealized and a practical case. The detector’s dead time has been taken into consideration in the latter case, implying that, for certain combinations of the dead time and the measurement clock period, the generation rate becomes a two-peaked function of the incident photon rate. The theoretical results are confirmed by simulations, showing excellent agreement between the two.
Quantum random number generators (QRNGs) are an integral part of quantum key distribution (QKD) systems. To better understand the inherent physical processes, we compare the random numbers generated by two separate schemes, one is based on entropy (arrival time of photons) and another with an additional source of entropy (space) i.e, path superposition of arrival time of photons from a weak coherent source on a gated InGaAs single photon detector. Both experiments yield bits that appear random. However, they satisfy different criteria of randomness. The weak coherent source has a Poissonian distribution and extracting the variation about the arrival time of photons on gated SPD yields a source of random numbers that pass most of the Dieharder Tests. With the inclusion of superposition, we obtain random numbers that pass all the Dieharder tests. The physical origins of the random numbers in the two experiments is different, one is single entropy source based and other one is two entropy source based, and this is reflected in the outcomes of the different tests for randomness.
Abstract In the case of quantum random number generators based on single photon arrivals, the physical properties of single-photon detectors, such as time-tagger clocks and dead time, influence the stochastic properties of the generated random numbers. This can lead to unwanted correlations among consecutive samples. We present a method based on extending the insensitive periods after photon detections. This method eliminates the unwanted stochastic effects at the cost of reduced generation speed. We calculate performance measures for our presented method and verify its correctness with computer simulations and measurements conducted on an experimental setup. Our algorithm has low complexity, making it convenient to implement in QRNG schemes, where the benefits of having uncorrelated output intervals exceed the disadvantages of the decreased rate.
We present a high-quality bias-free quantum random number generator (QRNG) using photon arrival time selectively, in accordance with the number of photon detection events within a sampling time interval in attenuated light. It is well shown in both theoretical analysis and experimental verification that this random number production method eliminates both bias and correlation perfectly without more postprocessing and that the random number can clearly pass the standard randomness tests. We fulfill theoretical analysis and experimental verification of the method whose rate can reach up to 45 Mb/s.