Fast physical random number generator using amplified spontaneous emission
Open accessAbstract
We report a 12.5 Gb/s physical random number generator (RNG) that uses high-speed threshold detection of the spectrally-sliced incoherent light produced by a fiber amplifier. The system generates a large-amplitude, easily measured, fluctuating signal with bandwidth that is constrained only by the optical filter and electrical detector used. The underlying physical process (spontaneous emission) is inherently quantum mechanical in origin, and therefore cannot be described deterministically. Unlike competing optical RNG approaches that require photon counting electronics, chaotic laser cavities, or state-of-the-art analog-to-digital converters, the system employs only commonly available telecommunications-grade fiber optic components and can be scaled to higher speeds or multiplexed into parallel channels. The quality of the resulting random bitstream is verified using industry-standard statistical tests.
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To overcome the bandwidth limitation of shot noise-limited homodyne detection, researchers have developed QRNGs based on measuring phase or intensity noise of amplified spontaneous emission (ASE), which is quantum mechanical by nature.
“To overcome the bandwidth limitation of shot noise-limited homodyne detection, researchers have developed QRNGs based on measuring phase 40 -45 or intensity noise 46,47 of ampli fi ed spontaneous emission(ASE), which is quantum mechanical by nature. 15,48,49”
From Quantum random number generation (2016) · cites this paper as [46]
This Letter describes the first demonstration that multiple independent streams can be simultaneously obtained from a single optoelectronic noise source without the need for external optical amplification or gain.
“While spontaneous emission has been recently exploited for random number generation [9], this Letter describes the first demonstration, to our knowledge, that multiple independent streams can be simultaneously obtained from a single optoelectronic noise source without the need for external optical amplification or gain.”
From Scalable parallel physical random number generator based on a superluminescent LED (2011) · cites this paper as [9]
Constructing the XOR between each signal and a time-delayed copy of itself significantly improves the statistical properties of each channel.
“As we previously demonstrated [9], the statistical properties of each channel can be significantly improved by constructing the XOR between each signal and a time-delayed copy of itself.”
From Scalable parallel physical random number generator based on a superluminescent LED (2011) · cites this paper as [9]
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- Authors
- Williams, C. R. S., Salevan, J. C., Li, X., Roy, R., & Murphy, T. E.
- Affiliations
- University of Maryland, College Park (US)
- Venue
- Optics Express
- Publisher
- Optica Publishing Group
- Published
- 2010-10-26
- Volume
- 18
- Issue
- 23
- Pages
- 23584
- ISSN
- 1094-4087 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W1967864115
- Cited by
- 229
- References
- 29
- Citations by year
- 2026: 11 · 2025: 17 · 2024: 27 · 2023: 14 · 2022: 10 · 2021: 17 · 2020: 19 · 2019: 15 · 2018: 6 · 2017: 18 · 2016: 10 · 2015: 15 · 2014: 19 · 2013: 12 · 2012: 13
- FWCI
- 10.16
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- doi.org
- Locations
- Optics Express (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- U.S. Department of Defense
- Multidisciplinary University Research Initiative
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Computer Science › Artificial Intelligence › Quantum Information and Cryptography
- Physical Sciences › Physics and Astronomy › Acoustics and Ultrasonics › Random lasers and scattering media
- Physical Sciences › Engineering › Electrical and Electronic Engineering › Optical Network Technologies
- Keywords
- physical random number generators, amplified spontaneous emission, fiber amplifiers, incoherent light, threshold detection, quantum randomness, spectral filtering
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