Photon Arrival Time Quantum Random Number Generation

quantum information, quantum cryptography, random number generation

Wayne, Michael A. ; Kwiat ; Paul G.

关键词: quantum information, quantum cryptography, random number generation;   

Others  :  https://www.ideals.illinois.edu/bitstream/handle/2142/11979/Wayne_Michael.pdf?sequence=2&isAllowed=y

美国|英语

来源: The Illinois Digital Environment for Access to Learning and Scholarship

【 摘 要 】

A quantum random number generator (QRNG) is one which re-lies on a physical process, extracting randomness from the inherentuncertainty in quantum mechanics. This is to be contrasted withcurrent pseudo-random number generators (PRNG), which althoughuseful, are in fact deterministic: they always yield the same outputsequence given the same input seed. This is unacceptable for someapplications, such as quantum cryptography, which promise uncon-ditional security. Unfortunately, the rate of QRNGs is still too slowfor practical commercial quantum key distribution systems (whichpresently run at speeds over 1 GHz).Previous QRNGs have been implemented, with the most commonrelying on the behavior of a photon at a beam-splitter, producinga random bit dependent on which of the two paths in which thephoton is detected. However, these are totally limited by detectorsaturation rates, typically in the low MHz range. We previouslyproposed that by instead using the time interval between detections,much more random information could be extracted per detectionevent. Specifically, instead of only one bit per detection, in principleone could extract as many bits as the measurement time resolutionwould allow.Over the past two years, we have been exploring this approachand have constructed a functional QRNG operating at rates up to130 Mbit/s. The random output has been tested and has passed allcommon cryptographic random number tests.