Fast random number generator based on optical physical unclonable functions

Abstract

We propose an approach for fast random number generation based on homemade optical physical unclonable functions (PUFs). The optical PUF is illuminated with input laser wavefront of continuous modulation to obtain different speckle patterns. Random numbers are fully extracted from speckle patterns through a simple post-processing algorithm. Our proof-of-principle experiment achieves total random number generation rate of 0.96 Gbit/s with verified randomness, which is far faster than previous optical-PUF-based schemes. Our results demonstrate that the presented random number generator (RNG) proposal has great potential to achieve ultrafast random number generation rate up to several hundreds of Gbit/s.

Four-Dimensional Physical Unclonable Functions and Cryptographic Applications Based on Time-Varying Chaotic Phosphorescent Patterns

“…Note that the reduced independent bits are still random and valid enough to perform 4D PUFs compared to recent studies on PUFs. 14,18,22 Therefore, this strong PUF model based on 4D PUFs exhibits superior randomness and uniqueness. Their performances, including encoding capacity, DoF, and independent bit ratio, largely depend on the actual time-varying disorder of 4D PUFs since the CRPs are created and processed by experimentally obtained random features during the bit extraction process.…”

“…The average value (μ) of the challenge sequence is close to 0.5, and the overall capacity is more than 10. 18 Meanwhile, 4 × 4 organic crystal/MoS 2 pixel arrays of 4D PUFs are examined by FLIM analysis and possess 256 individual positions per a single 4D PUF. These are denoted in integer n (n = 0, 1, 2, ..., 255) and contain corresponding A n values.…”

“…For the reliable realization of PUFs, randomness is one of the most significant parameters and conceptually includes pattern randomness and bit randomness. So far, many studies on PUFs have achieved decent bit randomness by postprocessing algorithms, such as SHA256, 18 thresholding, 19−21 Gabor hashing, 22 and debiasing. 23−25 These strategies possibly generate random bit responses with high entropy.…”

A flexible and stretchable bionic true random number generator

“…If random numbers are not credible, the encrypted information could be stolen by the listener-in, which exposes the vulnerability of present state-of-the-art information security systems. In contrast, physical TRNGs exploit some unpredictable or, at least, difficult to predict physical process and use the outputs to produce a bits sequence that can be truly random [12], thus enabling superior reliability for data encryption and other applications, such as cybersecurity, stochastic modeling, lottery, or games of chance [15][16][17]. Up to date, a series of TRNGs based on different physical sources with different working mechanisms has been investigated to generate considerable random numbers in lieu of conventional pseudo random numbers, such as random telegraph noise (RTN) based on memristors [18][19][20][21][22], thin-film transistor [23][24][25], and triboelectric generator [26,27], laser chaos [28][29][30], photonic integrated chip [31], quantum entropy sources [32][33][34][35], bichromatic laser dye [36], crystallization robot [37], DNA synthesis [38], and so forth.…”

Random bit sequence generation from speckle patterns produced with multimode waveguides

“…Additionally, in the past 2 decades, photonic physical unclonable functions have received considerable attention as a promising way to provide unique cryptographic keys, with several implementations to ensure uniqueness, such as, among other, the intrinsic random roughness of a paper [9], or the speckle pattern obtained under coherent light illumination [10]. Furthermore, the potential for random number generators to arise due to the intrinsic randomness of optical physical unclonable functions has been successfully demonstrated using optical waveguides to achieve a key rate of Mbit/s [11,12] with verified randomness, showing the promise of this technology. Other authors have explored speckle as a potential option for object detection or sensing [13], while further efforts were made by Fratalocchi et al [14] towards an all-optical physical unclonable function that relies on the speckle patterns observed when illuminating an aerogel sample, achieving a verified secure key generator.…”