Bernardo-Gavito Ramón, Bagci Ibrahim Ethem, Roberts Jonathan, Sexton James, Astbury Benjamin, Shokeir Hamzah, McGrath Thomas, Noori Yasir J, Woodhead Christopher S, Missous Mohamed, Roedig Utz, Young Robert J
Physics Department, Lancaster University, Lancaster, LA1 4YB, UK.
School of Computing and Communications, Lancaster University, Lancaster, LA1 4WA, UK.
Sci Rep. 2017 Dec 19;7(1):17879. doi: 10.1038/s41598-017-18161-9.
Random number generation is crucial in many aspects of everyday life, as online security and privacy depend ultimately on the quality of random numbers. Many current implementations are based on pseudo-random number generators, but information security requires true random numbers for sensitive applications like key generation in banking, defence or even social media. True random number generators are systems whose outputs cannot be determined, even if their internal structure and response history are known. Sources of quantum noise are thus ideal for this application due to their intrinsic uncertainty. In this work, we propose using resonant tunnelling diodes as practical true random number generators based on a quantum mechanical effect. The output of the proposed devices can be directly used as a random stream of bits or can be further distilled using randomness extraction algorithms, depending on the application.
随机数生成在日常生活的许多方面都至关重要，因为在线安全和隐私最终取决于随机数的质量。当前许多实现方式都基于伪随机数生成器，但信息安全要求在诸如银行、国防甚至社交媒体中的密钥生成等敏感应用中使用真随机数。真随机数生成器是这样的系统，即使其内部结构和响应历史已知，其输出也无法确定。因此，由于量子噪声源的内在不确定性，它们非常适合此应用。在这项工作中，我们提出基于量子力学效应使用共振隧穿二极管作为实用的真随机数生成器。根据应用的不同，所提出器件的输出可以直接用作随机比特流，或者可以使用随机性提取算法进一步提纯。
