Pfeffer Douglas T, Allemang Christopher R, Misra Shashank, Severa William, Smith J Darby
University of Tampa, Tampa, FL, USA.
Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque, NM, USA.
Sci Rep. 2025 Apr 7;15(1):11818. doi: 10.1038/s41598-025-96492-8.
With an eye toward neural-inspired probabilistic computation, recent work has examined the development of true random number generators via stochastic devices. Typically, these devices are operated in a two-state regime to produce a sequence of binary outcomes (i.e., coin flips). However, there is no guarantee that stochastic devices will infallibly produce fair outputs and small deviations from a uniform distribution may have unwanted complications in applications. Using mathematical analysis, we contend that opting instead for a multi-state device (i.e., a dice roll) has benefits in these unfair paradigms. To demonstrate these benefits, we apply this framework to the analysis of a tunnel diode operated in a stochastic regime. In particular, interpreting the binary stochastic output of the tunnel diode as a multi-state die roll output also sees advantages in remaining closer to uniform. Overall, our approach provides a compelling argument for mathematical driven co-design and development of novel probabilistic computing devices and hardware.
着眼于神经启发式概率计算，最近的研究通过随机设备考察了真随机数发生器的发展。通常，这些设备在双态模式下运行以产生一系列二元结果（即抛硬币）。然而，无法保证随机设备总能无误地产生公平输出，且与均匀分布的微小偏差在应用中可能会产生不良并发症。通过数学分析，我们认为在这些不公平范式中选择多态设备（即掷骰子）会有好处。为了证明这些好处，我们将此框架应用于对处于随机模式下的隧道二极管的分析。特别是，将隧道二极管的二元随机输出解释为多态掷骰子输出在更接近均匀分布方面也具有优势。总体而言，我们的方法为新型概率计算设备和硬件的数学驱动协同设计与开发提供了令人信服的论据。
