True random number generation based on temporal fluctuations of abalone shell coherent random lasers

Abstract

The output modes of random lasers exhibit randomness, making them a potential high-quality physical entropy source for generating random numbers. In this paper, we controlled a low-cost and easily fabricated abalone shell random laser, generating forward and backward coherent random lasers simultaneously in a single channel, resulting in highly diverse mode variations. After post-processing steps such as third-order difference calculations and exclusive-or (XOR) logic operations, we generated a random number sequence for the first time, to the best of our knowledge, based on the temporal fluctuations of biomimetic random laser coherent modes. The instantaneous generation rate reached a preliminary 40 Gbps. Moreover, the random bits satisfy requirements such as random distribution, independence, and absence of bias, successfully passing the NIST SP800-22 standard test, confirming the high quality of the random number sequence.