An optical ultrafast random bit generator

The generation of random bit sequences based on non-deterministic physical mechanisms is of paramount importance for cryptography and secure communications. High data rates also require extremely fast generation rates and robustness to external perturbations. Physical generators based on stochastic noise sources have been limited in bandwidth to ∼100 Mbit s −1 generation rates. We present a physical random bit generator, based on a chaotic semiconductor laser, having time-delayed self-feedback, which operates reliably at rates up to 300 Gbit s −1 . The method uses a high derivative of the digitized chaotic laser intensity and generates the random sequence by retaining a number of the least significant bits of the high derivative value. The method is insensitive to laser operational parameters and eliminates the necessity for all external constraints such as incommensurate sampling rates and laser external cavity round trip time. The randomness of long bit strings is verified by standard statistical tests. The generation of random bit sequences at a data rate of up to 300 Gbit s −1 — a rate many orders of magnitude faster than previously achieved — is realized by exploiting the output of a chaotic semiconductor laser. The randomness of the generated bits is verified by standard statistical tests.