Ultrahigh-speed random number generation based on a chaotic semiconductor laser

Phys Rev Lett. 2009 Jul 10;103(2):024102. doi: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.103.024102. Epub 2009 Jul 10.

Abstract

The fluctuating intensity of a chaotic semiconductor laser is used for generating random sequences at rates up to 12.5 Gbits/s. The conversion of the fluctuating intensity to a random bit sequence can be implemented in either software or hardware and the overall rate of generation is much faster than any previously reported random number generator based on a physical mechanism. The generator's simplicity, robustness, and insensitivity to control parameters should enable its application to tasks of secure communication and calculation procedures requiring ultrahigh-speed generation of random bit sequences.