12.5 Gb/s Random Number Generation Using Amplified Spontaneous Emission

Published/Posted: May 1, 2011

Authors: Murphy, T. E.; Li, X.; Williams, C. R. S.; Salevan, J.; Roy, R.

Abstract: We describe our recent experiments to generate and test random numbers at high rates by using high-speed detection of optical noise signals. Amplified spontaneous emission, either in a fiber amplifier or in a superluminescent light-emitting diode (SLED) is shown to be capable of generating a large, easily detected fluctuating electrical signal that can be exploited for random number generation. We report random bit generation at rates of up to 12.5 Gb/s, using only a single XOR postprocessing step to reduce correlations and bias.

Citation:
T. E. Murphy, X. Li, C. R. S. Williams, J. Salevan and R. Roy, "12.5 Gb/s Random Number Generation Using Amplified Spontaneous Emission", SIAM Dynamical Systems, Snow Bird, UT (USA) MS114 (2011)