An optical chip for self-testing quantum random number generation

Abstract

We present an implementation of a semi-device-independent protocol of the generation of quantum random numbers in a fully integrated silicon chip. The system is based on a prepare-and-measure scheme, where we integrate a partially trusted source of photons and an untrusted single photon detector. The source is a silicon photomultiplier, which emits photons during the avalanche impact ionization process, while the detector is a single photon avalanche diode. The proposed protocol requires only a few and reasonable assumptions on the generated states. It is sufficient to measure the statistics of generation and detection in order to evaluate the min-entropy of the output sequence, conditioned on all possible classical side information. We demonstrate that this protocol, previously realized with a bulky laboratory setup, is totally applicable to a compact and fully integrated chip with an estimated throughput of 6 kHz of the certified quantum random bit rate.

Quantum technologies in the telecommunications industry

“…In this second approach, the size, power, and scaling of QRNG components are of critical importance. Significant progress has been made recently on the integration of QRNG to meet these requirements [40,49,59,60].…”

Thirty Years in Silicon Photonics: A Personal View

“…This has raised the issue of the certification of the quantum nature of the process. To this end, we developed a self-testing QRNG based on the chip in Figure 14E [212]. The objective is to model the QRNG with minimal assumption on the devices and compute the expected amount of minimal quantum entropy (H min ) which can be extracted.…”

“…H min can be as large as 5% (i.e. 5 % of the bits in the random sequence are certified as due to a quantum process) [212].…”

“…(H) Minimum entropy H min as a function of the mean number of emitted photons μ h based on a different estimate of the photon losses k. From Ref. [212]. (I) Min-entropy H * min and random bits throughput for different levels of trust of our SPE-based QRNG.…”

Characterization of a Quantum Random Number Generator Based on Vacuum Fluctuations

“…Several implementations have been proposed, including generation schemes based on detection of radioactive decays [9,10], but most schemes explore the proprieties of quantum optics through protocols, such as measurements of photon polarization states [11], amplified spontaneous emission [12][13][14], photon arrival times [15][16][17][18], or phase noise from selected light sources [19,20]. Recently, some fully integrated solutions have also materialized by employing photonic integrated circuits, which removes the need for bulky implementations [21][22][23][24][25][26]. This is an important first step to reach mass deployment and allow these implementations to compete with the versatility shown by PRNGs.…”