Tunable tunnel diode-based digitized noise source
First Claim
1. A random number generator for generating random numbers, comprising:
- a digitized noise source for producing a sequence of random digital signals, comprising;
a tunnel diode for providing a current signal that includes quantum shot noise properties;
a bias voltage for biasing the tunnel diode and generating a current signal;
a current-to-voltage converter coupled to the tunnel diode for converting the current signal to a voltage signal;
a filtering and amplification circuit coupled to the current-to-voltage converter for producing an amplified voltage signal; and
a digitization circuit for converting the amplified voltage signal into a sequence of digital signals that represents random bits;
an entropy estimator coupled to an output of the digitization circuit for estimating an entropy of the sequence of digital signals;
a health checker coupled to the entropy estimator for determining if the digitized noise source meets performance specification;
a controller logic coupled to the entropy estimator and health checker for storing a lookup table that contain the tunnel diodes bias voltage versus estimated entropy and tunnel diodes bias voltage versus health test results of the sequence of digital signals; and
a feedback path for providing a feedback bias voltage to adjust the current signal from the tunnel diode based on the estimated entropy and the health tests, wherein the feedback bias voltage is determined according to the lookup table.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A tunable tunnel diode based digitized noise source includes a digitized noise source for producing a sequence of random digital signals. The digitized noise source includes a tunnel diode for providing a current signal that includes quantum shot noise. The digitized noise source can also include a current-to-voltage converter coupled to the tunnel diode for converting the current signal to a voltage signal, a filtering and amplification circuit coupled to the current-to-voltage converter for producing an amplified voltage signal, and a digitization circuit for converting the amplified voltage signal into the sequence of digital signals that represents random bits. The tunable tunnel diode based digitized noise source further includes an entropy estimator coupled to the output of the digitization circuit for estimating an entropy of the sequence of digital signals and for providing a feedback bias voltage to the tunnel diode.
4 Citations
17 Claims
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1. A random number generator for generating random numbers, comprising:
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a digitized noise source for producing a sequence of random digital signals, comprising; a tunnel diode for providing a current signal that includes quantum shot noise properties; a bias voltage for biasing the tunnel diode and generating a current signal; a current-to-voltage converter coupled to the tunnel diode for converting the current signal to a voltage signal; a filtering and amplification circuit coupled to the current-to-voltage converter for producing an amplified voltage signal; and a digitization circuit for converting the amplified voltage signal into a sequence of digital signals that represents random bits; an entropy estimator coupled to an output of the digitization circuit for estimating an entropy of the sequence of digital signals; a health checker coupled to the entropy estimator for determining if the digitized noise source meets performance specification; a controller logic coupled to the entropy estimator and health checker for storing a lookup table that contain the tunnel diodes bias voltage versus estimated entropy and tunnel diodes bias voltage versus health test results of the sequence of digital signals; and a feedback path for providing a feedback bias voltage to adjust the current signal from the tunnel diode based on the estimated entropy and the health tests, wherein the feedback bias voltage is determined according to the lookup table. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A digitized noise source device for producing a sequence of random digital signals, comprising:
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a tunnel diode for providing a current signal that includes quantum shot noise; a current-to-voltage converter coupled to the tunnel diode for converting the current signal to a voltage signal; a filtering and amplification circuit coupled to the current-to-voltage converter for producing an amplified voltage signal; and a digitization circuit including an analogue-to-digital converter (ADC) for converting the amplified voltage signal into multiple level digital signals that represent a sequence of random bits, wherein each level represents more than one random bit. - View Dependent Claims (11)
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12. A digitized noise source device for producing a sequence of random digital signals, comprising:
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a tunnel diode for providing a current signal that includes quantum shot noise; a current-to-voltage converter coupled to the tunnel diode for converting the current signal to a voltage signal; a filtering and amplification circuit coupled to the current-to-voltage converter for producing an amplified voltage signal; a digitization circuit for converting the amplified voltage signal into digital signals that represent a sequence of random bits; a lookup table listing tunnel diodes bias voltage versus estimated entropy of the sequence of digitized signal, wherein the tunnel diode bias voltage is determined according to the lookup table.
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13. A noise source device for producing a sequence of random digital signals comprising:
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a tunnel diode configured with a bias voltage between 0 V and 60 mV for providing a current signal that includes quantum shot noise; a current-to-voltage converter coupled to the tunnel diode for applying the bias voltage to the tunnel diode and for converting the current signal to a voltage signal, and a digitization circuit for converting the voltage signal into a sequence of digitized random signal. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15)
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16. A method of providing a digitized noise signal, comprising:
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providing a tunnel diode; applying a bias voltage to the tunnel diode for providing a tunneling current signal that includes quantum shot noise; converting the current signal to a voltage signal; converting the voltage signal into a sequence of digitized noise signals that represents random bits; and generating a lookup table listing tunnel diode bias voltage versus estimated entropy of the sequence of digitized noise signals, wherein the bias voltage to the tunnel diode is determined according to the lookup table. - View Dependent Claims (17)
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Specification