High-speed quantum random number generation for secure data communications

随机数对于创建确保我们的个人信息在线安全的加密密钥至关重要。仅在软件中生成真正的随机数是不可能的，因为计算机使用完全可预测的算法来实现这一目的。只有硬件随机数生成器才能产生真正的随机数，即使这些随机数也受到经典噪声源老化效应的限制。要实现真正的随机，需要一个量子随机数生成器（RNG），这样的设备将成为未来密码学不可或缺的一部分，形成安全通信和数据处理的基础。由于它们各自的技术方法，商用量子rng的时钟速度被限制在几百Mbit/s的数据流，这是一个与未来电信需求不兼容的瓶颈。在本项目中，我们将展示一种基于新型激光技术的100s-of-Gb/s量子RNG路线。令人兴奋的是，我们提出的方法具有高度可扩展性，使系统提供的性能能够跟上对高比特率随机数不断增加的需求。

Random numbers are essential for creating the cryptographic keys that ensure our personal information is secure online. Generating truly random numbers in software alone is impossible, since computers use a completely predictable algorithm for this purpose. Only hardware random number generators can produce true random numbers, and even these are limited by aging effects in classical noise sources. To be truly random one needs a quantum random number generator (RNG), and such devices will be integral to the future of cryptography, forming the basis of secure communications and data processing. Due to their respective technological approaches the clock speeds of commercially available quantum RNGs are limited to few-hundred Mbit/s data streams, a bottleneck that is incompatible with future telecommunications demands. In this project we will demonstrate a route to 100s-of-Gb/s quantum RNG based on novel laser technology. Excitingly, our proposed approach is highly scalable, enabling the performance provided by the system to keep pace with the demand for high-bit-rate random numbers continues to increase.