KEYWORDS: Quantum efficiency, Clocks, Optical engineering, Single photon detectors, Sensors, Photodetectors, Time metrology, Signal processing, Signal detection, Continuous wave operation
The bit generation algorithm of a quantum random number generator based on photon arrival time differences is improved in terms of the bit generation efficiency and bit generation rate. The method is analyzed mathematically, proving that, in theory, the improved generator still produces random numbers of high quality without the need of resorting to postprocessing algorithms. The effects of nonidealities are quantitatively analyzed to provide bounds for the maximum tolerable deviations from uniformity. Experimental investigations are conducted on a prototype, showing that the method is capable of increasing the rate of bit generation by more than 47% on the same physical architecture.
A quantum random number generation method based on measuring the time differences between photon detections is analyzed mathematically in terms of bit generation efficiency and bit generation rate. It was found that these two values cannot be maximized simultaneously by altering the incident photon rate of a light source with Poisson statistics, but the generation rate can be increased at the expense of efficiency. Analytical results are presented for both an idealized and a practical case. The detector’s dead time has been taken into consideration in the latter case, implying that, for certain combinations of the dead time and the measurement clock period, the generation rate becomes a two-peaked function of the incident photon rate. The theoretical results are confirmed by simulations, showing excellent agreement between the two.
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