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arXiv · 2004.04996

Independent quality assessment of a commercial quantum random number generator

Mikhail Petrov·Igor Radchenko·Damian Steiger·Renato Renner·Matthias Troyer·Vadim Makarov
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Abstract

We reverse-engineer, test and analyse hardware and firmware of the commercial quantum-optical random number generator Quantis from ID Quantique. We show that > 99% of its output data originates in physically random processes: random timing of photon absorption in a semiconductor material, and random growth of avalanche owing to impact ionisation. Under a strong assumption that these processes correspond to a measurement of an initially pure state of the components, our analysis implies the unpredictability of the generated randomness. We have also found minor non-random contributions from imperfections in detector electronics and an internal processing algorithm, specific to this particular device. Our work shows that the design quality of a commercial quantum-optical randomness source can be verified without cooperation of the manufacturer and without access to the engineering documentation.

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Mikhail Petrov, Igor Radchenko, Damian Steiger, Renato Renner, Matthias Troyer, Vadim Makarov. 2020-04-10. Independent quality assessment of a commercial quantum random number generator. https://doi.org/10.1140/epjqt/s40507-022-00136-z

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