Phys.org May 17, 2023
Quantum random number generators (QRNGs) can provide genuine randomness by exploiting the intrinsic probabilistic nature of quantum mechanics. However, the true randomness acquisition could be subjected to attacks from untrusted devices involved or their deviations from the theoretical modeling in real-life implementation. Researchers in China proposed and experimentally demonstrated a source-device-independent QRNG, which enabled accessing true random bits with an untrusted source device. The random bits were generated by measuring the arrival time of either photon of the time–energy entangled photon pairs produced from spontaneous parametric downconversion, where the entanglement was testified through the observation of nonlocal dispersion cancellation. In the experiment, they extracted a generation rate of 4 Mbps by a modified entropic uncertainty relation, which could be improved to gigabits per second by using advanced single-photon detectors. According to the researchers their approach provides a promising candidate for QRNGs with no characterization or error-prone source devices in practice… read more. Open Access TECHNICAL ARTICLE
Experimental setup of the source-DI QRNG… Credit: Advanced Photonics, Vol. 5, Issue 3, 036003 (May 2023).