Abstract
In this paper, we present a physical random number generator (RNG) for cryptographic applications. The generator is based on alpha decay of Americium 241 that is often found in common household smoke detectors. A simple and low-cost implementation is shown to detect the decay events of a radioactive source. Furthermore, a speed-optimized random bit extraction method was chosen to gain a reasonable high data rate from a moderate radiation source (0.1 μCi). A first evaluation by applying common suits for analysis of statistical properties indicates a high quality of the data delivered by the device.
This work was partially funded by by the European Union in the Network of Excellence FIDIS and the German Federal Ministry of Education, Science, Research and Technology (BMBF) in the framework of the Verisoft project under grant 01 IS C38. The responsibility for this article lies with the authors.
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Alkassar, A., Nicolay, T., Rohe, M. (2005). Obtaining True-Random Binary Numbers from a Weak Radioactive Source. In: Gervasi, O., et al. Computational Science and Its Applications – ICCSA 2005. ICCSA 2005. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol 3481. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/11424826_67
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/11424826_67
Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg
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