In-silico generation of random bit streams

作者：M. Caccia, Luca Malinverno, Libero Paolucci, Clelia Corridori, E. Proserpio, A. Abba, A. Cusimano, W. Kucewicz, P. Dorosz, M. Baszczyk, Marco Esposito, Petr Švenda · 发表于：Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section A Accelerators Spectrometers Detectors and Associated Equipment · 年份：2020 · DOI：10.1016/j.nima.2020.164480 · 被引用次数：8 · 研究领域：CCD and CMOS Imaging Sensors、Physical Unclonable Functions (PUFs) and Hardware Security、Radiation Detection and Scintillator Technologies

Silicon PhotoMultipliers (SiPM) are rapidly approaching a significant maturity stage, making them a well recognised platform for the development of evolutionary and novel solutions in a wide range of applications for research and industry. However, they are still affected by stochastic terms, notably a high Dark Count Rate (DCR), limiting their use when single photo-electron pulses convey the required information, for instance in chemiluminescence or fluorescence analysis of biological samples. In such applications, randomness of the spontaneous generation of carriers triggering the avalanche and the rate of occurrences is significantly decreasing the sensitivity of the system against solutions based, for instance, on traditional photo-multiplier tubes. However, unpredictability of the “dark” pulses has a potential value in domains connected to encryption and, in general terms, cybersecurity. ”Random Power” is a project approved within the ATTRACT call for proposals (https://attract-eu.com), having as a main goal the generation of random bit streams by properly analysing the time sequence of the Dark Pulses. The principle has been proven using laboratory equipment and its value assessed applying the National Institute of Standard and Technology (NIST) protocols, complemented by other test suites. The advantages against competing techniques have been thoroughly analysed and the development of a dedicated board, integrating the system in a low cost, low power, scalable design i...