Parallel random bitstreams from a single source of entropy based on nonthermal electrochemical microplasma

This study presents the simultaneous generation of two uncorrelated and continuous high-quality random bitstreams originating from a single physical system based on confined, nonthermal electrochemical microplasma operating under atmospheric conditions. The randomness is intrinsically inherited from the time-resolved electrical current and optical emission intensities of the microplasma system, which were collected using wide bandwidth current probe and photodetection device. The parallel bitstreams pass unambiguously all 15 NIST SP 800-22 statistical tests without the need for any data post-processing. Using the NIST SP 800-90B package, the min-entropy estimates of both noise sources were found to be no less than 0.994. This parallel data acquisition can be viewed as a simple strategy to increase the bit generation rate without compromising their quality or adding post-processing routines. © 2020 Wiley-VCH GmbH