Flexible parallel random bit generation based on chaos-driven electro-optic comb and spectral slicing

Abstract

High-speed random bit generation (RBG) is a cornerstone of modern cryptographic systems and advanced computing applications. Existing chaos-based random bit generators are typically constrained by the bandwidth of a single entropy source, whereas parallel architectures often suffer from high system complexity and limited reconfigurability. Here, we propose and experimentally demonstrate a flexible parallel RBG scheme based on a novel chaotic architecture combining a chaos-driven electro-optic comb with spectral slicing. The system produces an ultra-broadband, spectrally flat continuum with a 3 dB bandwidth of 678.75 GHz. Exploiting this broadband entropy source, up to 54 parallel chaotic channels are flexibly extracted via spectral slicing. Experimental results show a single-channel random bit rate of 160 Gbps and an aggregate throughput of up to 8.64 Tbps, with all generated bit streams successfully passing the NIST SP 800-22 statistical tests. The proposed scheme not only overcomes the bandwidth bottleneck imposed by the relaxation oscillation limit of single-channel lasers but also enables reconfigurable output settings to accommodate dynamically evolving application requirements. This work opens a scalable route toward high-speed parallel RBG and holds strong promise for next-generation applications, including secure optical communications and stochastic computing.