| Optical random bit generation using chaos in semiconductor lasers subject to delayed optical feedback has recently been developed as a method for fast generation of non-deterministic random bit sequences, which are crucially important for secure communication and computation systems. However, the chaotic laser random bit generators which have been realized so far use discrete optical components with fiber-optic or spatial optic techniques to obtain delayed optical feedback. Miniaturized chaotic lasers have been developed by monolithic integration of a distributed feedback laser, a passive waveguide, and a semiconductor optical amplifier, on a single chip. However, it has not yet been known whether such on-chip chaotic lasers can be applied for fast random bit generation. We present the first monolithically integrated optical random bit generator which operates at rates up to 2Gbps. Our demonstration strongly suggests potential for widespread use of fast optical random bit generation with chaotic lasers. |
|