One Trillion True Random Bits Generated With a Field-Programmable Gate Array Actuated Magnetic Tunnel Junction

Abstract

Large quantities of random numbers are crucial in a wide range of applications. We have recently demonstrated that perpendicular nanopillar magnetic tunnel junctions (pMTJs) can produce true random bits when actuated with short pulses. However, our implementation used high-end and expensive electronics, such as a high-bandwidth arbitrary waveform generator and analog-to-digital converter, and was limited to relatively low data rates. Here, we significantly increase the speed of true random-number generation of our stochastic actuated pMTJs (SMART-pMTJs) using field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), demonstrating the generation of over ${\text{10}}^{\text{12}}$ bits at rates exceeding 10 Mb/s. The resulting bitstreams pass the NIST Statistical Test Suite for randomness with only one xor operation. In addition to a hundred-fold reduction in the setup cost and a thousand-fold increase in bitrate, the advancement includes simplifying and optimizing random bit generation with a custom-designed analog daughterboard to interface an FPGA and SMART-pMTJ. The resulting setup further enables FPGA at-speed processing of MTJ data for stochastic modeling and cryptography.