Magnetic tunnel junction as a real-time entropy source: Field-Programmable Gate Array based random bit generation without post-processing

We demonstrate a method to generate application-ready truly random bits from a magnetic tunnel junction driven by a Field-Programmable Gate Array (FPGA). We implement a real-time feedback loop that stabilizes the switching probability near 50% and apply an XOR operation, both on the FPGA, to suppress short-term correlations, together mitigating long-term drift and bias in the bitstream. This combined approach passes the NIST Statistical Test Suite for random bit generation at 5 Mb/s without post-processing, providing a practical hardware solution for fast and reliable true random number generation. Beyond cryptographic applications, these capabilities open opportunities for stochastic hardware accelerators, probabilistic computing, and large-scale modeling where real-time access to unbiased randomness is essential.

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Publication Details

Journal
Journal of Applied Physics
Published
2026-01-06
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0308636
Primary Topic
Physical Unclonable Functions (PUFs) and Hardware Security
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.00

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article

Magnetic tunnel junction as a real-time entropy source: Field-Programmable Gate Array based random bit generation without post-processing

Ahmed Sidi El Valli, Naomi Li, Andrew D. Kent, Troy Criss et al.
Journal of Applied Physics
Physical Unclonable Functions (PUFs) and Hardware Security
article

Magnetic tunnel junction as a real-time entropy source: Field-Programmable Gate Array based random bit generation without post-processing

Ahmed Sidi El Valli, Naomi Li, Andrew D. Kent, Troy Criss, A. Haas
article en

Abstract

We demonstrate a method to generate application-ready truly random bits from a magnetic tunnel junction driven by a Field-Programmable Gate Array (FPGA). We implement a real-time feedback loop that stabilizes the switching probability near 50% and apply an XOR operation, both on the FPGA, to suppress short-term correlations, together mitigating long-term drift and bias in the bitstream. This combined approach passes the NIST Statistical Test Suite for random bit generation at 5 Mb/s without post-processing, providing a practical hardware solution for fast and reliable true random number generation. Beyond cryptographic applications, these capabilities open opportunities for stochastic hardware accelerators, probabilistic computing, and large-scale modeling where real-time access to unbiased randomness is essential.

Journal of Applied PhysicsVol. 139(1)
New York University (US)
Office of Naval Research
Openalex Percentile: Top 99%
Physical Unclonable Functions (PUFs) and Hardware Security
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