Energy-Efficient Post-Processing Technique Having High Extraction Efficiency for True Random Number Generators

Abstract

In this paper, we describe a post-processing technique having high extraction efficiency (ExE) for de-biasing and de-correlating a random bitstream generated by true random number generators (TRNGs). This research is based on the N-bit von Neumann (VN N) post-processing method. It improves the ExE of the original von Neumann method close to the Shannon entropy bound by a large N value. However, as the N value increases, the mapping table complexity increases exponentially (2N), which makes VN N unsuitable for low-power TRNGs. To overcome this problem, at the algorithm level, we propose a waiting strategy to achieve high ExE with a small N value. At the architectural level, a Hamming weight mapping-based hierarchical structure is used to reconstruct the large mapping table using smaller tables. The hierarchical structure also decreases the correlation factor in the raw bitstream. To develop a technique with high ExE and low cost, we designed and fabricated an 8-bit von Neumann with waiting strategy (VN 8W) in a 130-nm CMOS. The maximum ExE of VN 8W is 62.21%, which is 2.49 times larger than the ExE of the original von Neumann. NIST SP 800-22 randomness test results proved the debiasing and de-correlation abilities of VN 8W. As compared with the stateof-the-Art optimized 7-element iterated von Neumann, VN 8W achieved more than 20% energy reduction with higher ExE. At 0.45V and 1 MHz, VN 8W achieved the minimum energy of 0.18 pJ/bit, which was suitable for sub-pJ low energy TRNGs.