Noise amplification by chaotic dynamics in a delayed feedback laser system and its application to nondeterministic random bit generation

Abstract

We present an experimental method for directly observing the amplification of microscopic intrinsic noise in a high-dimensional chaotic laser system, a laser with delayed feedback. In the experiment, the chaotic laser system is repeatedly switched from a stable lasing state to a chaotic state, and the time evolution of an ensemble of chaotic states starting from the same initial state is measured. It is experimentally demonstrated that intrinsic noises amplified by the chaotic dynamics are transformed into macroscopic fluctuating signals, and the probability density of the output light intensity actually converges to a natural invariant probability density in a strongly chaotic regime. Moreover, with the experimental method, we discuss the application of the chaotic laser systems to physical random bit generators. It is experimentally shown that the convergence to the invariant density plays an important role in nondeterministic random bit generation, which could be desirable for future ultimate secure communication systems. © 2012 American Institute of Physics.