A high speed IC Random Number Generator based on phase noise in ring oscillators

There is an increasing demand for fully digital, high speed Random Number Generators because of their speed compatibility and uncomplicated integration to digital platforms. To the best of our knowledge, this paper presents the first ASIC implementation of Random Number Generator based on ring oscillators. Prototypes have been designed and fabricated by using HHNEC´s 0.25 /xm eFlash process with a supply voltage of 2.5V. The circuit occupies 0.043 mm² and dissipates minimum 0.011 W of power. IC design level experiences, measurements, analyses of measurements and statistical test results are also demonstrated. Instead of resilient function which decreases the throughput, we propose to use only a simple Von Neumann corrector, thus 4 times faster throughput can be obtained in comparison with the previous design in which resilient function is employed. We achieved fullfilled test results from NIST 800–22 test suit after Von Neuman corrector with 16.5 Mbps throughput which is the highest data rate to date with fullfiled test results. The results were repeatable numerous times.