Magnetic tunnel junction as a real-time entropy source: Field-Programmable Gate Array based random bit generation without post-processing
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.
Fields of Study & Subjects
Physical Unclonable Functions (PUFs) and Hardware Security
Chaos-based Image/Signal Encryption
Low-power high-performance VLSI design
Publication details
- Journal / source
- Journal of Applied Physics
- Publisher
- AIP Publishing
- Volume
- 139
- Issue
- 1
- Publication date
- 6 January 2026
- Language
- EN