High-Speed Magnetoresistive Random-Access Memory Random Number Generator Using Error-Correcting Code

A high-speed random number generator (RNG) circuit based on magnetoresistive random-access memory (MRAM) using an error-correcting code (ECC) post processing circuit is presented. ECC post processing increases the quality of randomness by increasing the entropy of random number. We experimentally show that a small error-correcting capability circuit is sufficient for this post processing. It is shown that the ECC post processing circuit powerfully improves the quality of randomness with minimum overhead, ending up with high-speed random number generation. We also show that coupling with a linear feedback shift resistor is effective for improving randomness. (C) 2011 The Japan Society of Applied Physics