Device-independent, megabit-rate quantum random number generator with beam-splitter-free architecture and live Bell test certification

Device-independent quantum random number generators (DI-QRNGs) are crucial for many information-processing applications, requiring certified quantumness to ensure genuine randomness. However, inherent technical challenges in implementing quantumness tests often result in a low bit rate. Here, we present a high-bit-rate DI-QRNG with live quantumness certification through the Bell test. By employing spontaneous parametric down-conversion (SPDC) in a polarization Sagnac interferometer, which generates entangled degenerate pair-photons in annular ring distribution with strong temporal and spatial correlations due to energy and momentum conservation, we divide the annular ring into six diametrically opposite sections, forming three robust entangled photon sources from a single laser and nonlinear crystal. The pair-photons from these three sources exhibit bias-free quantum mechanical randomness. By utilizing the coincidence counts of pair-photons from two sources, we generate raw bits, while the third source simultaneously measures the Bell’s parameter without any loss of QRNG bits. We have generated 90 million raw bits in 46.4 seconds with the Bell parameter (S > 2), with a minimum entropy extraction ratio exceeding 97%. Post-processed using a Toeplitz matrix, the DI-QRNG achieves a bit rate of 1.8 Mbps, passing all NIST 800-22 and TestU01 tests. In the absence of Bell’s parameter for a non-maximally entangled state, g⁽²⁾(0) can be the metric for quantumness measure. Free from the requirement of any physical devices such as beam-splitters, this scalable DI-QRNG scheme promises high bit-rates and trustworthy certifications essential for practical applications.