{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,15]],"date-time":"2026-03-15T15:26:59Z","timestamp":1773588419997,"version":"3.50.1"},"reference-count":48,"publisher":"Association for Computing Machinery (ACM)","issue":"1","funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100001809","name":"National Natural Science Foundation of China","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","award":["U24A20289"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["U24A20289"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100001809","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"crossref"}]},{"name":"National Key Research and Development Program of China","award":["2024YFE0211100"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["2024YFE0211100"]}]},{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100001809","name":"National Natural Science Foundation of China","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","award":["62202178"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["62202178"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100001809","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"crossref"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":["dl.acm.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["ACM Trans. Reconfigurable Technol. Syst."],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,31]]},"abstract":"<jats:p>True random number generators (TRNGs) extract randomness from physical phenomena to produce inherently unpredictable bitstreams. Owing to their strong cryptographic properties, TRNGs are fundamental components for establishing trusted roots in secure systems. However, the throughput of current TRNGs falls short of meeting the increasing demands posed by high-speed encryption and rapidly growing data volumes. To solve this issue, in this article, we propose a multi-channel tetrahedral TRNG (MCT-TRNG) via metastability-enhanced entropy with ultra-high throughput. We first propose a novel entropy source structure of a metastability-enhanced ring oscillator, which extracts randomness in unstable signals by switching transmission paths. Then, we introduce a feedback XOR ring to improve the degree of signal chaos. On this basis, we propose a tetrahedral post-processing structure with four channels to produce independent parallel outputs. The experiments show that the generated random sequences have successfully passed the NIST and AIS-31 tests. The MCT-TRNG incurs only 18 LUTs with a throughput of 2.2 Gbps on Xilinx Artix-7 FPGA. Compared with existing works, our design has the highest throughput, yielding promising application potential.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1145\/3779443","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,12,5]],"date-time":"2025-12-05T14:42:40Z","timestamp":1764945760000},"page":"1-21","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1145\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["MCT-TRNG: Multi-Channel Tetrahedral TRNG via Metastability-Enhanced Entropy with 2.2 Gbps Throughput"],"prefix":"10.1145","volume":"19","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-8007-9796","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Yuan","family":"Zhang","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Hunan University, Changsha, China and Nanjing University of Posts and Telecommunications, Nanjing, China"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-8712-2964","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Jiliang","family":"Zhang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Nanjing University of Posts and Telecommunications, Nanjing, China"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"320","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,5]]},"reference":[{"key":"e_1_3_1_2_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1109\/JPROC.2014.2335155"},{"key":"e_1_3_1_3_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1145\/2508859.2516680"},{"key":"e_1_3_1_4_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1109\/TIFS.2018.2850770"},{"issue":"2","key":"e_1_3_1_5_2","first-page":"1338","article-title":"Practical and provably secure three-factor authentication protocol based on extended chaotic-maps for mobile lightweight devices","volume":"19","author":"Qiu Shuming","year":"2020","unstructured":"Shuming Qiu, Ding Wang, Guoai Xu, and Saru Kumari. 2020. Practical and provably secure three-factor authentication protocol based on extended chaotic-maps for mobile lightweight devices. IEEE Transactions on Dependable and Secure Computing 19, 2 (2020), 1338\u20131351.","journal-title":"IEEE Transactions on Dependable and Secure Computing"},{"key":"e_1_3_1_6_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1109\/ISCAS.2017.8050821"},{"key":"e_1_3_1_7_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1109\/TCAD.2025.3572838"},{"key":"e_1_3_1_8_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1109\/ISSCC.2014.6757434"},{"key":"e_1_3_1_9_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1109\/JSSC.2012.2217631"},{"key":"e_1_3_1_10_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1109\/TC.2008.212"},{"key":"e_1_3_1_11_2","first-page":"216","volume-title":"Proceedings of the 2011 Symposium on VLSI Circuits\u2014Digest of Technical Papers","author":"Liu Nurrachman","year":"2011","unstructured":"Nurrachman Liu, Nathaniel Pinckney, Scott Hanson, Dennis Sylvester, and David Blaauw. 2011. A true random number generator using time-dependent dielectric breakdown. In Proceedings of the 2011 Symposium on VLSI Circuits\u2014Digest of Technical Papers, 216\u2013217."},{"key":"e_1_3_1_12_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1109\/JSSC.2017.2694833"},{"key":"e_1_3_1_13_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1109\/JSSC.2018.2886350"},{"issue":"7","key":"e_1_3_1_14_2","first-page":"1242","article-title":"Hardware-efficient post-processing architectures for true random number generators","volume":"66","author":"Ro\u017ei\u0107 Vladimir","year":"2019","unstructured":"Vladimir Ro\u017ei\u0107 and Ingrid Verbauwhede. 2019. Hardware-efficient post-processing architectures for true random number generators. IEEE Transactions on Circuits and Systems II: Express Briefs 66, 7 (2019), 1242\u20131246.","journal-title":"IEEE Transactions on Circuits and Systems II: Express Briefs"},{"issue":"6","key":"e_1_3_1_15_2","first-page":"1109","article-title":"An analysis of DCM-based true random number generator","volume":"67","author":"Fujieda Naoki","year":"2019","unstructured":"Naoki Fujieda, Masaaki Takeda, and Shuichi Ichikawa. 2019. An analysis of DCM-based true random number generator. IEEE Transactions on Circuits and Systems II: Express Briefs 67, 6 (2019), 1109\u20131113.","journal-title":"IEEE Transactions on Circuits and Systems II: Express Briefs"},{"key":"e_1_3_1_16_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1109\/I2MTC43012.2020.9129357"},{"key":"e_1_3_1_17_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1109\/TCSI.2025.3555325"},{"key":"e_1_3_1_18_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1109\/TCSI.2020.3019030"},{"key":"e_1_3_1_19_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1145\/3624991"},{"issue":"3","key":"e_1_3_1_20_2","first-page":"1752","article-title":"Design of true random number generator based on multi-stage feedback ring oscillator","volume":"69","author":"Cui Jianguo","year":"2022","unstructured":"Jianguo Cui, Maoxiang Yi, Di Cao, Liang Yao, Xinyu Wang, Huaguo Liang, Zhengfeng Huang, Haochen Qi, Tianming Ni, and Yingchun Lu. 2022. Design of true random number generator based on multi-stage feedback ring oscillator. IEEE Transactions on Circuits and Systems II: Express Briefs 69, 3 (2022), 1752\u20131756.","journal-title":"IEEE Transactions on Circuits and Systems II: Express Briefs"},{"key":"e_1_3_1_21_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1109\/TCSII.2019.2919891"},{"key":"e_1_3_1_22_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1007\/978-3-642-23951-9_2"},{"key":"e_1_3_1_23_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1145\/3610295"},{"key":"e_1_3_1_24_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1007\/978-3-540-45238-6_13"},{"key":"e_1_3_1_25_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1109\/TCSI.2022.3199218"},{"issue":"6","key":"e_1_3_1_26_2","first-page":"608","article-title":"A low-cost low-power ring oscillator-based truly random number generator for encryption on smart cards","volume":"63","author":"Liu Dongsheng","year":"2016","unstructured":"Dongsheng Liu, Zilong Liu, Lun Li, and Xuecheng Zou. 2016. A low-cost low-power ring oscillator-based truly random number generator for encryption on smart cards. IEEE Transactions on Circuits and Systems II: Express Briefs 63, 6 (2016), 608\u2013612.","journal-title":"IEEE Transactions on Circuits and Systems II: Express Briefs"},{"key":"e_1_3_1_27_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1109\/TC.2006.164"},{"key":"e_1_3_1_28_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1109\/ASICON47005.2019.8983534"},{"key":"e_1_3_1_29_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.46586\/tches.v2023.i2.381-417"},{"key":"e_1_3_1_30_2","volume-title":"Fibonacci Ring Oscillators as True Random Number Generators\u2014A Security Risk","year":"2015","unstructured":"Markus Dichtl. 2015. Fibonacci Ring Oscillators as True Random Number Generators\u2014A Security Risk. Cryptology ePrint Archive. Retrieved from https:\/\/eprint.iacr.org\/2015\/270"},{"key":"e_1_3_1_31_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.23919\/AE.2017.8053618"},{"issue":"10","key":"e_1_3_1_32_2","first-page":"1854","article-title":"The unpredictability analysis of Boolean chaos","volume":"67","author":"Gong Lishuang","year":"2019","unstructured":"Lishuang Gong, Jianguo Zhang, Luxiao Sang, Haifang Liu, and Yuncai Wang. 2019. The unpredictability analysis of Boolean chaos. IEEE Transactions on Circuits and Systems II: Express Briefs 67, 10 (2019), 1854\u20131858.","journal-title":"IEEE Transactions on Circuits and Systems II: Express Briefs"},{"key":"e_1_3_1_33_2","volume-title":"A Statistical Test Suite for Random and Pseudorandom Number Generators for Cryptographic Applications","author":"Rukhin Andrew","year":"2001","unstructured":"Andrew Rukhin, Juan Soto, James Nechvatal, Miles Smid, Elaine Barker, Stefan Leigh, Mark Levenson, Mark Vangel, David Banks, Alan Heckert, et al. 2001. A Statistical Test Suite for Random and Pseudorandom Number Generators for Cryptographic Applications, Vol. 22. US Department of Commerce, Technology Administration, National Institute of Standards and Technology."},{"key":"e_1_3_1_34_2","unstructured":"Meltem S\u00f6nmez Turan Elaine Barker John Kelsey Kerry A. McKay Mary L. Baish and Mike Boyle. 2018. Recommendation for the Entropy Sources Used for Random Bit Generation. NIST Special Publication 800-90B."},{"key":"e_1_3_1_35_2","volume-title":"A Proposal for: Functionality Classes for Random Number Generators","author":"Killmann Wolfgang","year":"2011","unstructured":"Wolfgang Killmann and Werner Schindler. 2011. A Proposal for: Functionality Classes for Random Number Generators. BDI, Bonn."},{"key":"e_1_3_1_36_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1109\/TII.2015.2502183"},{"key":"e_1_3_1_37_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1109\/ISMVL.2017.10"},{"key":"e_1_3_1_38_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.23919\/DATE.2018.8342209"},{"key":"e_1_3_1_39_2","first-page":"119","volume-title":"Data Handling in Science and Technology","author":"Nounou Mohamed N.","year":"2000","unstructured":"Mohamed N. Nounou and Bhavik R. Bakshi. 2000. Multiscale methods for denoising and compression. In Data Handling in Science and Technology, Vol. 22. Elsevier, 119\u2013150."},{"key":"e_1_3_1_40_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.23919\/DATE.2019.8715263"},{"key":"e_1_3_1_41_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1109\/JSSC.2016.2519383"},{"key":"e_1_3_1_42_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1109\/TCSI.2022.3158022"},{"key":"e_1_3_1_43_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1109\/TC.2022.3218986"},{"key":"e_1_3_1_44_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1109\/DAC56929.2023.10247746"},{"key":"e_1_3_1_45_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1109\/TCSII.2024.3363015"},{"key":"e_1_3_1_46_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1145\/3649329.3656236"},{"key":"e_1_3_1_47_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1109\/TCSI.2025.3526181"},{"key":"e_1_3_1_48_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1109\/TCSI.2020.3037173"},{"issue":"2","key":"e_1_3_1_49_2","first-page":"756","article-title":"A high-speed FPGA-based true random number generator using metastability with clock managers","volume":"70","author":"Frustaci Fabio","year":"2022","unstructured":"Fabio Frustaci, Fanny Spagnolo, Stefania Perri, and Pasquale Corsonello. 2022. A high-speed FPGA-based true random number generator using metastability with clock managers. IEEE Transactions on Circuits and Systems II: Express Briefs 70, 2 (2022), 756\u2013760.","journal-title":"IEEE Transactions on Circuits and Systems II: Express Briefs"}],"container-title":["ACM Transactions on Reconfigurable Technology and Systems"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/dl.acm.org\/doi\/pdf\/10.1145\/3779443","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,15]],"date-time":"2026-03-15T13:40:54Z","timestamp":1773582054000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/dl.acm.org\/doi\/10.1145\/3779443"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,5]]},"references-count":48,"journal-issue":{"issue":"1","published-print":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,31]]}},"alternative-id":["10.1145\/3779443"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1145\/3779443","relation":{},"ISSN":["1936-7406","1936-7414"],"issn-type":[{"value":"1936-7406","type":"print"},{"value":"1936-7414","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,5]]},"assertion":[{"value":"2025-06-17","order":0,"name":"received","label":"Received","group":{"name":"publication_history","label":"Publication History"}},{"value":"2025-09-03","order":2,"name":"accepted","label":"Accepted","group":{"name":"publication_history","label":"Publication History"}},{"value":"2026-03-05","order":3,"name":"published","label":"Published","group":{"name":"publication_history","label":"Publication History"}}]}}