Quantum-resilient optical links using micro-LEDs generated quantum random numbers and physical unclonable functions

Quantum-resilient optical links using micro-LEDs generated quantum random numbers and physical unclonable functions | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article Quantum-resilient optical links using micro-LEDs generated quantum random numbers and physical unclonable functions Tien Khee Ng, Heming Lin, Wenqing Niu, Tae Yong Park, Hang Lu, and 3 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-8729181/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Secure communication in Internet-of-Things (IoT) systems typically rely on separate hardware elements for key generation, device authentication, and data transmission, complicating scalable integration. Here we demonstrate that micro-LEDs can integrate all three capabilities, reducing energy and footprint overheads and avoiding exposure to additional attack surfaces. Notably, fabrication-induced structural variations can generate stable, device-unique near-field emission patterns that serve as optoelectronic physical unclonable functions (PUFs), while spontaneous-emission noise can provide a quantum-origin entropy source for quantum random number generators (QRNGs). Through min-entropy evaluation and post-processing, a single micro-LED delivers a stable QRNG throughput of 13.25 Gb/s. Using a deep-neural-network-assisted extractor, each device yields reproducible 256-bit keys, with intra- and inter-device Hamming distances separated by more than an order of magnitude. Integrated into a post-quantum cryptographic framework, the micro-LED functions as a self-contained secure transmitter, enabling authenticated and encrypted free-space optical wireless communication at 1.97 Gb/s. In principle, the security mechanisms are wavelength-independent and extendable across material platforms. Together, these results establish a quantum-resilient photonic node that consolidates transmission, identity, and randomness at the edge device level, providing a scalable hardware building block for secure, low-power connectivity in future IoT networks. Physical sciences/Optics and photonics/Lasers, LEDs and light sources/Inorganic LEDs Physical sciences/Optics and photonics/Applied optics/Optoelectronic devices and components micro-LED PUF QRNG OWC PQC IoT Full Text Additional Declarations There is NO Competing Interest. Supplementary Files SupplementaryInformation.docx Quantum-resilient optical links using micro-LEDs generated quantum random numbers and physical unclonable functions Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-8729181","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":600071821,"identity":"16eb566d-a518-4b33-9e24-eda516c26b87","order_by":0,"name":"Tien Khee 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