Establish true randomness of memristor-based random number generation from frequency response

Ascertain the statistical properties, including true randomness, of random number sequences derived from the output (frequency response) of memristive devices when driven by periodic input signals. Specifically evaluate sequences generated from the Au/BiFeO3/Pt/Ti bismuth ferrite oxide memristive device and the Au/NbOx/Al2O3/Nb double barrier memristive device to determine whether they satisfy criteria consistent with true randomness under rigorous statistical analysis.

Background

The paper proposes using the frequency response of memristive devices as a fingerprint for identification and suggests that the inherent nonlinearity and chaotic behavior observed in the internal state attractors could be leveraged to generate random numbers. The authors discuss how applying a periodic input and observing the device’s output can yield a sequence that appears unpredictable due to the device’s chaotic dynamics.

However, while the study presents qualitative evidence of nonlinearity and chaos (e.g., attractors in Au/BiFeO3/Pt/Ti and Au/NbOx/Al2O3/Nb devices), it does not provide a comprehensive statistical evaluation of the generated sequences. The explicit open problem is to rigorously analyze these sequences to determine whether they exhibit true randomness, which is critical for hardware security applications such as true random number generators.