An open-source hardware true random number generator (TRNG) has been made available on GitHub by its developer Gabriel Guerer.
Called RAVA, the TRNG uses avalanche breakdown, a characteristic of many electronic devices, to generate random numbers.
It applies a high voltage to a pair of Zener diodes that causes an avalanche of electrons, which produce slight variations in current flow over time that can be amplified and used to generate random numbers.
The noise is amplified using a series of op amps and fed to an ATmega32U4 microcontroller that can provide 136.0 Kbit/s of random data to the user.
The device is considered a true random number generator because it is based on a generally accepted method of generating true random numbers rather than pseudorandom numbers produced by algorithms.
Its open-source nature means users can access and audit its processes and replace any faulty elements.
