Mainz 2026 – scientific programme

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Q: Fachverband Quantenoptik und Photonik

Q 3: Quantum Technologies – Enabling Technologies

Q 3.4: Talk

Monday, March 2, 2026, 12:30–12:45, P 5

Entropy-Based Complexity Characterization of Integrated Photonic Physical Unclonable Functions — •Himadri Sahoo, Rick Bevers, Daan J. de Ruiter, Lars van der Hoeven, Daan P. Stellinga, Matthias C. Velsink, and Pepijn W. H. Pinkse — MESA+ Institute for Nanotechnology, University of Twente, P.O. Box 217, 7500 AE Enschede, the Netherlands

Integrated photonic Physical Unclonable Functions (PUFs) offer high intrinsic complexity due to fabrication-induced disorder and multimode interference. We present an entropy-based framework to quantify their information content using repeated time-domain optical responses. From current amplitude-only spectra, we extract lower bounds on effective entropy and identify correlations limiting independent degrees of freedom. Numerical simulations based on these experimental spectra are employed to visualize response variations and support the evaluation of different entropy estimators. To achieve a more complete complexity assessment, we propose complementary vector network analyzer measurements providing phase-resolved transfer functions with higher spectral resolution. This combined experimental-numerical approach advances complexity determination in photonic hardware security primitives.

Keywords: Physical Unclonable Functions; Integrated Photonics; Entropy and Complexity Metrics; Spectral Characterization; Secure Quantum Authentication