Patent ID: 7571200

Claim:
A pseudo-random number generator, comprising: a linear feedback shift register (LFSR) to be seeded with any value and having a plurality of stages and an output port at each stage; and a cellular automaton to be seeded with a predetermined value to not result in a sub-cycle and having a plurality of cells and an output port at each cell, wherein the LFSR has fewer stages than the cellular automaton has cells; and a plurality of logic circuit elements, each implementing a selected logic function and having a first input port coupled to an output port of a stage of the LFSR and a second input port coupled to an output port of a cell of the cellular automaton that provides one bit of the pseudo-random number over an output port wherein the cellular automaton is implemented in a programmable logic device that is a field programmable gate array and each cell in the cellular automaton is implemented with a look-up table of the field programmable gate array.