Boolean Chaos

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates deterministic chaos in a network of electronic logic gates without clock regulation, producing ultra-wide-band signals, and models this behavior with an autonomous Boolean system.

Contribution

It introduces the first observation of electronic Boolean chaos and develops a qualitative Boolean model incorporating signal history and pulse filtering.

Findings

Power spectrum extends beyond 2 GHz

Behavior reproduced by Boolean model

Potential application as ultra-wide-band radio source

Abstract

We observe deterministic chaos in a simple network of electronic logic gates that are not regulated by a clocking signal. The resulting power spectrum is ultra-wide-band, extending from dc to beyond 2 GHz. The observed behavior is reproduced qualitatively using an autonomously updating Boolean model with signal propagation times that depend on the recent history of the gates and filtering of pulses of short duration, whose presence is confirmed experimentally. Electronic Boolean chaos may find application as an ultra-wide-band source of radio waves