Challenges
Datasets
Workspaces
Papers
Discussions
Leaderboard
Log inSign up
Challenges
Datasets
Workspaces
Papers
Discussions
Leaderboard
Blog
Job Board
Q3AS

© 2026 Aqora Quantum S.A.S.

TermsPrivacyLegal Notice

Unconventional Optical Imaging

Confidential optical data transmission through multimode fibres based on holographic transmission matrix measurements

Stefan Rothe, Karl-Ludwig Besser, Nektarios Koukourakis, Eduard Axel Jorswieck, Jürgen W. Czarske

Published May 20, 2022• 0 citations
Publisher

Abstract

Holographic transmission matrix measurements of optical multimode fibre communication channels enable optical precoding on the transmitter-side exploiting the physical layer. This approach can achieve a crucial SNR advantage for legitimate communication participants over illegitamte ones, such as an eavesdropper. We present measurements on a 55-mode fibre channel including transmitter Alice and receiver Bob, to which an eavesdropper Eve is physically coupled. Alice performs a programmable optical precoding through an SLM based on singular value decomposition enabling space division multiplexing. Demonstration of confidential data transmission is based on measurements from both channels Alice/Bob and Alice/Eve, which are used for determining the achievable amount of securely exchanged data between Alice and Bob, i.e. secrecy rate. Results are shown on step-index fibres of up to 100 m length.

DOI
10.1117/12.2620317

Related papers

Securing Data in Multimode Fibers by Exploiting Mode-Dependent Light Propagation Effects

Stefan Rothe, Karl-Ludwig Besser, David Krause +4 more

Multimode fibers hold great promise to advance data rates in optical communications but come with the challenge to compensate for modal crosstalk and mode-dependent losses, resulting in strong distortions. The holographic measurement of the transmission matrix enables not only correcting distortions but also harnessing these effects for creating a confidential data connection between legitimate communication parties, Alice and Bob. The feasibility of this physical-layer-security-based approach is demonstrated experimentally for the first time on a multimode fiber link to which the eavesdropper Eve is physically coupled. Once the proper structured light field is launched at Alice's side, the message can be delivered to Bob, and, simultaneously, the decipherment for an illegitimate wiretapper Eve is destroyed. Within a real communication scenario, we implement wiretap codes and demonstrate confidentiality by quantifying the level of secrecy. Compared to an uncoded data transmission, the amount of securely exchanged data is enhanced by a factor of 538. The complex light transportation phenomena that have long been considered limiting and have restricted the widespread use of multimode fiber are exploited for opening new perspectives on information security in spatial multiplexing communication systems.

arXiv:2203.02064•Research•Jan 1, 2023•32 citations

Physical Layer Security in Multimode Fiber Optical Networks

Stefan Rothe, Nektarios Koukourakis, Hannes Radner +3 more

The light propagation through a multimode fiber is used to increase information security during data transmission without the need for cryptographic approaches. The use of an inverse precoding method in a multimode fiber-optic communication network is based on mode-dependent losses on the physical layer. This leads to an asymmetry between legitimate (Bob) and illegitimate (Eve) recipients of messages, resulting in significant SNR advantage for Bob. In combination with dynamic mode channel changes, there are defined hurdles for Eve to reconstruct a sent message even in a worst-case scenario in which she knows the channel completely. This is the first time that physical layer security has been investigated in a fiber optical network based on measured transmission matrices. The results show that messages can be sent securely using traditional communication techniques. The technology introduced is a step towards the development of cyber physical systems with increased security.

arXiv:1909.08535•Scientific Reports•Feb 17, 2020•50 citations

Secrecy Capacities in Space-Division Multiplexed Fiber Optic Communication Systems

Kyle Guan, Antonia Maria Tulino, Peter J. Winzer +1 more

Space-division multiplexed (SDM) fiber optic transmission systems can not only increase system capacity, but also achieve physical-layer security against fiber tapping attacks. In this paper, we examine the information-theoretic security of optical multiple-input-multiple-output (MIMO) SDM by evaluating the tradeoff between the achievable information rate and the confidentiality for different channel dynamics. In particular, we provide problem formulations for secure communication over these channels and study three types of secrecy capacities: 1) guaranteed capacity; 2) outage capacity; and 3) average capacity, each serving as a performance metric for a coding strategy tailored to a specific type of MIMO-SDM channel. We also assess the impact of key system parameters, such as the number of modes, the mode-dependent loss (MDL), and the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), on the various secrecy capacities. Our results indicate that, with a proper design of channel codes that balance information rate and security, an SDM system has the potential of offering confidential data transmission at a rate that could be orders of magnitude higher than what can be achieved through other means of encryption. Moreover, we show that MDL, unavoidably induced by fiber tapping, can allow information-theoretic security even if the SNR of the eavesdropper's receiver is better than that of the legitimate receiver.

IEEE Transactions on Information Forensics and Security•Feb 24, 2015•29 citations

Rate-Distortion-Based Physical Layer Secrecy with Applications to Multimode Fiber

Eva C. Song, Emina Soljanin, Paul Cuff +2 more

Optical networks are vulnerable to physical layer attacks; wiretappers can improperly receive messages intended for legitimate recipients. Multimode fiber (MMF) transmission can be modeled via a broadcast channel in which both the legitimate receiver's and wiretapper's channels are multiple-input-multiple-output complex Gaussian channels. This work considers the theoretical aspects of this security problem in the domain of a broadcast channel. Source-channel coding analyses based on the use of distortion as the metric for secrecy are developed. Alice has a source sequence to be encoded and transmitted over this broadcast channel so that the legitimate user Bob can reliably decode it while forcing the distortion of the wiretapper, or eavesdropper, Eve's estimate to be as high as possible. Tradeoffs between transmission rate and distortion under two extreme scenarios are examined: the best case where Eve has only her channel output and the worst case where she also knows the past realization of the source. It is shown that under the best case, an operationally separate source-channel coding scheme guarantees maximum distortion at the same rate as needed for reliable transmission. Theoretical bounds are given, and particularized for MMF. Numerical results showing the rate distortion tradeoff are presented and compared with corresponding results for the perfect secrecy case.

arXiv:1304.4181•IEEE Transactions on Communications•Feb 3, 2014•17 citations

Physical Layer Security in an OFDM Time Reversal SISO Communication With Imperfect Channel State Information

Sidney Golstein, François Rottenberg, François Horlin +2 more

A frequency domain time-reversal (TR) precoder is proposed to perform physical layer security in single-input single-output (SISO) systems using orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM) and artificial noise (AN) injection. This scheme guarantees the secrecy of a communication towards a legitimate user, Bob, by exploiting the frequency diversity selective behaviour in multipath channels. The transmitter, Alice, has imperfect channel state information (CSI) of the legitimate link thanks to the channel reciprocity in time division duplex systems and does not know the instantaneous CSI of a potential eavesdropper, Eve. Three optimal decoding structures at Eve are considered in a block fading environment depending on the handshake procedure between Alice and Bob. Closed-form approximations of the signal-to-noise ratio required at Bob and the maximal CSI error that can be made at Alice, in order to guarantee a communication ergodic secrecy rate (ESR), are derived. Furthermore, the optimal amount of AN energy to inject, considering imperfect CSI, is also given as a closed-form expression. A trade-off on the choice of the spreading factor of the TR precoder is established between maximizing the ESR and decreasing the$\boldsymbol {\epsilon }-$achievable secrecy rate. Finally, thanks to these results, Alice can be a priori aware of the ESR over which she can establish a secure communication.

IEEE Access•Jan 1, 2022•14 citations

Smart transmission matrix measurement of multimode fibers using digital holography and deep learning for confidential data transmission

Stefan Rothe, Qian Zhang, Dennis Pohle +2 more

We present smart measurements of the transmission matrix of multimode fibers (MMF). The modal crosstalk of the MMF is exploited by authorized communication participants against an eavesdropper towards physical layer security.

Digital Holography and Three-Dimensional Imaging•Jan 1, 2022•0 citations
Holographic transmission matrix measurements of optical multimode fibre communication channels enable optical precoding on the transmitter-side exploiting the physical layer. This approach can achieve a crucial SNR advantage for legitimate communication participants over illegitamte ones, such as an eavesdropper. We present measurements on a 55-mode fibre channel including transmitter Alice and receiver Bob, to which an eavesdropper Eve is physically coupled. Alice performs a programmable optical precoding through an SLM based on singular value decomposition enabling space division multiplexing. Demonstration of confidential data transmission is based on measurements from both channels Alice/Bob and Alice/Eve, which are used for determining the achievable amount of securely exchanged data between Alice and Bob, i.e. secrecy rate. Results are shown on step-index fibres of up to 100 m length.
Multimode fibers hold great promise to advance data rates in optical communications but come with the challenge to compensate for modal crosstalk and mode-dependent losses, resulting in strong distortions. The holographic measurement of the transmission matrix enables not only correcting distortions but also harnessing these effects for creating a confidential data connection between legitimate communication parties, Alice and Bob. The feasibility of this physical-layer-security-based approach is demonstrated experimentally for the first time on a multimode fiber link to which the eavesdropper Eve is physically coupled. Once the proper structured light field is launched at Alice's side, the message can be delivered to Bob, and, simultaneously, the decipherment for an illegitimate wiretapper Eve is destroyed. Within a real communication scenario, we implement wiretap codes and demonstrate confidentiality by quantifying the level of secrecy. Compared to an uncoded data transmission, the amount of securely exchanged data is enhanced by a factor of 538. The complex light transportation phenomena that have long been considered limiting and have restricted the widespread use of multimode fiber are exploited for opening new perspectives on information security in spatial multiplexing communication systems.
The light propagation through a multimode fiber is used to increase information security during data transmission without the need for cryptographic approaches. The use of an inverse precoding method in a multimode fiber-optic communication network is based on mode-dependent losses on the physical layer. This leads to an asymmetry between legitimate (Bob) and illegitimate (Eve) recipients of messages, resulting in significant SNR advantage for Bob. In combination with dynamic mode channel changes, there are defined hurdles for Eve to reconstruct a sent message even in a worst-case scenario in which she knows the channel completely. This is the first time that physical layer security has been investigated in a fiber optical network based on measured transmission matrices. The results show that messages can be sent securely using traditional communication techniques. The technology introduced is a step towards the development of cyber physical systems with increased security.
Space-division multiplexed (SDM) fiber optic transmission systems can not only increase system capacity, but also achieve physical-layer security against fiber tapping attacks. In this paper, we examine the information-theoretic security of optical multiple-input-multiple-output (MIMO) SDM by evaluating the tradeoff between the achievable information rate and the confidentiality for different channel dynamics. In particular, we provide problem formulations for secure communication over these channels and study three types of secrecy capacities: 1) guaranteed capacity; 2) outage capacity; and 3) average capacity, each serving as a performance metric for a coding strategy tailored to a specific type of MIMO-SDM channel. We also assess the impact of key system parameters, such as the number of modes, the mode-dependent loss (MDL), and the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), on the various secrecy capacities. Our results indicate that, with a proper design of channel codes that balance information rate and security, an SDM system has the potential of offering confidential data transmission at a rate that could be orders of magnitude higher than what can be achieved through other means of encryption. Moreover, we show that MDL, unavoidably induced by fiber tapping, can allow information-theoretic security even if the SNR of the eavesdropper's receiver is better than that of the legitimate receiver.
Optical networks are vulnerable to physical layer attacks; wiretappers can improperly receive messages intended for legitimate recipients. Multimode fiber (MMF) transmission can be modeled via a broadcast channel in which both the legitimate receiver's and wiretapper's channels are multiple-input-multiple-output complex Gaussian channels. This work considers the theoretical aspects of this security problem in the domain of a broadcast channel. Source-channel coding analyses based on the use of distortion as the metric for secrecy are developed. Alice has a source sequence to be encoded and transmitted over this broadcast channel so that the legitimate user Bob can reliably decode it while forcing the distortion of the wiretapper, or eavesdropper, Eve's estimate to be as high as possible. Tradeoffs between transmission rate and distortion under two extreme scenarios are examined: the best case where Eve has only her channel output and the worst case where she also knows the past realization of the source. It is shown that under the best case, an operationally separate source-channel coding scheme guarantees maximum distortion at the same rate as needed for reliable transmission. Theoretical bounds are given, and particularized for MMF. Numerical results showing the rate distortion tradeoff are presented and compared with corresponding results for the perfect secrecy case.
A frequency domain time-reversal (TR) precoder is proposed to perform physical layer security in single-input single-output (SISO) systems using orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM) and artificial noise (AN) injection. This scheme guarantees the secrecy of a communication towards a legitimate user, Bob, by exploiting the frequency diversity selective behaviour in multipath channels. The transmitter, Alice, has imperfect channel state information (CSI) of the legitimate link thanks to the channel reciprocity in time division duplex systems and does not know the instantaneous CSI of a potential eavesdropper, Eve. Three optimal decoding structures at Eve are considered in a block fading environment depending on the handshake procedure between Alice and Bob. Closed-form approximations of the signal-to-noise ratio required at Bob and the maximal CSI error that can be made at Alice, in order to guarantee a communication ergodic secrecy rate (ESR), are derived. Furthermore, the optimal amount of AN energy to inject, considering imperfect CSI, is also given as a closed-form expression. A trade-off on the choice of the spreading factor of the TR precoder is established between maximizing the ESR and decreasing theϵ−\boldsymbol {\epsilon }-ϵ−achievable secrecy rate. Finally, thanks to these results, Alice can be a priori aware of the ESR over which she can establish a secure communication.