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

Optics Express

Quantum noise ciphered optical stealth communication based on equivalent spectral encoding

Huatao Zhu, Zhanqi Liu, Peng Xiang, Shuwen Chen, Feiyu Li, Xiangming Xu

Published Sep 22, 2022• 8 citations
Publisher

Abstract

To provide secure and covert transmission for optical communication system at the same time, a quantum-noise stream ciphered optical stealth communication approach is proposed for the first time. In the proposed system, the optical pulses are time spread by a chromatic dispersion device and then phase modulated with optical codes at chip rate to realize an equivalent spectral encoding. Binary optical codes are converted to multiple level phase-shift keying signal according to Y-00 protocol. The encoded optical signals are attenuated to mesoscopic coherent states and sent to a public channel. The ciphered signals are stealthy transmitted under public channel noise. The availability and covertness of the optical stealth channel is verified by system simulations.

DOI
10.1364/oe.471977

Related papers

Optical stealth communication based on quantum noise stream ciphered amplified spontaneous emission light

Huatao Zhu, Zhanqi Liu, Shuwen Chen +2 more

Amplified spontaneous emission (ASE) light is the most natural optical carrier to hide a message in the existing optical networks at photonic layer. To enhance the anti-intercept ability of the ASE-carried stealth channel, a novel optical stealth communication scheme based on quantum noise stream cipher is proposed. The ASE light is intensity modulated by the cipher-text according to Y-00 protocol, and then transmitted under public optical noise after power attenuation. The expression of quantum noise stream ciphered ASE signal is derived, and numerical simulation is carried out. A proof-of-concept experiment is set up to demonstrate the feasibility of the proposed scheme. The experiment results show that the quantum noise stream ciphered stealth signals can be transmitted over a 25 km single-mode fiber span error-free.

Optics Express•Jan 9, 2023•9 citations

Spectral and temporal stealthy fiber-optic communication using sampling and phase encoding

Tomer Yeminy, Dan Sadot, Zeev Zalevsky

We propose a method for covert fiber-optic communication in both frequency and time domains. The power spectral density of the pulse sequence bearing the information is spread in the frequency domain below the noise level by means of sampling. In addition, temporal phase encryption prevents the coherent addition of the various pulses in the frequency domain, further reducing the signal power spectral density. Thus, there is no need to transmit the signal within the bandwidth of a public user in order to spectrally conceal the signal. Temporal spreading of the pulse sequence is achieved by spectral phase encoding, resulting in a stealthy temporal and spectral transmission.

Optics Express•Sep 30, 2011•15 citations

A Novel Realization of PSK and QPSK Quantum-Noise Randomized Cipher Systems with Optical Domain Decryption

Yukai Chen, Tao Pu, Jilin Zheng +3 more

Quantum-noise randomized cipher (QNRC) is an anti-interception communication technology, which can realize high-speed encryption for data stream in true randomness. In this paper, the characteristics of the phase shift keying (PSK) and quadrature phase shift keying(QPSK) QNRC systems are verified by the simulation system with digital coherent demodulation. The decryption process of the QNRC coherent system is carried out in the optical domain for the first time. Specifically, at the quadrature coupler, the modulated local light is coupled with the received encrypted optical signal. The multi-symbol phase estimation(MSPE) module is employed to eliminate the influence of the phase deviation on the signal decision. Finally, error-free secure transmission is realized at 2.5Gsymbol/s over 500km optically amplified links. We reveal the new fact that the mesoscopic power of QPSK-QNRC system is higher than that of PSK-QNRC system.

IEEE International Conference on Computer and Communications (ICCC)•Dec 11, 2020•0 citations

Optical stealth transmission based on super-continuum generation in highly nonlinear fiber over WDM network

Huatao Zhu, Rong Wang, Tao Pu +4 more

In this Letter, the optical stealth transmission carried by super-continuum spectrum optical pulses generated in highly nonlinear fiber is proposed and experimentally demonstrated. In the proposed transmission scheme, super-continuum signals are reshaped in the spectral domain through a wavelength-selective switch and are temporally spread by a chromatic dispersion device to achieve the same noise-like characteristic as the noise in optical networks, so that in both the time domain and the spectral domain, the stealth signals are hidden in public channel. Our experimental results show that compared with existing schemes where stealth channels are carried by amplified spontaneous emission noise, super-continuum signal can increase the transmission performance and robustness.

Optics Letters•May 21, 2015•26 citations

Optical Signal Processing and Stealth Transmission for Privacy

Ben Wu, Bhavin J. Shastri, Prateek Mittal +2 more

Optical encryption, key generation, and optical stealth transmission techniques for protecting the privacy of communication in optical networks are proposed and summarized. The signal processing methods based on fiber components provide ways to encrypt data and generate encryption keys at the speed of data transmission in optical fibers. Private and confidential communication is achieved without compromising the capacity and bandwidth of the optical network. Optical stealth transmission can hide the signal in plain sight. Because an eavesdropper can neither read the data nor detect the existence of the transmitted signal, optical stealth transmission provides a higher level of privacy. A hybrid system which includes both the public channels and stealth channels can effectively provide anonymous communication and defend against traffic analysis.

IEEE Journal of Selected Topics in Signal Processing•Apr 20, 2015•32 citations

Two-Dimensional Optical Code-Division Modulation With Quantum-Noise Aided Encryption for Applications in Key Distribution

Sarper Özharar, Daniel R. Reilly, Shawn X. Wang +2 more

We propose and demonstrate an advanced optical modulation format that makes use of both spectral and temporal phase encodings (2-D) for applications requiring exceptional security. The method combines modulation techniques used in direct-sequence spread-spectrum coding, spectral-phase encoding, and M-ary phase-shift keying with codes generated using cryptographically secure pseudorandom number generators. The wideband transmission signal is very difficult for an eavesdropper to record or analyze. Signal-to-noise ratio limitations imposed by quantum effects enhance the security further. The properties of the transmitted signal make it especially useful for physics-based key expansion systems. We have successfully used this setup to transmit encrypted 155 Mb/s data over 70 km of fiber with a BER value of 4E-5.

Journal of Lightwave Technology•May 20, 2011•2 citations
To provide secure and covert transmission for optical communication system at the same time, a quantum-noise stream ciphered optical stealth communication approach is proposed for the first time. In the proposed system, the optical pulses are time spread by a chromatic dispersion device and then phase modulated with optical codes at chip rate to realize an equivalent spectral encoding. Binary optical codes are converted to multiple level phase-shift keying signal according to Y-00 protocol. The encoded optical signals are attenuated to mesoscopic coherent states and sent to a public channel. The ciphered signals are stealthy transmitted under public channel noise. The availability and covertness of the optical stealth channel is verified by system simulations.
Amplified spontaneous emission (ASE) light is the most natural optical carrier to hide a message in the existing optical networks at photonic layer. To enhance the anti-intercept ability of the ASE-carried stealth channel, a novel optical stealth communication scheme based on quantum noise stream cipher is proposed. The ASE light is intensity modulated by the cipher-text according to Y-00 protocol, and then transmitted under public optical noise after power attenuation. The expression of quantum noise stream ciphered ASE signal is derived, and numerical simulation is carried out. A proof-of-concept experiment is set up to demonstrate the feasibility of the proposed scheme. The experiment results show that the quantum noise stream ciphered stealth signals can be transmitted over a 25 km single-mode fiber span error-free.
We propose a method for covert fiber-optic communication in both frequency and time domains. The power spectral density of the pulse sequence bearing the information is spread in the frequency domain below the noise level by means of sampling. In addition, temporal phase encryption prevents the coherent addition of the various pulses in the frequency domain, further reducing the signal power spectral density. Thus, there is no need to transmit the signal within the bandwidth of a public user in order to spectrally conceal the signal. Temporal spreading of the pulse sequence is achieved by spectral phase encoding, resulting in a stealthy temporal and spectral transmission.
Quantum-noise randomized cipher (QNRC) is an anti-interception communication technology, which can realize high-speed encryption for data stream in true randomness. In this paper, the characteristics of the phase shift keying (PSK) and quadrature phase shift keying(QPSK) QNRC systems are verified by the simulation system with digital coherent demodulation. The decryption process of the QNRC coherent system is carried out in the optical domain for the first time. Specifically, at the quadrature coupler, the modulated local light is coupled with the received encrypted optical signal. The multi-symbol phase estimation(MSPE) module is employed to eliminate the influence of the phase deviation on the signal decision. Finally, error-free secure transmission is realized at 2.5Gsymbol/s over 500km optically amplified links. We reveal the new fact that the mesoscopic power of QPSK-QNRC system is higher than that of PSK-QNRC system.
In this Letter, the optical stealth transmission carried by super-continuum spectrum optical pulses generated in highly nonlinear fiber is proposed and experimentally demonstrated. In the proposed transmission scheme, super-continuum signals are reshaped in the spectral domain through a wavelength-selective switch and are temporally spread by a chromatic dispersion device to achieve the same noise-like characteristic as the noise in optical networks, so that in both the time domain and the spectral domain, the stealth signals are hidden in public channel. Our experimental results show that compared with existing schemes where stealth channels are carried by amplified spontaneous emission noise, super-continuum signal can increase the transmission performance and robustness.
Optical encryption, key generation, and optical stealth transmission techniques for protecting the privacy of communication in optical networks are proposed and summarized. The signal processing methods based on fiber components provide ways to encrypt data and generate encryption keys at the speed of data transmission in optical fibers. Private and confidential communication is achieved without compromising the capacity and bandwidth of the optical network. Optical stealth transmission can hide the signal in plain sight. Because an eavesdropper can neither read the data nor detect the existence of the transmitted signal, optical stealth transmission provides a higher level of privacy. A hybrid system which includes both the public channels and stealth channels can effectively provide anonymous communication and defend against traffic analysis.
We propose and demonstrate an advanced optical modulation format that makes use of both spectral and temporal phase encodings (2-D) for applications requiring exceptional security. The method combines modulation techniques used in direct-sequence spread-spectrum coding, spectral-phase encoding, and M-ary phase-shift keying with codes generated using cryptographically secure pseudorandom number generators. The wideband transmission signal is very difficult for an eavesdropper to record or analyze. Signal-to-noise ratio limitations imposed by quantum effects enhance the security further. The properties of the transmitted signal make it especially useful for physics-based key expansion systems. We have successfully used this setup to transmit encrypted 155 Mb/s data over 70 km of fiber with a BER value of 4E-5.