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Advanced Photonics Nexus

Intrinsic physical layer secure communication architecture aided by joint secure key distribution technique

Di Wu, Yuan Yao, Taihang Qiu, Hui Rong, Hanwen Luo, Lei Deng, Qi Yang, Deming Liu, Mengfan Cheng

Published Mar 10, 2026• 0 citations
Publisher

Abstract

Physical layer security (PLS) has become a critical technique for the rapidly expanding communication network in the postquantum era, supporting superior secure communication rates with lower deployment cost. Typical PLS architecture follows the “key distribution before encrypted communication” paradigm, which causes redundant system structure and potential security issues. We propose an intrinsic physical layer secure communication architecture aided by a joint secure key distribution technique in this article. The architecture utilizes random time-varying polarization evolution induced by the fiber channel as the entropy source and estimated bit error rate information as the medium to implement an intrinsic key distribution scheme without requiring additional channels and complex devices. We realize simultaneous physical layer encrypted transmission and error-free joint secure key distribution (SKD) based on this architecture. The experimental demonstration verifies the feasibility of the scheme. We believe the highly integrated secure communication architecture with multiple guaranteed security measures may not only provide a feasible, low-cost solution for the deployment of the SKD system in a variety of communication scenarios, but also propose a “key distribution within encrypted communication” paradigm for future PLS solutions.

DOI
10.1117/1.apn.5.2.026015

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Physical layer security (PLS) has become a critical technique for the rapidly expanding communication network in the postquantum era, supporting superior secure communication rates with lower deployment cost. Typical PLS architecture follows the “key distribution before encrypted communication” paradigm, which causes redundant system structure and potential security issues. We propose an intrinsic physical layer secure communication architecture aided by a joint secure key distribution technique in this article. The architecture utilizes random time-varying polarization evolution induced by the fiber channel as the entropy source and estimated bit error rate information as the medium to implement an intrinsic key distribution scheme without requiring additional channels and complex devices. We realize simultaneous physical layer encrypted transmission and error-free joint secure key distribution (SKD) based on this architecture. The experimental demonstration verifies the feasibility of the scheme. We believe the highly integrated secure communication architecture with multiple guaranteed security measures may not only provide a feasible, low-cost solution for the deployment of the SKD system in a variety of communication scenarios, but also propose a “key distribution within encrypted communication” paradigm for future PLS solutions.
Physical Layer Security (PLS) exploits characteristics and properties of the physical layer for data encryption and supplements conventional cryptography for enhanced overall security. Most of the PLS methodologies rely on the (statistical) characteristics of the transmission channel to either generate secure encryption keys, or to exploit them together with other physical layer characteristics (i.e. advanced modulation schemes) for secure transmission. However, these approaches often lead to increased complexity and therefore become impractical for actual system implementation. Recent advancements in Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) systems allow for the utilization of ultra-secure and robust high-rate key exchange. In this work, we propose and describe practical techniques for exploiting and seamlessly integrating highrate QKD keys to encrypt modulation parameters and quantities of conventional modulation schemes like M-QAM, DMT and OFDM of communication links. Moreover, we present transmission scenarios, integrating QKD-PLS in free space optics links, together with their numerical evaluation. The main advantage of QKD exploitation to the proposed solutions comes from the seamless and transparent integration and application of high-rate keys which can either be used in their original form or feed a pseudo-random number generator, to modify the modulation properties/symbols in very high rates, such that eavesdropping and decoding of the encrypted information becomes almost impossible. Additionally, we present the architecture of a real time practical system utilizing and seamlessly integrating the QKD keys into transceiver links to form a robust and ultra-secure PLS ecosystem.
Optical secure key distribution (SKD) based on reciprocity has been the subject of increasing discussion, for its inherent information-theoretic safety and because there is less occupation of fiber channels. The combination of reciprocal polarization and broadband entropy sources has proven effective in increasing the rate of SKD. However, the stabilization of such systems suffers from the limited span of polarization states and inconsistent polarization detection. The specific causes are analyzed in principle. To solve this issue, we propose a strategy for extracting secure keys from orthogonal polarizations. Optical carriers with orthogonal polarizations at interactive parties are modulated by external random signals using polarization division multiplexing dual-parallel Mach-Zehnder modulators. After bidirectional transmission through a 10-km fiber channel, error-free SKD with a rate of 2.07 Gbit/s is experimentally realized. The high correlation coefficient of the extracted analog vectors can be maintained for over 30 min. The proposed method is a step toward the development of secure communication with high speed and feasibility.
A Quantum Key Distribution (QKD)-assisted Physical Layer Security (PLS) scheme for Multiple-Input Multiple-Output (MIMO) wireless links is proposed and numerically evaluated. The framework utilizes high-rate quantum keys to generate unitary precoding matrices for channel estimation preamble encryption, alongside a constellation-based encryption methodology for the data payload. Integration of the QKD is facilitated by a practical Key Management System (KMS) that orchestrates key synchronization and ensures seamless interoperability with the QKD infrastructure. By securing both the preamble and payload portions of the transmission frame, the proposed scheme prevents unauthorized entities from acquiring critical knowledge of transceiver functionalities. Furthermore, the framework leverages high-entropy QKD-derived keys to reseed a pseudo-random number generator (PRNG), providing a symmetric-key encryption layer that enhances data confidentiality. Numerical evaluation results obtained within a simulated residential wireless environment demonstrate that the proposed architecture yields enhanced security at the cost of a minor degradation in reception performance, driven by a small noise amplification penalty and a marginal elevation in the peak-to-average power ratio (PAPR).
A Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) based Physical Layer Security (PLS) scheme (QKD-PLS) for optical fiber links is proposed and evaluated. In detail, a novel amplitude and phase scrambling technique for exploiting and seamlessly integrating high key rate QKD for the encryption of the modulation parameters of conventional complex modulation schemes like M-ary Quadrature Amplitude Modulation (M-QAM) and Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) is described. The technique masks the information at the bit level and blocks unauthorized access to the higher layer encrypted bitstream. Scrambling is applied to both the preamble (pilot) and payload segments of the transmission frame, to prevent the eavesdroppers from performing vital receiver functions such as frame synchronization and channel estimation. Additionally, a practical Key Management System (KMS) which takes care of all synchronization processes is developed and introduced. Experimental transmission scenario in fiber links is also presented and depicts the efficacy of the QKD-PLS. Moreover, another advantage of QKD exploitation to the proposed solution comes from the application of kbps-rate QKD keys which feed pseudo-random number generators, to modify the broadband modulation symbols in one-time pad, therefore significantly improving data protection.
Navigating the era of artificial intelligence and massive cloud computing presents a critical challenge: securing the explosive growth of data traffic across optical data center interconnects (DCIs). However, conventional physical-layer security (PLS) methods often treat encryption and authentication as disjointed modules, lacking the intelligent adaptability for dynamic channels. Here, we propose an intelligent intrinsic PLS framework to jointly execute identity authentication and data encryption in short-reach DCIs. Enabled by end-to-end deep learning, this scheme integrates a mixture density network (MDN) for dynamic channel condition with a constellation autoencoder. Utilizing chaotic index modulation, the system nonlinearly learns highly distinguishable geometric constellations and embeds watermarks into subcarrier indices for redundancy-free transmission. Through this intelligent mapping, security attributes are natively fused into the physical signals. We achieve a secure transmission using discrete multi-tone (DMT) signaling over a 10-km standard single-mode fiber (SSMF). The results demonstrate that our scheme dynamically optimizes watermark embedding, strongly thwarting unauthorized eavesdropping and robustly resisting impersonation attacks. This avant-garde paradigm offers a highly scalable and intelligent solution for secure next-generation optical DCI networks.
Enhanced confidentiality is a major concern for most communication fields including personal, military, and governmental applications. Conventionally, confidentiality is guaranteed by encryption and corresponding decryption so that the encrypted data can only be decrypted by intended receivers. However, both encryption and decryption processes include high complexity and heavy signaling overhead due to key distribution and agreement protocol. Thus, in order to overcome high complexity and heavy signaling, the Physical Layer Security (PLS) has been proposed as a prospective solution to enhance confidentiality against eavesdroppers by physical layer techniques. This paper proposes a novel physical layer security technique that adopts the Adaptive and Rotated Transmission (ART) scheme based on the instantaneous channel information, i.e., magnitude and channel phase in order to achieve secure transmission. The performance of our proposed transmission scheme is evaluated through mathematical analysis and numerical results, showing a meaningful improvement in confidentiality.