Abstract
As the existing radio-frequency (RF) networks cannot meet the ever-increasing data rate demand, the optical wireless communication (OWC), which uses a wide untapped unregulated spectrum, has been proposed as a promising technology to overcome the RF spectrum limitations. On the other hand, with the increasing demand for high data rate and the prevalence of the broadcast-nature networks, researchers have recently come up with new mechanisms to improve secure communication using physical layer techniques. Compared to RF networks, the OWC networks are more secure and less susceptible to the interception because of the small coverage provided by LEDs, and because they work properly only in the presence of the line-of-sight (LoS) components. However, the security in OWC networks is still an issue, especially in visible light communication (VLC) when the transmitted information can be accessed by multiple users as in public areas, meeting rooms, laboratories, and libraries. That means potential eavesdroppers may be existing to gather confidential messages. This paper reviews all the conducted work on physical layer security (PLS) in two types of OWC networks, which are the VLC and free space optical (FSO) networks. Furthermore, the paper proposes several open problems in these networks to optimize and enhance the security performance.
Original language | English (US) |
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Title of host publication | 2018 Seventh International Conference on Communications and Networking (ComNet) |
Publisher | Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) |
ISBN (Print) | 9781538656518 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Jan 25 2019 |
Bibliographical note
KAUST Repository Item: Exported on 2020-10-01Acknowledged KAUST grant number(s): KAUST004
Acknowledgements: This work was supported by the Deanship of Scientific Research in King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals through grant number KAUST004. The authors would like also to acknowledge the KFUPM-KAUST research initiative resulted from this research work.