Physical-Layer Security with Irregular Reconfigurable Intelligent Surfaces for 6G Networks

Area of Science:

• Wireless Communication
• Information Security
• Metamaterials

Background:

• The 6G communication paradigm necessitates advancements in high throughput, low latency, robust security, and ubiquitous connectivity.
• Reconfigurable Intelligent Surfaces (RISs) are emerging technologies that can manipulate electromagnetic wave propagation to meet these demands.
• Conventional RIS systems face limitations, particularly concerning the number of active elements required for optimal performance.

Purpose of the Study:

• To enhance communication secrecy in 6G networks using an Irregular Reconfigurable Intelligent Surface (IRIS).
• To investigate the effectiveness of IRIS in establishing secure links between a base station and a legitimate user against eavesdroppers.
• To maximize the secrecy rate through joint optimization of RIS topology and precoding design.

Main Methods:

• Formulation of a topology-and-precoding optimization problem to maximize the secrecy rate.
• Development of a Tabu search-based algorithm for joint optimization of IRIS topology and precoding.
• Simulation of a communication scenario involving a multi-antenna base station, a single-antenna user, and a single-antenna eavesdropper, aided by an IRIS.

Main Results:

• The proposed Tabu search algorithm effectively optimizes IRIS topology and precoding for secure transmissions.
• Simulation results demonstrate significant performance gains of IRIS in improving secrecy rates compared to conventional RIS.
• IRIS enables additional spatial diversity, overcoming limitations of conventional RIS systems with a large number of active elements.

Conclusions:

• Exploiting IRIS technology is a promising approach to achieve enhanced secrecy in future 6G communication systems.
• The proposed IRIS-assisted method offers a practical solution for improving secure wireless communications.
• IRIS provides a more efficient and effective means of enhancing spatial diversity for improved secrecy performance.