An Innovative Secure & Energy Efficient Sub-Terahertz Wireless System for Sixth-generation (6G)
This research will explore a novel MIMO beam transmission technique to achieve secure and energy efficient communication in spectrum bands above 100 GHz (sub-THz to THz). Results could enable 6G cellular networks to exploit tens of gigahertz of bandwidth while achieving terabit/s data rates. The proposed approach will use low-bit ADCs and physical layer security techniques that are robust to eavesdropping without resolution constraints. If successful, this work could pave the way for networks for critical infrastructures, private responders and Industrial IoT to securely utilize sub-THz to THz spectrum bands with high energy efficiency. NC State researchers will conduct analysis, modeling, and simulation to prove this principle.
Sponsor
Battelle Energy Alliance, LLC
The grant—running from November 8, 2021 to September 30, 2023—is for a total of $235,000.
Principle Investigators
Robert Wendell Heath Jr
More Details
We propose to prove the principle that a novel, secure, and energy efficient MIMO (multiple-input multiple-output) beam transmission technique can be designed for frequencies higher than 100 GHz with built in physical layer security. If successful, this work will pave the way to secure utilization of spectrum bands above100 GHz, called sub-Terahertz (THz) to THz (1000 GHz), with high energy efficiency for 6G cellular networks of next 5-10 years. Data rate of up to 20 gigabit/s has been made possible by the adoption of millimeter wave spectrum bands in the 28-71 GHz range in 5G. 6G will use even higher frequencies, in the sub-THz to THz ranges, to exploit tens of gigahertz of bandwidth with achieving terabit/s data rates. These bands will benefit, among others, networks for the critical infrastructures, private responders, and Industrial IoT. Exploiting these bands, though, requires advances in MIMO communications necessary for mmWave and higher bands. The high-resolution analog-to-digital converters (ADCs) in the MIMO systems become a power consumption bottleneck. Our approach to meet this challenge is to 1) utilize low resolution low-bit ADCs with 1-3 bits instead of 6-12 bits and 2) increase the secrecy capacity of these MIMO systems by using physical layer security techniques that work with low resolution data converters yet are robust to eavesdropping without resolution constraints. This proposed approach involves research with analysis, modeling, and simulation to prove the principle in the following thrusts: 1) beams for secure low resolution MIMO transmission, 2) beams for secure low resolution MIMO reception, and 3) use of these secure low resolution beams with bandwidths of GHz for realistic assessment of improvements.