On the Key Generation From Correlated Wireless Channels

Abstract

This letter investigates the secret key capacity of key generation from correlated wireless channels in a source model. We systematically study a practical scenario by taking into account all relevant parameters including sampling delay, eavesdroppers’ location, qualities of legitimate and eavesdropping channels, Doppler spread, and pilot length. Our findings indicate that secret key capacity is determined by the cross correlation of the channel measurements, and a better legitimate channel is not necessary when the correlation between legitimate channels is higher than correlation between legitimate and eavesdropping channels. We also find that it is possible to tune the secret key capacity by carefully designing the sampling delay, pilot length, and channel qualities. This letter offers practical design guidelines on secure key generation systems.