Physical Layer Authentication Based on Channel Polarization Response in Dual-Polarized Antenna Communication Systems

Abstract

This study presents a novel approach for physical layer authentication based on channel polarization response (CPR). CPR is sensitive to variation in the physical properties of scatterers, and the CPR difference between various channels is higher than the channel frequency response (CFR) under rich scattering scenarios. Additionally, the estimation of CPR is continuous, the authentication interval can be adjusted according to the channel coherence time, then the proposed scheme can be applied to any rich scattering scenarios, including highly dynamic scenarios. Since the received polarization state is fixed during the channel coherence time, we can coherently stack the received polarization state to improve the signal to noise ratio (SNR) and the estimation accuracy of CPR, thereby achieving high authentication accuracy under ultra-low SNR. Moreover, since the transmitted polarization state of various transmitters is different, because of their unique hardware deficiencies, and since the CPR is dependent on the transmitted polarization state, the CPR of other transmitters is different, allowing the resolution of co-located attacks. We theoretically drive the false alarm probability, detection probability, optimal discriminant threshold, computational complexity, optimal stacking numbers, and optimal CPR points for authentication. Furthermore, extensive simulations and experiments are performed to verify the validity and effectiveness of the proposed scheme.