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Secrecy Performance Analysis of Space-to-Ground Optical Satellite Communications

Thang V. Nguyen, Thanh V. Pham, Anh T. Pham, Dang T. Ngoc

TL;DR

This paper addresses secrecy in space-to-ground optical satellite links by modeling the end-to-end channel as $h = h_{a}h_{s}h_{c}h_{t}$ with atmospheric loss, misalignment, cloud attenuation, and Fisher-Snedecor $F$-distributed turbulence. It develops a rigorous secrecy analysis for an OOK-based FSO link, deriving closed-form expressions for ASC, SOP, and SPSC using Meijer-G and extended bivariate Meijer-G frameworks to handle the composite channel. The results show that turbulence strength, zenith angle, and Eve’s proximity critically affect secrecy performance, and they quantify how system and environmental parameters degrade or preserve secrecy. These findings provide analytical tools and design insights for securing space-to-ground optical SatCom under realistic atmospheric impairments.

Abstract

Free-space optics (FSO)-based satellite communication systems have recently received considerable attention due to their enhanced capacity compared to their radio frequency (RF) counterparts. This paper analyzes the performance of physical layer security of space-to-ground intensity modulation/direct detection FSO satellite links under the effect of atmospheric loss, misalignment, cloud attenuation, and atmospheric turbulence-induced fading. Specifically, a wiretap channel consisting of a legitimate transmitter Alice (i.e., the satellite), a legitimate user Bob, and an eavesdropper Eve over turbulence channels modeled by the Fisher-Snedecor $\mathcal{F}$ distribution is considered. The secrecy performance in terms of the average secrecy capacity, secrecy outage probability, and strictly positive secrecy capacity are derived in closed-form. Simulation results reveal significant impacts of satellite altitude, zenith angle, and turbulence strength on the secrecy performance.

Secrecy Performance Analysis of Space-to-Ground Optical Satellite Communications

TL;DR

This paper addresses secrecy in space-to-ground optical satellite links by modeling the end-to-end channel as with atmospheric loss, misalignment, cloud attenuation, and Fisher-Snedecor -distributed turbulence. It develops a rigorous secrecy analysis for an OOK-based FSO link, deriving closed-form expressions for ASC, SOP, and SPSC using Meijer-G and extended bivariate Meijer-G frameworks to handle the composite channel. The results show that turbulence strength, zenith angle, and Eve’s proximity critically affect secrecy performance, and they quantify how system and environmental parameters degrade or preserve secrecy. These findings provide analytical tools and design insights for securing space-to-ground optical SatCom under realistic atmospheric impairments.

Abstract

Free-space optics (FSO)-based satellite communication systems have recently received considerable attention due to their enhanced capacity compared to their radio frequency (RF) counterparts. This paper analyzes the performance of physical layer security of space-to-ground intensity modulation/direct detection FSO satellite links under the effect of atmospheric loss, misalignment, cloud attenuation, and atmospheric turbulence-induced fading. Specifically, a wiretap channel consisting of a legitimate transmitter Alice (i.e., the satellite), a legitimate user Bob, and an eavesdropper Eve over turbulence channels modeled by the Fisher-Snedecor distribution is considered. The secrecy performance in terms of the average secrecy capacity, secrecy outage probability, and strictly positive secrecy capacity are derived in closed-form. Simulation results reveal significant impacts of satellite altitude, zenith angle, and turbulence strength on the secrecy performance.
Paper Structure (14 sections, 30 equations, 5 figures, 2 tables)

This paper contains 14 sections, 30 equations, 5 figures, 2 tables.

Table of Contents

  1. Introduction
  2. Channel Model
  3. Atmospheric Loss
  4. Misalignment
  5. Cloud Attenuation
  6. Atmospheric Turbulence-induced Fading
  7. Secrecy Performance Analysis
  8. System Model
  9. Secrecy Performance Metrics
  10. Average Secrecy Capacity (ASC)
  11. Secrecy Outage Probability (SOP)
  12. Strictly Positive Secrecy Capacity (SPSC)
  13. Results and Discussions
  14. Conclusions

Figures (5)

  • Figure 1: An example of a wiretap FSO-based satellite communications link.
  • Figure 2: ASC versus turbulence strength with $\xi=60^\circ$ and $H_s=800$ km.
  • Figure 3: SOP versus zenith angle with $d_E=2$ m, and $C_n^2=10^{-13}$ m$^{-2/3}$.
  • Figure 4: The relationship between SOP and distance between Bob and Eve, $d_E$, with the satellite altitude of 600 km.
  • Figure 5: SPSC versus average electrical SNR ratio with $\xi=50^{\circ}$, $H_s=600$ km, $d_E=4$ m, and $C_n^2=10^{-13}$ m$^{-2/3}$.