Hybrid beamforming strategies for secure multicell multiuser mmWave MIMO communications

Abstract

Over the last decade, many advancements have been made in the field of wireless communications. Among the major technology enablers being explored for the beyond fifth-generation (B5G) networks at the physical layer (PHY), a great deal of attention has been focused on millimeter-wave (mmWave) communications, massive multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) antenna systems and beamforming techniques. These enablers bring to the forefront great opportunities for enhancing the performance of B5G networks, concerning spectral efficiency, energy efficiency, latency, and reliability. The wireless communication is prone to information leakage to the unintended nodes due to its open nature. Hence, the secure communication is becoming more critical in the wireless networks. To address this challenge, the concept of Physical Layer Security (PLS) is explored in the literature. In this paper, we examine the mmWave transmission through linear beamforming techniques for PLS based systems. We propose the secure multiuser (MU) MIMO mmWave communications by employing hybrid beamforming at the base stations (BSs), legitimate users and eavesdroppers. Using three Dimensional (3D) mmWave channel model for each node, we utilize the artificial noise (AN) beamforming to jam the transmission of eavesdropper and to enhance the secrecy rate. The secrecy performance on multicell mmWave MU-MIMO downlink communications is demonstrated to reveal the key points directly related to the system security for B5G wireless systems. (C) 2021 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.