Highly secure 3D-OFDM transmission scheme based on two-level noise masking key-accompanying transmission over seven-core fiber

In this Letter, we propose a highly secure three-dimensional orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (3D-OFDM) transmission scheme based on two-level noise masking key-accompanying transmission. The original signal is encrypted with a spherical constellation to ensure the system's security with a 4D Lorenz-like model. The key realizes two-level noise masking by introducing additional noise bits at the bit level and hiding in a noise-like spherical shell at the constellation level. Moreover, the proposed method of placing the key in the encrypted signal can simultaneously transmit the encrypted signal and the key. A 101.06-Gb/s 3D-OFDM encrypted signal with the proposed scheme over a 2-km 7-core fiber experiment was successfully implemented. Experimental results show that the security performance of the system can be guaranteed under the conditions of partial key leakage and key misplacement at the illegal receiver. At the same time, the key masking degree (KMD) of the proposed two-level noise masking can reach 3267, which effectively guarantees the safe transmission of the key.