Secure Beamforming for Continuous Aperture Array (CAPA) Systems

TL;DR

This paper explores secure beamforming in continuous aperture array (CAPA) systems for 6G, proposing novel optimization and heuristic methods that outperform existing techniques in secrecy performance and computational efficiency.

Contribution

It introduces two new solutions for secure current pattern design in CAPA systems, including a closed-form optimal pattern and a low-complexity heuristic, enhancing secrecy and efficiency.

Findings

CAPA systems outperform discrete MIMO in secrecy sum-rate.

Proposed methods significantly improve performance over Fourier-based discretization.

Solutions reduce computational complexity while maintaining high secrecy performance.

Abstract

Continuous aperture array (CAPA) is considered a promising technology for 6G networks, offering the potential to fully exploit spatial DoFs and achieve the theoretical limits of channel capacity. This paper investigates the performance gain of a CAPA-based downlink secure transmission system, where multiple legitimate user terminals (LUTs) coexist with multiple eavesdroppers (Eves). The system's secrecy performance is evaluated using a weighted secrecy sum-rate (WSSR) under a power constraint. We then propose two solutions for the secure current pattern design. The first solution is a block coordinate descent (BCD) optimization method based on fractional programming, which introduces a continuous-function inversion theory corresponding to matrix inversion in the discrete domain. This approach derives a closed-form expression for the optimal source current pattern. Based on this, it can be found that the optimal current pattern is essentially a linear combination of the channel spatial responses, thus eliminating the need for complex integration operations during the algorithm's optimization process. The second solution is a heuristic algorithm based on Zero-Forcing (ZF), which constructs a zero-leakage current pattern using the channel correlation matrix. It further employs a water-filling approach to design an optimal power allocation scheme that maximizes the WSSR. In high SNR regions, this solution gradually approaches the first solution, ensuring zero leakage while offering lower computational complexity. Simulation results demonstrate that: 1) CAPA-based systems achieve better WSSR compared to discrete multiple-input multiple-output systems. 2) The proposed methods, whether optimization-based or heuristic, provide significant performance improvements over existing state-of-the-art Fourier-based discretization methods, while considerably reducing computational complexity.