Metamaterial-Enabled 2D Directional Modulation Array Transmitter for Physical Layer Security in Wireless Communication Links

A new type of time modulated metamaterial (MTM) antenna array transmitter capable of realizing 2D directional modulation (DM) for physical layer (PHY) security is presented in this work. The proposed 2D DM MTM antenna array is formed by a time modulated corporate feed network loaded with composite right/left-handed (CRLH) leaky wave antennas (LWAs). By properly designing the on-off states of the switch for each antenna feeding branch as well as harnessing the frequency scanning characteristics of CRLH L WAs, 2D DM can be realized to form a PHY secured transmission link in the 2D space. Experimental results demonstrate the bit-error-rate (BER) is low only at a specific 2D angle for the orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM) wireless data links.