Spectral and temporal stealthy fiber-optic communication using sampling and phase encoding

We propose a method for covert fiber-optic communication in both frequency and time domains. The power spectral density of the pulse sequence bearing the information is spread in the frequency domain below the noise level by means of sampling. In addition, temporal phase encryption prevents the coherent addition of the various pulses in the frequency domain, further reducing the signal power spectral density. Thus, there is no need to transmit the signal within the bandwidth of a public user in order to spectrally conceal the signal. Temporal spreading of the pulse sequence is achieved by spectral phase encoding, resulting in a stealthy temporal and spectral transmission. (C) 2011 Optical Society of America