Secrecy Rate and Optimal Power Allocation of the Amplify-and-Forward Relay Wire-Tap System

In this research work, we investigate the secrecy rate and optimal power allocation schemes for a half-duplex (HD) wire-tap Rayleigh fading channel in which a source wishes to communicate securely to a destination in the presence of an eavesdropper and under the aid of an amplify-and-forward (AF) relay. The secrecy capacity and the corresponding optimal power allocation schemes are examined under both individual and joint power constraints. Due to the absence of an insightful expression of the secrecy rate for a given power allocation scheme, determining such secrecy capacity is challenging. To overcome this issue, we first propose a novel method to calculate the expectation of an exponentially distributed random variable using the exponential integral function. By exploiting this calculation, we then establish the average secrecy rate of the considered AF relay channel in closed-form. By examining the quasi-concavity of the optimal power allocation problem, it is then concluded that the problem is quasi-concave. As such, the globally optimal solution exists and is unique for both individual and joint power constraints. A simple root finding method then can be applied into the derived close-formed formula to approximately calculate the optimal power allocation scheme to achieve the secrecy capacity. Numerical results are then provided to confirm the accuracy of the derived formula and the optimality of the proposed power allocation.