Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) plays a crucial role in enabling the efficient functioning of Smart Electrical Grids, but its successful implementation hinges on robust cybersecurity measures. To uphold data confidentiality and integrity, the deployment of an effective key management scheme (KMS) for multiple Smart Meters (SMs) and devices is imperative. The AMI exhibits unique characteristics, including storage and computation constraints in SMs, hybrid message transmission techniques, and varying participation levels in Demand Response (DR) projects, necessitating a tailored approach to security compared to other systems. In this research, we propose a KMS that is designed to address the specific security concerns of the AMI. The scheme comprises three key management procedures catering to the unicast, broadcast, and multicast modes of hybrid transmission. Given the resource limitations of SMs, we adopted simple cryptographic techniques for key creation and refreshing policies, ensuring efficiency without compromising on security. Furthermore, considering the variability of participants in DR projects, we established key refreshing policies that adapted to changing involvement. The effectiveness and security of the proposed KMS were rigorously evaluated, demonstrating its practical applicability and ability to safeguard the AMI ecosystem. The results of the evaluation indicate that our approach provides a viable and robust solution to the security challenges faced by AMI systems. By employing the proposed KMS, stakeholders can confidently deploy and manage AMI, ensuring the protection of sensitive data and maintaining the integrity of the Smart Electrical Grid.

This research explores the application of chaotic systems in generating pseudo-random numbers for encryption protocols, offering a novel perspective on addressing the challenges posed by limited computer precision in cryptographic applications. Chaotic systems, while promising for encryption, often suffer from degradation in their chaotic properties when implemented on computers with finite precision. Previous studies have primarily aimed to mitigate this issue, with limited consideration of harnessing finite-precision errors as a potential source of randomness. In this study, we propose an innovative encryption method that leverages finite-precision errors within chaotic systems. The algorithm generates a keystream based on lower bound error and employs standard MATLAB routines to describe its main steps, including initialization and image factor addition, Chua’s circuit simulation, error sequence generation, normalization, reshaping of the normalized sequence, and the encryption process. Comprehensive performance evaluations were conducted using benchmark images, including Cameraman, Peppers, and Catherine, each with dimensions of 256 × 256 pixels. Evaluation criteria encompassed key space analysis, pixel correlation, entropy of information, histogram analysis, and resistance to noise attacks. The results highlight the effectiveness and security of the proposed method, showcasing its practical utility in real-world encryption scenarios. This research not only contributes a novel approach to encryption but also provides valuable insights into the potential of utilizing finite-precision errors to enhance randomness generation in chaotic systems for cryptographic applications.

The development of Hybrid Plasmonic Electro-Optic Broad-Band Modulators with substantial modulation depth, compact design, and low power consumption has garnered significant attention not only from the scientific community but also from the industrial sector. These devices hold the potential to revolutionize on-chip optical interconnects. This paper demonstrates an ultra-compact and ultra-fast hybrid plasmonic EO modulator based on a monolayer of an active material called ITO. By electrically tuning the refractive index of ITO through an external electrical signal with a low operation voltage ranging from 0 to 4 volts, the device achieves a high modulation depth of ≈38% (transmission at ON state is ≈71.7%, while transmission at OFF state is ≈1.89%) and low energy consumption of (11.384-22.7) fJ/bit. Additionally, it features a compact footprint of 11 μm² at the telecommunication wavelength (1550 nm). These combined advantages, spanning a broad range of wavelengths, have the potential to enable novel architectures for on-chip optical communications.

The performance analysis of a Raman scattering amplifier based on Germania-doped silica fiber shows that the gain (G) of each channel depends significantly on the channel central wavelength (λch), the pump wavelength (λp), and the Raman amplifier length (L). The gain for each channel is influenced by Raman amplifier parameters such as the Raman gain coefficient (gr) and the attenuation coefficient (α), both of which are functions of the channel wavelength. Additionally, the refractive index of the fiber material is affected by λch.The final gain for the three types of pumps is evaluated based on published references. The attenuation of the pump signal remains constant when the pump wavelength (λp) is constant. However, the attenuation of the channel signals decreases with increasing wavelength up to 1550 nm and then increases for wavelengths greater than 1550 nm. In this wavelength range, the Raman gain coefficient (grxT) decreases. The final gain is independent of the type of pump (forward, backward, or dual).For instance, with a core radius (a = 3.5 μm), a Germania dopant ratio (x = 3%), λp= 1.48 μm, a temperature of 300 K, and L = 50 km, the gain for channel 1 (Gch1) is 622.7, while for channel 48 (Gch48) it is 503.7, resulting in a variation rate (Rv) of -19.11%. At L = 100 km, the gain for channel 1 (Gch1) is 112.81, while for channel 48 (Gch48) it is 91.53, yielding a variation rate (Rv) of -18.86%. The gain decreases with increasing L. The maximum gain occurs with L equals the optimum Raman amplifier length (LGpeak). As the value of λch increases, the gain of each channel in the 48-channel WDM system (for wavelengths ranging from 1529.55 to 1567.13 nm) decreases.The channel bandwidth (ΔF) also decreases with increasing λch. The bandwidth decreases from ΔFch1 = 99.9694 GHz to ΔFch48 =95.3282 GHz.It is essential to consider the dependence of the channel gain on the central wavelength of the channel when designing optical communication links.