Detection of Transient in Radio Frequency Fingerprinting Using Signal Phase

ABSTRACT Radio Frequency Fingerprinting (RFF) is a technique, which has been used to identify wireless devices. It essentially involves the detection of the transient signal and the extraction of the fingerprint. The detection phase, in our opinion, is the most challenging yet crucial part of the RFF process. Current approaches, namely Threshold and Bayesian Step Change Detector, which use amplitude characteristics of signals for transient detection, perform poorly with certain types of signals. This paper presents a new algorithm that exploits the phase characteristics for detection purposes. Validation using Bluetooth signals has resulted in a success rate of approximately 85-90 percent. We anticipate that the higher detection rate will result in a higher classification rate and thus support various device authetication schemes in the wireless domain.