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Intelligent Reconfigurable Surfaces (IRS) for Prospective 6G Wireless Networks. Edition No. 1. The ComSoc Guides to Communications Technologies

  • Book

  • 304 Pages
  • January 2023
  • John Wiley and Sons Ltd
  • ID: 5842399
Intelligent Reconfigurable Surfaces (IRS) for Prospective 6G Wireless Networks

Authoritative resource covering preliminary concepts and advanced concerns in the field of IRS and its role in 6G wireless systems

Intelligent Reconfigurable Surfaces (IRS) for Prospective 6G Wireless Networks provides an in-depth treatment of the fundamental physics behind reconfigurable metasurfaces, also known as intelligent reflecting surfaces (IRS), and outlines the research roadmap towards their development as a low-complexity and energy-efficient solution aimed at turning the wireless environment into a software-defined entity.

The text demonstrates IRS from different angles, including the underlying physics, hardware architecture, operating principles, and prototype designs. It enables readers to grasp the knowledge of the interplay of IRS and state-of-the-art technologies, examining the advantages, key principles, challenges, and potential use-cases. Practically, it equips readers with the fundamental knowledge of the operational principles of reconfigurable metasurfaces, resulting in its potential applications in various intelligent, autonomous future wireless communication technologies.

To aid in reader comprehension, around 50 figures, tables, illustrations, and photographs to comprehensively present the material are also included.

Edited by a team of highly qualified professionals in the field, sample topics covered are as follows: - Evolution of antenna arrays design, introducing the fundamental principles of antenna theory and reviewing the stages of development of the field; - Beamforming design for IRS-assisted communications, discussing optimal IRS configuration in conjunction with overviewing novel beamforming designs; - Reconfigurable metasurfaces from physics to applications, discussing the working principles of tunable/reconfigurable metasurfaces and their capabilities and functionalities; - IRS hardware architectures, detailing the general hardware architecture of IRS and features related to the IRS’s main operational principle; - Wireless communication systems assisted by IRS, discussing channel characterization, system integration, and aspects related to the performance analysis and network optimization of state-of-the-art wireless applications.

For students and engineers in wireless communications, microwave engineering, and radio hardware and design, Intelligent Reconfigurable Surfaces (IRS) for Prospective 6G Wireless Networks serves as an invaluable resource on the subject and is a useful course accompaniment for general Antenna Theory, Microwave Engineering, Electromagnetics courses.

Table of Contents

List of Contributors xiii

1 Introduction 1
Muhammad Ali Imran, Lina Mohjazi, Lina Bariah, Sami Muhaidat, Tei Jun Cui, and Qammer H. Abbasi

References 5

2 IRS in the Near-Field: From Basic Principles to Optimal Design 7
Konstantinos Dovelos, Stylianos D. Assimonis, Hien Q. Ngo, and Michail Matthaiou

2.1 Introduction 7

2.2 Basic Principles 8

2.2.1 IRS Model 8

2.2.2 Signal Model of IRS-Aided System 9

2.3 Near-Field Channel Model 10

2.3.1 Spherical Wavefront 10

2.3.2 Path Loss 12

2.4 Phase Shift Design 13

2.4.1 Beamfocusing 13

2.4.2 Conventional Beamforming 14

2.5 Energy Efficiency 17

2.5.1 MIMO System 17

2.5.2 IRS-aided MIMO System 18

2.6 Optimal IRS Placement 19

2.7 Open Future Research Directions 20

2.8 Conclusions 22

References 22

3 Feasibility of Intelligent Reflecting Surfaces to Combine Terrestrial and Non-terrestrial Networks 25
Muhammad A. Jamshed, Qammer H. Abbasi, and Masood Ur-Rehman

3.1 Introduction 25

3.2 Intelligent Reflecting Surfaces 27

3.2.1 Background and Architecture 27

3.2.2 Intelligent Reflecting Surfaces in Wireless Networks 28

3.3 Non-terrestrial Networks 29

3.3.1 Non-terrestrial Networks: 3GPP Vision 30

3.4 Revamping Non-terrestrial Networks Using Intelligent Reflecting Surfaces 34

3.4.1 Satellites for Communication: Background 34

3.4.2 Indoor Connectivity Using Intelligent Reflecting Surfaces 35

3.5 Conclusion 37

References 37

4 Towards the Internet of MetaMaterial Things: Software Enablers for User-Customizable Electromagnetic Wave Propagation 41
Christos Liaskos, Georgios G. Pyrialakos, Alexandros Pitilakis, Ageliki Tsioliaridou, Michail Christodoulou, Nikolaos Kantartzis, Sotiris Ioannidis, Andreas Pitsillides, and Ian F. Akyildiz

4.1 Introduction 41

4.1.1 Key Enabler 1 42

4.1.2 Key Enabler 2 43

4.2 Pre-requisites and Related Work 47

4.2.1 Meta-materials: Principles of Operation, Classification, and Supported Functionalities 49

4.3 Networked meta-materials and SDN workflows 51

4.4 Application Programming Interface for Meta-materials 53

4.4.1 Data Structures of the Meta-material API 55

4.4.2 API Callbacks and Event Handling 56

4.5 The Meta-material Middleware 58

4.5.1 Functionality Optimization Workflow: Meta-material Modelling and State Calibration 60

4.5.2 The Meta-material Functionality Profiler 64

4.6 Software Implementation and Evaluation 65

4.7 Discussion: The Transformational Potential of the IoMMT and Future Directions 73

4.8 Conclusion 75

Acknowledgements 76

References 77

5 IRS Hardware Architectures 83
Jun Y. Dai, Qiang Cheng, and Tie Jun Cui

5.1 Introduction 83

5.2 Concept, Principle, and Composition of IRS 85

5.3 Operation Mode of IRS 87

5.3.1 Prototypes of Wavefront Manipulation Mode 88

5.3.2 Prototypes of Information Modulation Mode 91

5.4 Hardware Configuration of IRS 94

5.5 Conclusions 95

References 95

6 Practical Design Considerations for Reconfigurable Intelligent Surfaces 99
James Rains, Jalil ur Rehman Kazim, Anvar Tukmanov, Lei Zhang, Qammer H. Abbasi, and Muhammad Ali Imran

6.1 Intelligent Reflecting Surface Architecture 99

6.1.1 Tunability of Unit-cell Elements 101

6.1.2 Configuration Networks 105

6.1.3 IRS Control Layer 108

6.2 Physical Limitations of IRSs 110

6.2.1 Bandwidth versus Phase Resolution 110

6.2.2 Incidence Angle Response 114

6.2.3 Quantization Effects: How Many Bits? 117

References 117

7 Channel Modelling in RIS-Empowered Wireless Communications 123
Ibrahim Yildirim and Ertugrul Basar

7.1 Introduction 123

7.2 A General Perspective on RIS Channel Modelling 125

7.3 Physical Channel Modelling for RIS-Empowered Systems at mmWave Bands 130

7.4 Physical Channel Modelling for RIS-Empowered Systems at Sub-6 GHz Bands 135

7.5 SimRIS Channel Simulator 139

7.6 Performance Analysis Using SimRIS Channel Simulator 141

7.7 Summary 145

Funding Acknowledgment 145

References 145

8 Intelligent Reflecting Surfaces (IRS)-Aided Cellular Networks and Deep Learning-Based Design 149
Taniya Shafique, Amal Feriani, Hina Tabassum, and Ekram Hossain

8.1 Introduction 149

8.2 Contributions 150

8.3 Literature Review 151

8.3.1 Optimization 151

8.3.2 Deep Learning 152

8.4 System Model 154

8.4.1 Transmission Model 154

8.4.2 IRS-Assisted Transmission 155

8.4.2.1 Desired Signal Power 155

8.4.2.2 Interference Power 156

8.4.3 Direct Transmission 157

8.4.3.1 Desired Signal Power 157

8.4.3.2 Interference Power 157

8.4.4 SINR and Achievable Rate 157

8.5 Problem Formulation 158

8.6 Phase Shifts Optimization 158

8.6.1 Optimization-based Approach 159

8.6.2 DRL-based Approach 160

8.6.2.1 Backgound 160

8.6.2.2 MDP Formulation 161

8.6.2.3 Training Procedure 161

8.6.2.4 Proximal Policy Optimization (PPO) 161

8.6.2.5 Deep Deterministic Policy Gradient (DDPG) 162

8.7 Numerical Results 163

8.7.1 Experimental Setup 163

8.7.2 Baselines 164

8.7.3 Results 164

8.8 Conclusion 167

References 167

9 Application and Future Direction of RIS 171
Jalil R. Kazim, James Rains, Muhammad Ali Imran, and Qammer H. Abbasi

9.1 Background 171

9.2 Introduction 172

9.2.1 Intelligent Reflective Surface 173

9.2.2 Analysis of RIS 174

9.2.3 Basic Functions of RIS 176

9.3 RIS-assisted High-Frequency Communication 177

9.3.1 RIS-assisted Multi-User Communication 179

9.4 RIS-assisted RF Sensing and Imaging 179

9.5 RIS-assisted-UAV Communication 180

9.6 RIS-assisted Wireless Power Transfer 181

9.7 RIS-assisted Indoor Localization 182

9.8 Conclusion 183

References 184

10 Distributed Multi-IRS-assisted 6G Wireless Networks: Channel Characterization and Performance Analysis 189
Tri N. Do, Georges Kaddoum, and Thanh L. Nguyen

10.1 Introduction 189

10.2 System Model 192

10.3 Channel Characterization and Performance Analysis 194

10.3.1 Gamma Distribution-based Statistical Channel Characterization 196

10.3.1.1 Gamma Distribution-based Ergodic Capacity Analysis 199

10.3.1.2 Gamma Distribution-based Outage Probability Analysis 200

10.3.2 Log-normal Distribution-based Statistical Channel Characterization 201

10.3.2.1 Log-normal Distribution-based Ergodic Capacity Analysis 201

10.3.2.2 Log-normal Distribution-based Outage Probability Analysis 203

10.4 Numerical Results and Discussions 203

10.5 Conclusions 209

References 210

11 RIS-Assisted UAV Communications 213
Mohammad O. Abualhauja’a, Shuja Ansari, Olaoluwa R. Popoola, Lina Mohjazi, Lina Bariah, Sami Muhaidat, Qammer H. Abbasi, and Muhammad Ali Imran

11.1 Introduction 213

11.2 Background 215

11.3 The Role of UAVs in the Future Mobile Networks and Their Unique Characteristics 216

11.3.1 UAV Characteristics 216

11.4 Challenges of UAV Communications 218

11.4.1 Air-to-Ground (3D) Channel Modelling 218

11.4.2 Three-dimensional Deployment of UAVs 219

11.4.3 Optimal Trajectory Planning 219

11.4.4 Network Planning for Cellular-connected UAV Applications 220

11.4.5 Interference Caused by Ground BSs 220

11.5 RIS-assisted UAV Communications: Integration Paradigms and Use Cases 220

11.5.1 RIS to Support UAV-assisted Communications Air-to-Ground (A2G) Links 222

11.5.2 RIS to Support Cellular-Connected UAV Ground-to-Air (G2A) Links 223

11.5.3 RIS-equipped Aerial Platforms RIS to Support Air-to-Air (A2A) Links 224

11.6 Preliminary Investigations 225

11.6.1 RIS versus Relay 225

11.6.1.1 System Model 225

11.6.1.2 Direct Transmission 226

11.6.1.3 RIS-supported Transmission 226

11.6.1.4 Relay-supported Transmission 227

11.6.1.5 Results and Discussion 227

11.7 Conclusions 229

References 229

12 Optical Wireless Communications Using Intelligent Walls 233
Anil Yesilkaya, Hanaa Abumarshoud, and Harald Haas

12.1 Introduction 233

12.2 Optical IRS: Background and Applications 235

12.2.1 IRS from the Physics Perspective 235

12.2.2 IRS Applications in OWC 238

12.2.2.1 Reflection for Blockage Mitigation 238

12.2.2.2 Enhanced Optical MIMO 240

12.2.2.3 Media-Based Modulation 241

12.2.2.4 Enhanced Optical NOMA 242

12.2.2.5 Enhanced PLS 243

12.3 Case Study: High Performance IRS-Aided Indoor LiFi 243

12.3.1 Channel Modelling 243

12.3.1.1 Generation of the Indoor Environment 245

12.3.1.2 Source Characterization 246

12.3.1.3 IRS and Coating Material Characterization 249

12.3.1.4 Receiver Characterization 252

12.3.2 Obtaining the Channel Models 254

12.3.2.1 MCRT Channel Characterization Results 256

12.3.2.2 VL Band Results 259

12.3.2.3 IR Band Results 262

12.3.3 The Achievable Rates for IRS-aided LiFi 265

12.4 Challenges and Research Directions 268

12.4.1 Modelling and Characterization 268

12.4.2 Inter-symbol Interference (ISI) 268

12.4.3 Channel Estimation 269

12.4.4 Real-time Operation 269

References 269

13 Conclusion 275
Muhammad Ali Imran, Lina Mohjazi, Lina Bariah, Sami Muhaidat, Tei Jun Cui, and Qammer H. Abbasi

Index 279

Authors

Muhammad Ali Imran University of Glasgow, UK. Lina Mohjazi University of Glasgow, UK. Lina Bariah University of Glasgow, UK. Sami Muhaidat Khalifa University, Abu Dhabi, UAE. Tei Jun Cui Southeast University, Nanjing, China. Qammer H. Abbasi University of Glasgow, UK.