Next Generation Advanced Transceiver Technologies for 6G and Beyond

TL;DR

This paper addresses the 6G gap by proposing three pillars of next-generation advanced transceivers (NGAT): near-field transceivers with spherical-wavefront propagation and non-stationary channels, new-form antennas (RIS, flexible antennas, and HMIMO) with diverse hardware architectures, and semantic-aware transceivers that optimize meaning over bits. It surveys accurate near-field channel models, beamforming/training/estimation challenges, and advances in RIS, fluid/movable antennas, and holographic MIMO, including EM-domain considerations and practical impairments. It also covers semantic communications, including coding, security, and protocol integration, and highlights additional technologies like NOMA, localization/sensing, and circuit-theory based design as complementary avenues. The work synthesizes state-of-the-art methods, identifies open problems, and outlines future directions to reach 6G KPIs such as extremely high data rates, ultra-low latency, and pervasive intelligent connectivity. Overall, the paper provides a multi-disciplinary roadmap spanning propagation, hardware, signal processing, and AI to realize NGAT across未来 networks.

Abstract

To accommodate new applications such as extended reality, fully autonomous vehicular networks and the metaverse, next generation wireless networks are going to be subject to much more stringent performance requirements than the fifth-generation (5G) in terms of data rates, reliability, latency, and connectivity. It is thus necessary to develop next generation advanced transceiver (NGAT) technologies for efficient signal transmission and reception. In this tutorial, we explore the evolution of NGAT from three different perspectives. Specifically, we first provide an overview of new-field NGAT technology, which shifts from conventional far-field channel models to new near-field channel models. Then, three new-form NGAT technologies and their design challenges are presented, including reconfigurable intelligent surfaces, flexible antennas, and holographic multi-input multi-output (MIMO) systems. Subsequently, we discuss recent advances in semantic-aware NGAT technologies, which can utilize new metrics for advanced transceiver designs. Finally, we point out other promising transceiver technologies for future research.

Figures (15)

• Figure 2: Illustration of near-field application scenarios.
• Figure 3: Illustration of VRs in near-field communication systems.
• Figure 4: Different configurations of TTD architectures for near-field communication systems wang2023ttd.
• Figure 5: Illustration of different near-field beam training methods.
• Figure 6: Illustration of a nearly-passive RIS-assisted MISO system.