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Integrating Base Station with Intelligent Surface for 6G Wireless Networks: Architectures, Design Issues, and Future Directions

Yuwei Huang, Lipeng Zhu, Rui Zhang

TL;DR

An overview of IS-integrated BSs for wireless networks is provided and numerical results are presented to compare the performance of different IS-integrated BS architectures as well as the conventional BS without IS.

Abstract

Intelligent surface (IS) is envisioned as a promising technology for the sixth-generation (6G) wireless networks, which can effectively reconfigure the wireless propagation environment via dynamically controllable signal reflection/transmission. In particular, integrating passive intelligent surface (IS) into the base station (BS) is a novel solution to enhance the wireless network throughput and coverage both cost-effectively and energyefficiently. In this article, we provide an overview of IS-integrated BSs for wireless networks, including their motivations, practical architectures, and main design issues. Moreover, numerical results are presented to compare the performance of different IS-integrated BS architectures as well as the conventional BS without IS. Finally, promising directions are pointed out to stimulate future research on IS-BS/terminal integration in wireless networks.

Integrating Base Station with Intelligent Surface for 6G Wireless Networks: Architectures, Design Issues, and Future Directions

TL;DR

An overview of IS-integrated BSs for wireless networks is provided and numerical results are presented to compare the performance of different IS-integrated BS architectures as well as the conventional BS without IS.

Abstract

Intelligent surface (IS) is envisioned as a promising technology for the sixth-generation (6G) wireless networks, which can effectively reconfigure the wireless propagation environment via dynamically controllable signal reflection/transmission. In particular, integrating passive intelligent surface (IS) into the base station (BS) is a novel solution to enhance the wireless network throughput and coverage both cost-effectively and energyefficiently. In this article, we provide an overview of IS-integrated BSs for wireless networks, including their motivations, practical architectures, and main design issues. Moreover, numerical results are presented to compare the performance of different IS-integrated BS architectures as well as the conventional BS without IS. Finally, promising directions are pointed out to stimulate future research on IS-BS/terminal integration in wireless networks.
Paper Structure (13 sections, 5 figures, 1 table)

This paper contains 13 sections, 5 figures, 1 table.

Table of Contents

  1. Introduction
  2. IS-Integrated BS Architectures
  3. Design Issues for IS-Integrated BS
  4. Channel Modelling
  5. CSI Acquisition
  6. IS Passive Reflection/Transmission Design
  7. Numerical Results
  8. Future Directions
  9. IS-Integrated Terminal and Hybrid BS/Terminal-Integrated IS Deployment
  10. Integration of Active IS
  11. Integration of Beyond Diagonal (BD)-IS
  12. IS-Integrated BS for Integrated Sensing and Communication (ISAC)
  13. Conclusions

Figures (5)

  • Figure 1: Illustration of different IS deployment strategies, i.e., BS/terminal-side IS deployment and BS/terminal-integrated IS deployment.
  • Figure 2: Illustration of different IS-integrated BS architectures, i.e., backside-IS, frontside-IS, and surrounding-IS architectures.
  • Figure 3: Illustration of element-wise channel model.
  • Figure 4: Performance comparison for IS-integrated BS architectures with different IS passive reflection/transmission designs.
  • Figure 5: Promising research directions for IS-BS/terminal integration in wireless networks.