Reconfigurable Intelligent Surfaces: Potentials, Applications, and Challenges for 6G Wireless Networks

Reconfigurable intelligent surfaces (RISs), with the potential to realize smart radio environments, have emerged as an energy-efficient and a cost-effective technology to support the services and demands foreseen for coming decades. By leveraging a large number of low-cost passive reflecting element...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:IEEE wireless communications 2021-12, Vol.28 (6), p.184-191
Main Authors: Basharat, Sarah, Hassan, Syed Ali, Pervaiz, Haris, Mahmood, Aamir, Ding, Zhiguo, Gidlund, Mikael
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
6G mobile communication
Channel estimation
Channel state information
Communication technologies
Cost effectiveness
Cost-effective technology
Costs
Energy efficiency
Future research directions
Hardware
Imperfect channel state information
Impinging signals
Interference cancellation
Interlocking signals
NOMA
Nonorthogonal multiple access
Numerical results
Optimization
Propagation channels
Receivers
Reconfigurable intelligent surfaces
Reconfiguration
Reflecting elements
Signal receivers
Wireless networks
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Summary:Reconfigurable intelligent surfaces (RISs), with the potential to realize smart radio environments, have emerged as an energy-efficient and a cost-effective technology to support the services and demands foreseen for coming decades. By leveraging a large number of low-cost passive reflecting elements, RISs introduce a phase-shift in the impinging signal to create a favorable propagation channel between the transmitter and the receiver. In this article, we provide a tutorial overview of RISs for sixth-generation (6G) wireless networks. Specifically, we present a comprehensive discussion on performance gains that can be achieved by integrating RISs with emerging communication technologies. We address the practical implementation of RIS-assisted networks and expose the crucial challenges, including the RIS reconfiguration, deployment and size optimization, and channel estimation. Furthermore, we explore the integration of RIS and non-orthogonal multiple access (NOMA) under imperfect channel state information (CSI). Our numerical results illustrate the importance of better channel estimation in RIS-assisted networks and indicate the various factors that impact the size of RIS. Finally, we present promising future research directions for realizing RIS-assisted networks in 6G communication.
ISSN:1536-1284
1558-0687
1558-0687
DOI:10.1109/MWC.011.2100016