High-resolution programmable scattering for wireless coverage enhancement: an indoor field trial campaign

Rains, J., Kazim, J. u. R. , Tukmanov, A., Cui, T. J., Zhang, L. , Abbasi, Q. H. and Imran, M. A. (2023) High-resolution programmable scattering for wireless coverage enhancement: an indoor field trial campaign. IEEE Transactions on Antennas and Propagation, 71(1), pp. 518-530. (doi: 10.1109/TAP.2022.3216555)

Abstract

This paper presents a multi-bit reconfigurable intelligent surface (RIS) with a high phase resolution, capable of beam-steering in the azimuthal plane at sub-6 Gigahertz (GHz). Field trials in realistic indoor deployments have been carried out, with coverage enhancement performance ascertained for three common wireless communication scenarios. Namely, serving users in an open lobby with mixed line of sight and non-line of sight conditions, communication via a junction between long corridors, and a multi-floor scenario with propagation via windows. This work explores the potential for reconfigurable intelligent surface (RIS) deployment to mitigate non-line of sight effects in indoor wireless communications. In a single transmitter, single receiver non-line of sight link, received power improvement of as much as 40 dB is shown to be achievable by suitable placement of a RIS, with an instantaneous bandwidth of at least 100 MHz possible over a 3 to 4.5 GHz range. In addition, the effects of phase resolution on the optimal power reception for the multi-bit RIS have been experimentally verified, with a 2.65 dB improvement compared to a 1-bit case.

• Item Type: Articles
• Additional Information: James Rains’ PhD is funded by EPSRC ICASE studentship (EP/V519686/1) with British Telecom. Tie Jun Cui acknowledges support from the National Key Research and Development Program of China (2017YFA0700201, 2017YFA0700202, and 2017YFA0700203).
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Zhang, Professor Lei and Kazim, Mr Jalil and Imran, Professor Muhammad and Tukmanov, Dr Anvar and Rains, Mr James and Abbasi, Dr Qammer
• Authors: Rains, J., Kazim, J. u. R., Tukmanov, A., Cui, T. J., Zhang, L., Abbasi, Q. H., and Imran, M. A.
• College/School: College of Science and Engineering > School of Engineering; College of Science and Engineering > School of Engineering > Autonomous Systems and Connectivity; College of Science and Engineering > School of Engineering > Electronics and Nanoscale Engineering
• Journal Name: IEEE Transactions on Antennas and Propagation
• Publisher: IEEE
• ISSN: 0018-926X
• ISSN (Online): 1558-2221
• Published Online: 27 October 2022
• Copyright Holders: Copyright © 2022 IEEE
• First Published: First published in IEEE Transactions on Antennas and Propagation 71(1): 518-530
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced in accordance with the publisher copyright policy