Reconfigurable Intelligent Surfaces vs. Relaying: Differences, Similarities, and Performance Comparison
Marco Di Renzoa, Konstantinos Ntontinb, Jian Songa, Fadil Habibi Danufanea, Xuewen Qiana, F. Lazarakisb, Julien de Rosnyc, Dinh-Thuy Phan-Huyd, Osvaldo Simeonee f, Rui Zhangg, Merouane Abdelkader Debbahh, Geoffroy Leroseyi, Mathias Finkc, Sergei Tretyakovj, Shlomo Shitz Shamaik
- aCNRS and CentraleSupélec, Laboratoire des Signaux et Systémes, Université Paris–Saclay, Gif-sur-Yvette, France
- bIIT-Demokritos, Athens, Greece
- cEPSCI, Institut Langevin, Paris, France
- dRecherche et Developpement Department, Orange Labs, Chatillon, France
- eDepartment of Informatics, King’s College London, London, U.K
- fDepartment of Informatics, King's College London, London, U.K
- gNational University of Singapore, Singapore
- hMathematical and Algorithmic Sciences Laboratory, Huawei Research and Development, Boulogne-Billancourt, France
- iGreenerwave, Paris, France
- jDepartment of Electronics and Nanoengineering, Aalto University, Helsinki, Finland
- kFaculty of Electrical Engineering, Technion–Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel
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Abstract
Reconfigurable intelligent surfaces (RISs) have the potential of realizing the emerging concept of smart radio environments by leveraging the unique properties of metamaterials and large arrays of inexpensive antennas. In this article, we discuss the potential applications of RISs in wireless networks that operate at high-frequency bands, e.g., millimeter wave (30-100 GHz) and sub-millimeter wave (greater than 100 GHz) frequencies. When used in wireless networks, RISs may operate in a manner similar to relays. The present paper, therefore, elaborates on the key differences and similarities between RISs that are configured to operate as anomalous reflectors and relays. In particular, we illustrate numerical results that highlight the spectral efficiency gains of RISs when their size is sufficiently large as compared with the wavelength of the radio waves. In addition, we discuss key open issues that need to be addressed for unlocking the potential benefits of RISs for application to wireless communications and networks.
TL;DRThe present paper elaborates on the key differences and similarities between RISs that are configured to operate as anomalous reflectors and relays and illustrates numerical results that highlight the spectral efficiency gains of RISs when their size is sufficiently large as compared with the wavelength of the radio waves. (Semantic Scholar)