220 GHz RIS-Aided Multi-user Terahertz Communication System: Prototype Design and Over-the-Air Experimental Trials

Terahertz (THz) communication technology is regarded as a promising enabler for achieving ultra-high data rate transmission in next-generation communication systems. To mitigate the high path loss in THz systems, the transmitting beams are typically narrow and highly directional, which makes it difficult for a single beam to serve multiple users simultaneously. To address this challenge, reconfigurable intelligent surfaces (RIS), which can dynamically manipulate the wireless propagation environment, have been integrated into THz communication systems to extend coverage. Existing works mostly remain theoretical analysis and simulation, while prototype validation of RIS-assisted THz communication systems is scarce. In this paper, we designed a liquid crystal-based RIS operating at 220 GHz supporting both single-user and multi-user communication scenarios, followed by a RIS-aided THz communication system prototype. To enhance the system performance, we developed a beamforming method including a real-time power feedback control, which is compatible with both single-beam and multibeam modes. To support simultaneous multi-user transmission, we designed an OFDM-based resource allocation scheme. In our experiments, the received power gain with RIS is no less than 10 dB in the single-beam mode, and no less than 5 dB in the multi-beam mode. With the assistance of RIS, the achievable rate of the system could reach 2.341 Gbps with 3 users sharing 400 MHz bandwidth and the bit error rate (BER) of the system decreased sharply. Finally, an image transmission experiment was conducted to vividly show that the receiver could recover the transmitted information correctly with the help of RIS. The experimental results also demonstrated that the received signal quality was enhanced through power feedback adjustments.

On Performance of LoRa Fluid Antenna Systems

This paper advocates a fluid antenna system (FAS) assisting long-range communication (LoRa-FAS) for Internet-of-Things (IoT) applications. Our focus is on pilot sequence overhead and placement for FAS. Specifically, we consider embedding pilot sequences within symbols to reduce the equivalent symbol error rate (SER), leveraging the fact that the pilot sequences do not convey source information and correlation detection at the LoRa receiver needs not be performed across the entire symbol. We obtain closed-form approximations for the probability density function (PDF) and cumulative distribution function (CDF) of the FAS channel, assuming perfect channel state information (CSI). Moreover, the approximate SER, hence the bit error rate (BER), of the proposed LoRa-FAS is derived. Simulation results indicate that substantial SER gains can be achieved by FAS within the LoRa framework, even with a limited size of FAS. Furthermore, our analytical results align well with that of the Clarke's exact spatial correlation model. Finally, the correlation factor for the block correlation model should be selected as the proportion of the exact correlation matrix's eigenvalues greater than $1$.