IRS Configuration Techniques for Ultra-Wideband Signals and THz Communications

Abstract

Motivated by the challenges of future 6G communications where terahertz (THz) frequencies, intelligent reflective surfaces (IRSs) and ultra-wideband (UWB) signals coexist, we analyze and propose a set of efficient techniques for configuring the IRS when the signal bandwidth is a significant fraction of the central frequency (up to 50%). To the best of our knowledge this is the first time that IRS configuration techniques are analyzed for such huge bandwidths. In our work we take into account for the channel model, the power spectral density of the signal reflected by the IRS and the network geometry. We evaluate the proposed solutions in terms of achievable rate and compare it against an upper bound we derived. Our results hint rules for designing IRS-aided communication systems and allow to draw conclusions on the trade-off between performance and complexity required for configuring the IRS.