In this paper, we study the performance of wideband terahertz (THz) communications assisted by an intelligent reflecting surface (IRS). Specifically, we first introduce a generalized channel model that is suitable for electrically large THz IRSs operating in the near-field. Unlike prior works, our channel model takes into account the spherical wavefront of the emitted electromagnetic waves and the spatial-wideband effect. We next show that conventional frequency-flat beamfocusing significantly reduces the power gain due to beam squint, and hence is highly suboptimal. More importantly, we analytically characterize this reduction when the spacing between adjacent reflecting elements is negligible, i.e., holographic reflecting surfaces. Numerical results corroborate our analysis and provide important insights into the design of future IRS-aided THz systems.
@article{arxiv.2110.15768,
title = {Intelligent Reflecting Surface-Aided Wideband THz Communications: Modeling and Analysis},
author = {Konstantinos Dovelos and Stylianos D. Assimonis and Hien Quoc Ngo and Boris Bellalta and Michail Matthaiou},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2110.15768},
year = {2021}
}
Comments
To appear in the ITG Workshop on Smart Antennas (WSA), 2021