Near-field propagation, particularly that enabled by reconfigurable intelligent surfaces (RIS), has emerged as a promising research topic in recent years. However, a comprehensive literature review on RIS-based near-field technologies is still lacking. This article aims to fill this gap by providing a brief overview of near-field concepts and a systematic survey of the state-of-the-art RIS-based near-field technologies. The focus is on three key aspects: the construction of ubiquitous near-field wireless propagation environments using RIS, the enabling of new near-field paradigms for 6G networks through RIS, and the challenges faced by RIS-based near-field technologies. This technical review intends to facilitate the development and innovation of RIS-based near-field technologies.
22 pages. The manuscript, originally composed in Chinese, has been submitted to a Chinese journal. Presented here is the translated version of that Chinese manuscript. By uploading this manuscript to your preprint platform, we aim to garner additional insights and references from experts in the field