arXiv subjects

Jun Yan Dai

Publications and source records attributed to Jun Yan Dai.

16 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Programmable radio-frequency calculations in electromagnetic-wave domain

Information metasurfaces have emerged as pivotal components in next-generation electronic systems, with significant progress in their applications to communication, radar, and sensing. However, the current researches are mainly focused on their physical structures and system functions, while radio-frequency (RF) signal processing and calculation remain constrained to digital-domain operations. This reliance on digital conversion inherently increases hardware complexity and power consumption. To address this challenge, we propose a programmable RF calculation system based on a space-time-coding metasurface (STCM), which can control the wave-matter interactions through space-time-coding (STC) strategies and achieve direct RF calculations in the electromagnetic (EM) space in a reprogrammable way. Particularly, the fundamental signal operations - Fourier transform and convolution - are implemented in the EM-wave domain successfully. We validate the RF calculation capabilities in radar scenarios, facilitating the accurate detection of target velocity and range. Theoretical analysis, numerical simulations, and experimental results collectively demonstrate that the STCM-based RF calculation system exhibits superior precision, enhanced operational efficiency, and notable cost-effectiveness, highlighting its significant potentials for the next-generation electronic system deployments.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2024

A wideband amplifying and filtering reconfigurable intelligent surface for wireless relay

Programmable metasurfaces have garnered significant attention due to their exceptional ability to manipulate electromagnetic (EM) waves in real time, leading to the emergence of a prominent area in wireless communication, namely reconfigurable intelligent surfaces (RISs), to control the signal propagation and coverage. However, the existing RISs usually suffer from limited operating distance and band interference, which hinder their practical applications in wireless relay and communication systems. To overcome the limitations, we propose an amplifying and filtering RIS (AF-RIS) to enhance the in-band signal energy and filter the out-of-band signal of the incident EM waves, ensuring the miniaturization of the RIS array and enabling its anti-interference ability. In addition, each AF-RIS element is equipped with a 2-bit phase control capability, further endowing the entire array with great beamforming performance. An elaborately designed 4*8 AF-RIS array is presented by integrating the power dividing and combining networks, which substantially reduces the number of amplifiers and filters, thereby reducing the hardware costs and power consumption. Experimental results showcase the powerful capabilities of AF-RIS in beam-steering, frequency selectivity, and signal amplification. Therefore, the proposed AF-RIS holds significant promise for critical applications in wireless relay systems by offering an efficient solution to improve frequency selectivity, enhance signal coverage, and reduce hardware size.

eess.SP↗

arXiv2024

Intelligent Adaptive Metasurface in Complex Wireless Environments

The programmable metasurface is regarded as one of the most promising transformative technologies for next-generation wireless system applications. Due to the lack of effective perception ability of the external electromagnetic environment, there are numerous challenges in the intelligent regulation of wireless channels, and it still relies on external sensors to reshape electromagnetic environment as desired. To address that problem, we propose an adaptive metasurface (AMS) which integrates the capabilities of acquiring wireless environment information and manipulating reflected electromagnetic (EM) waves in a programmable manner. The proposed design endows the metasurfaces with excellent capabilities to sense the complex electromagnetic field distributions around them and then dynamically manipulate the waves and signals in real time under the guidance of the sensed information, eliminating the need for prior knowledge or external inputs about the wireless environment. For verification, a prototype of the proposed AMS is constructed, and its dual capabilities of sensing and manipulation are experimentally validated. Additionally, different integrated sensing and communication (ISAC) scenarios with and without the aid of the AMS are established. The effectiveness of the AMS in enhancing communication quality is well demonstrated in complex electromagnetic environments, highlighting its beneficial application potential in future wireless systems.

physics.app-ph↗

arXiv2024

Multiple-partition cross-modulation programmable metasurface empowering wireless communications

With the versatile manipulation capability, programmable metasurfaces are rapidly advancing in their intelligence, integration, and commercialization levels. However, as the programmable metasurfaces scale up, their control configuration becomes increasingly complicated, posing significant challenges and limitations. Here, we propose a multiple-partition cross-modulation (MPCM) programmable metasurface to enhance the wireless communication coverage with low hardware complexity. We firstly propose an innovative encoding scheme to multiply the control voltage vectors of row-column crossing, achieving high beamforming precision in free space while maintaining low control hardware complexity and reducing memory requirements for coding sequences. We then design and fabricate an MPCM programmable metasurface to confirm the effectiveness of the proposed encoding scheme. The simulated and experimental results show good agreements with the theoretically calculated outcomes in beam scanning across the E and H planes and in free-space beam pointing. The MPCM programmable metasurface offers strong flexibility and low complexity by allowing various numbers and combinations of partition items in modulation methods, catering to diverse precision demands in various scenarios. We demonstrate the performance of MPCM programmable metasurface in a realistic indoor setting, where the transmissions of videos to specific receiver positions are successfully achieved, surpassing the capabilities of traditional programmable metasurfaces. We believe that the proposed programmable metasurface has great potentials in significantly empowering the wireless communications while addressing the challenges associated with the programmable metasurface's design and implementation.

physics.app-ph↗

arXiv2024

Simplified radar architecture based on information metasurface

Modern radar typically employs a chain architecture that consists of radio-frequency (RF) and intermediate frequency (IF) units, baseband digital signal processor, and information display. However, this architecture often results in high costs, significant hardware demands, and integration challenges. Here we propose a simplified radar architecture based on space-time-coding (STC) information metasurfaces. With their powerful capabilities to generate multiple harmonic frequencies and customize their phases, the STC metasurfaces play a key role in chirp signal generation, transmission, and echo reception. Remarkably, the receiving STC metasurface can implement dechirp processing directly on the RF level and realize the digital information outputs, which are beneficial to lower the hardware requirement at the receiving end while potentially shortening the time needed for conventional digital processing. As a proof of concept, the proposed metasurface radar is tested in a series of experiments for target detection and range/speed measurement, yielding results comparable to those obtained by conventional methods. This study provides valuable inspiration for a new radar system paradigm to combine the RF front ends and signal processors on the information metasurface platform that offers essential functionalities while significantly reducing the system complexity and cost.

physics.app-ph↗

arXiv2024

Reconfigurable Intelligent Surface: Power Consumption Modeling and Practical Measurement Validation

The reconfigurable intelligent surface (RIS) has received a lot of interest because of its capacity to reconfigure the wireless communication environment in a cost- and energy-efficient way. However, the realistic power consumption modeling and measurement validation of RIS has received far too little attention. Therefore, in this work, we model the power consumption of RIS and conduct measurement validations using various RISs to fill this vacancy. Firstly, we propose a practical power consumption model of RIS. The RIS hardware is divided into three basic parts: the FPGA control board, the drive circuits, and the RIS unit cells. The power consumption of the first two parts is modeled as $P_{\text {static}}$ and that of the last part is modeled as $P_{\text {units}}$. Expressions of $P_{\text {static}}$ and $P_{\text {units}}$ vary amongst different types of RISs. Secondly, we conduct measurements on various RISs to validate the proposed model. Five different RISs including the PIN diode, varactor diode, and RF switch types are measured, and measurement results validate the generality and applicability of the proposed power consumption model of RIS. Finally, we summarize the measurement results and discuss the approaches to achieve the low-power-consumption design of RIS-assisted wireless communication systems.

cs.IT↗

arXiv2021

Path Loss Modeling and Measurements for Reconfigurable Intelligent Surfaces in the Millimeter-Wave Frequency Band

Reconfigurable intelligent surfaces (RISs) provide an interface between the electromagnetic world of wireless propagation environments and the digital world of information science. Simple yet sufficiently accurate path loss models for RISs are an important basis for theoretical analysis and optimization of RIS-assisted wireless communication systems. In this paper, we refine our previously proposed free-space path loss model for RISs to make it simpler, more applicable, and easier to use. The impact of the antenna's directivity of the transmitter, receiver, and the unit cells of the RIS on the path loss is explicitly formulated as an angle-dependent loss factor. The refined model gives more accurate estimates of the path loss of RISs comprised of unit cells with a deep sub-wavelength size. Based on the proposed model, the properties of a single unit cell are evaluated in terms of scattering performance, power consumption, and area, which allows us to unveil fundamental considerations for deploying RISs in high frequency bands. Two fabricated RISs operating in the millimeter-wave (mmWave) band are utilized to carry out a measurement campaign. The measurement results are shown to be in good agreement with the proposed path loss model. In addition, the experimental results suggest an effective form to characterize the power radiation pattern of the unit cell for path loss modeling.

eess.SP↗

arXiv2021

On Channel Reciprocity in Reconfigurable Intelligent Surface Assisted Wireless Network

Channel reciprocity greatly facilitates downlink precoding in time-division duplexing (TDD) multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) communications without the need for channel state information (CSI) feedback. Recently, reconfigurable intelligent surfaces (RISs) emerge as a promising technology to enhance the performance of future wireless networks. However, since the artificial electromagnetic characteristics of RISs do not strictly follow the normal laws of nature, it brings up a question: does the channel reciprocity hold in RIS-assisted TDD wireless networks? After briefly reviewing the reciprocity theorem, in this article, we show that there still exists channel reciprocity for RIS-assisted wireless networks satisfying certain conditions. We also experimentally demonstrate the reciprocity at the sub-6 GHz and the millimeter-wave frequency bands by using two fabricated RISs. Furthermore, we introduce several RIS-assisted approaches to realizing nonreciprocal channels. Finally, potential opportunities brought by reciprocal/nonreciprocal RISs and future research directions are outlined.

cs.IT↗

arXiv2021

Design and Implementation of MIMO Transmission Based on Dual-Polarized Reconfigurable Intelligent Surface

Multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) signaling is one of the key technologies of current mobile communication systems. However, the complex and expensive radio frequency (RF) chains have always limited the increase of MIMO scale. In this paper, we propose a MIMO transmission architecture based on a dual-polarized reconfigurable intelligent surface (RIS), which can directly achieve modulation and transmission of multichannel signals without the need for conventional RF chains. Compared with previous works, the proposed architecture can improve the integration of RIS-based transmission systems. A prototype of the dual-polarized RIS-based MIMO transmission system is built and the experimental results confirm the feasibility of the proposed architecture. The dual-polarized RIS-based MIMO transmission architecture provides a promising solution for realizing low-cost ultra-massive MIMO towards future networks.

cs.IT↗

arXiv2020

Wireless Communications with Reconfigurable Intelligent Surface: Path Loss Modeling and Experimental Measurement

Reconfigurable intelligent surfaces (RISs) comprised of tunable unit cells have recently drawn significant attention due to their superior capability in manipulating electromagnetic waves. In particular, RIS-assisted wireless communications have the great potential to achieve significant performance improvement and coverage enhancement in a cost-effective and energy-efficient manner, by properly programming the reflection coefficients of the unit cells of RISs. In this paper, free-space path loss models for RIS-assisted wireless communications are developed for different scenarios by studying the physics and electromagnetic nature of RISs. The proposed models, which are first validated through extensive simulation results, reveal the relationships between the free-space path loss of RIS-assisted wireless communications and the distances from the transmitter/receiver to the RIS, the size of the RIS, the near-field/far-field effects of the RIS, and the radiation patterns of antennas and unit cells. In addition, three fabricated RISs (metasurfaces) are utilized to further corroborate the theoretical findings through experimental measurements conducted in a microwave anechoic chamber. The measurement results match well with the modeling results, thus validating the proposed free-space path loss models for RIS, which may pave the way for further theoretical studies and practical applications in this field.

eess.SP↗

arXiv2020

MIMO Transmission through Reconfigurable Intelligent Surface: System Design, Analysis, and Implementation

Reconfigurable intelligent surface (RIS) is a new paradigm that has great potential to achieve cost-effective, energy-efficient information modulation for wireless transmission, by the ability to change the reflection coefficients of the unit cells of a programmable metasurface. Nevertheless, the electromagnetic responses of the RISs are usually only phase-adjustable, which considerably limits the achievable rate of RIS-based transmitters. In this paper, we propose an RIS architecture to achieve amplitude-and-phase-varying modulation, which facilitates the design of multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM) transmission. The hardware constraints of the RIS and their impacts on the system design are discussed and analyzed. Furthermore, the proposed approach is evaluated using our prototype which implements the RIS-based MIMO-QAM transmission over the air in real time.

eess.SP↗

arXiv2020

Arbitrary manipulations of dual harmonics and their wave behaviors based on space-time-coding digital metasurface

Space-time modulated metasurfaces have attracted significant attention due to the additional degree of freedom in manipulating the electromagnetic (EM) waves in both space and time domains. However, the existing techniques have limited wave control capabilities, leading to just a few feasible schemes like regulation of only one specific harmonic. Here, we propose to realize independent manipulations of arbitrarily dual harmonics and their wave behaviors using a space-time-coding (STC) digital metasurface. By employing different STC sequences to the reflection phase of the metasurface, independent phase-pattern configurations of two desired harmonics can be achieved simultaneously, which further leads to independent beam shaping at the two harmonic frequencies. An analytical theory is developed to offer the physical insights in the arbitrary dual-harmonic manipulations of spectra and spatial beams, which is verified by experiments with good agreements. The presented STC strategy provides a new way to design multifunctional programmable systems, which will find potential applications such as cognitive radar and multi-user wireless communications.

physics.app-ph↗

arXiv2019

Wireless Communications with Programmable Metasurface: New Paradigms, Opportunities, and Challenges on Transceiver Design

Many emerging technologies, such as ultra-massive multiple-input multiple-output (UM-MIMO), terahertz (THz) communications are under active discussion as promising technologies to support the extremely high access rate and superior network capacity in the future sixth-generation (6G) mobile communication systems. However, such technologies are still facing many challenges for practical implementation. In particular, UM-MIMO and THz communication require extremely large number of radio frequency (RF) chains, and hence suffering from prohibitive hardware cost and complexity. In this article, we introduce a new paradigm to address the above issues, namely wireless communication enabled by programmable metasurfaces, by exploiting the powerful capability of metasurfaces in manipulating electromagnetic waves. We will first introduce the basic concept of programmable metasurfaces, followed by the promising paradigm shift in future wireless communication systems enabled by programmable metasurfaces. In particular, we propose two prospective paradigms of applying programmable metasurfaces in wireless transceivers: namely RF chain-free transmitter and space-down-conversion receiver, which both have great potential to simplify the architecture and reduce the hardware cost of future wireless transceivers. Furthermore, we present the design architectures, preliminary experimental results and main advantages of these new paradigms and discuss their potential opportunities and challenges toward ultra-massive 6G communications with low hardware complexity, low cost, and high energy efficiency.

eess.SP↗

arXiv2019

Programmable Metasurface-based RF Chain-free 8PSK Wireless Transmitter

In this letter, a wireless transmitter using the new architecture of programmable metasurface is presented. The proposed transmitter does not require any filter, nor wideband mixer or wideband power amplifier, thereby making it a promising hardware architecture for cost-effective wireless communications systems in the future. Using experimental results, we demonstrate that a programmable metasurface-based 8-phase shift-keying (8PSK) transmitter with 8*32 phase adjustable unit cells can achieve 6.144 Mbps data rate over the air at 4.25 GHz with a comparable bit error rate (BER) performance as the conventional approach without channel coding, but with less hardware complexity.

eess.SP↗

arXiv2018

Wireless Communications with Programmable Metasurface: Transceiver Design and Experimental Results

Metasurfaces have drawn significant attentions due to their superior capability in tailoring electromagnetic waves with a wide frequency range, from microwave to visible light. Recently, programmable metasurfaces have demonstrated the ability of manipulating the amplitude or phase of electromagnetic waves in a programmable manner in real time, which renders them especially appealing in the applications of wireless communications. To practically demonstrate the feasibility of programmable metasurfaces in future communication systems, in this paper, we design and realize a novel metasurface-based wireless communication system. By exploiting the dynamically controllable property of programmable metasurface, we firstly introduce the fundamental principle of the metasurface-based wireless communication system design. We then present the design, implementation and experimental evaluation of the proposed metasurface-based wireless communication system with a prototype, which realizes single carrier quadrature phase shift keying (QPSK) transmission over the air. In the developed prototype, the phase of the reflected electromagnetic wave of programmable metasurface is directly manipulated in real time according to the baseband control signal, which achieves 2.048 Mbps data transfer rate with video streaming transmission over the air. Experimental result is provided to compare the performance of the proposed metasurface-based architecture against the conventional one. With the slight increase of the transmit power by 5 dB, the same bit error rate (BER) performance can be achieved as the conventional system in the absence of channel coding. Such a result is encouraging considering that the metasurface-based system has the advantages of low hardware cost and simple structure, thus leading to a promising new architecture for wireless communications.

eess.SP↗

arXiv2018

Controlling spectral energies of all harmonics in programmable way using time-domain digital coding metasurface

Modern wireless communication is one of the most important information technologies, but its system architecture has been unchanged for many years. Here, we propose a much simpler architecture for wireless communication systems based on metasurface. We firstly propose a time-domain digital coding metasurface to reach a simple but efficient method to manipulate spectral distributions of harmonics. Under dynamic modulations of phases on surface reflectivity, we could achieve accurate controls to different harmonics in a programmable way to reach many unusual functions like frequency cloaking and velocity illusion, owing to the temporal gradient introduced by digital signals encoded by '0' and '1' sequences. A theoretical model is presented and experimentally validated to reveal the nonlinear process. Based on the time-domain digital coding metasurface, we propose and realize a new wireless communication system in binary frequency-shift keying (BFSK) frame, which has much more simplified architecture than the traditional BFSK with excellent performance for real-time message transmission. The presented work, from new concept to new system, will find important applications in modern information technologies.

physics.app-ph↗