IRS Meets Relaying: Joint Resource Allocation and Passive Beamforming Optimization

TL;DR

This paper proposes a novel IRS-assisted communication system combining passive reflection and active relaying, jointly optimizing resource allocation to significantly enhance wireless coverage and data rates.

Contribution

It introduces a new IRS relaying system with joint optimization of passive beamforming and relay timing, outperforming conventional IRS setups.

Findings

The proposed system achieves higher data rates than traditional IRS configurations.

Joint optimization significantly improves coverage and system performance.

Simulation results confirm the effectiveness of the new design.

Abstract

Intelligent reflecting surface (IRS) has recently emerged as a new solution to enhance wireless communication performance via passive signal reflection. In this letter, we unlock the potential of IRS controller in relaying information and propose a novel IRS-assisted communication system with both IRS passive reflection and active relaying. Specifically, we jointly optimize the time allocations for decode-and-forward (DF) relaying by the IRS controller and the IRS passive beamforming to maximize the achievable rate of the proposed system. We also compare the rate performance of the proposed system with the conventional IRS without relaying, and reveal the conditions for one to outperform the other. Simulation results demonstrate that the proposed new design can significantly improve the coverage/rate performance of IRS-assisted systems.