Study and Design of Reconfigurable Intelligent Surfaces

TL;DR

This thesis explores the theoretical and practical aspects of reconfigurable intelligent surfaces (RIS) to enhance communication channels, including their physical mechanisms, computational modeling, and optimization tools.

Contribution

It introduces fundamental equations for link budget estimation, investigates RIS physical mechanisms, develops computational tools, and proposes an optimization framework for RF networks.

Findings

RIS can overcome obstruction losses in communication channels

Open-source tools enable simulation of RIS systems

Optimization methods improve RF network performance

Abstract

In this thesis, we introduce the fundamental equations behind the estimation of the link budget in a communications channel, highlighting the key limitations of conventional systems. Furthermore, we investigate the use of reconfigurable intelligent surfaces as a modern method of overcoming obstruction losses, while making use of numerical methods and computational electromagnetics to understand its physical mechanism and probe its theory of operation. Additionally, a preprint on computational geometry is presented, applicable to the field of computational electromagnetics, enabling the simulation of systems such as reconfigurable intelligent surfaces using open-source tools. Lastly, we provide a tool for the physical optimization of radio-frequency networks, based on mathematical programming. Such a tool may be used for the optimization of reconfigurable intelligent surfaces, ultimately improving the communication channel between a transmitter and receiver.