Channel Measurement and Coverage Analysis for NIRS-Aided THz Communications in Indoor Environments

TL;DR

This paper investigates the use of non-intelligent reflecting surfaces (NIRS) made of simple metal foils to improve signal coverage and strength in indoor THz communications, validated through extensive channel measurements.

Contribution

It introduces the application of costless, non-configurable NIRS in indoor THz systems and provides empirical data demonstrating their effectiveness in enhancing coverage.

Findings

Large NIRS outperforms small NIRS in coverage.

NIRS reduces reflection loss by over 10 dB.

Coverage ratio increases by up to 39% at 10 dB SNR.

Abstract

Due to large reflection and diffraction losses in the THz band, it is arguable to achieve reliable links in the none-line-of-sight (NLoS) cases. Intelligent reflecting surfaces, although are expected to solve the blockage problem and enhance the system connectivity, suffer from fabrication difficulty and operation complexity. In this work, non-intelligent reflecting surfaces (NIRS), which are simply made of costless metal foils and have no signal configuration capability, are adopted to enhance the signal strength and coverage in the THz band. Channel measurements are conducted in typical indoor scenarios at 306-321 GHz and 356-371 GHz bands to validate the effectiveness of the NIRS. Results measured with NIRS in different sizes show that large NIRS performs much better than small NIRS. Furthermore, by invoking the NIRS, the additional reflection loss can be reduced by more than 10~dB and the coverage ratio is increased by up to 39$\%$ for a 10~dB signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) threshold.