Generalized Pinching-Antenna Systems: A Leaky-Coaxial-Cable Perspective

TL;DR

This paper introduces a low-frequency reconfigurable antenna system using leaky-coaxial-cables, enabling adaptive wireless links with improved performance, inspired by high-frequency waveguide pinching antennas, suitable for 6G networks.

Contribution

It presents a novel low-frequency pinching-antenna system based on leaky-coaxial-cables with controllable radiation slots, extending waveguide concepts to broader applications.

Findings

Strong local gain achieved

Rapid decay over distance observed

Significant throughput improvements in simulations

Abstract

The evolution toward the sixth-generation (6G) wireless networks has flexible reconfigurable antenna architectures capable of adapting their radiation characteristics to the surrounding environment. At the center-stage, while waveguide based pinching antennas have been shown to beneficially ameliorate wireless propagation environments, their applications have remained confined to high-frequency scenarios. As a remedy, we propose a downlink generalized pinching-antenna system that adapts this compelling concept to low-frequency operation through a leaky-coaxial-cable (LCX) implementation. By endowing LCX structures with controllable radiation slots, the system inherits the key capabilities of waveguide based pinching antennas. Explicitly, these include reconfigurable line-of-sight (LoS) links, reduced path loss, and flexible deployment, while supporting a practical implementation of the pinching-antenna concept at low frequencies. A twin-stage propagation model is developed for characterizing both the guided transmission and wireless radiation encountered over LoS and non-line-of-sight (NLoS) paths. Analytical results reveal strong local gain, complemented by rapid distance-dependent decay. Hence, we conceive a matching joint optimization framework, which maximizes throughput by harnessing game-theoretic association and convex power allocation. Simulation results demonstrate substantial performance gains over conventional fixed-antenna benchmarks.