Reconfigurable Intelligent Surfaces for 6G: A Comprehensive Survey
Prof. Emil Bjornson, Dr. Luca Sanguinetti
Linkoping University / University of Pisa
Abstract
We present a comprehensive survey of reconfigurable intelligent surfaces (RIS) as a transformative technology for 6G wireless networks. The survey covers fundamental physics, hardware architectures, channel modeling, optimization algorithms, and standardization efforts. We identify key technical challenges including channel estimation overhead, practical hardware limitations, and deployment strategies. Our analysis shows that RIS can improve coverage by up to 40% in indoor scenarios and extend cell-edge throughput by 3x.
AI Summary
- Comprehensive survey covering all aspects of RIS technology for 6G networks.
- RIS improves indoor coverage by up to 40% and cell-edge throughput by 3x.
- Identifies key challenges: channel estimation overhead, hardware limitations, deployment strategies.
- Covers 200+ references spanning physics, engineering, and standardization.
Key Findings
- 1Passive RIS elements offer 100x energy efficiency improvement over active relays.
- 2Channel estimation remains the primary bottleneck for practical RIS deployment.
- 3Hybrid active-passive RIS architectures offer the best performance-complexity tradeoff.
Industry Implications
RIS is a leading candidate for 6G coverage enhancement and energy efficiency.
Standardization efforts in 3GPP Release 19/20 are already considering RIS.
Practical deployment requires solving channel estimation and control signaling challenges.
Read the Original Paper
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