6G/Telecom Papers17 min read17 citations

STAR-RIS: Simultaneous Transmitting and Reflecting for Full-Space Coverage

Dr. Jiayi Zhang, Prof. Derrick Wing Kwan Ng

University of New South Wales

Feb 5, 2026View on arXiv

Abstract

We present the first comprehensive study of Simultaneous Transmitting And Reflecting RIS (STAR-RIS) for 6G full-space coverage. Unlike conventional RIS that only reflects signals, STAR-RIS serves users on both sides of the surface. We develop optimal beamforming algorithms for three STAR-RIS protocols (energy splitting, mode switching, time switching) and show that STAR-RIS improves sum-rate by 40-70% over conventional RIS in multi-user scenarios where users are distributed on both sides.

AI Summary

AI-Generated Summary
  • First comprehensive study of STAR-RIS for 6G full-space coverage.
  • Serves users on both sides of the intelligent surface simultaneously.
  • 40-70% sum-rate improvement over conventional reflecting-only RIS.
  • Optimal algorithms for three STAR-RIS operating protocols.

Key Findings

  • 1Energy splitting protocol achieves the best performance in most scenarios.
  • 2STAR-RIS is most beneficial when users are evenly distributed on both sides.
  • 3The transmitting and reflecting coefficients are coupled, requiring joint optimization.

Industry Implications

STAR-RIS removes the half-space coverage limitation of conventional RIS.

Enables flexible RIS deployment on windows, partitions, and building walls.

Expands the applicability of RIS technology for 6G indoor-outdoor coverage.

STAR-RISFull-Space6G CoverageBeamforming

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