Embracing reconfigurable antennas in

the tri-hybrid MIMO architecture for 6G

Prof. Robert W. Heath Jr.

Charles Lee Powell Chair in Wireless Communications
http://www.profheath.org
Joint with Prof. Miguel Rodrigo Castellanos (UTK), Prof. Chan-Byoung This material is based upon work

Chae (Yonsei), Siyun Yang (Yonsei), Joey Carlson and Nitish Deshpande supported by the N ational Science
Fo undation under grant nos. NSF-
ECCS-2435261, N SF-CCF-2435254,
NSF-CNS-2433782, by the Army
Research Office under Grant
W911NF2410107, and is support ed
in part by funds from federal agency
and industry partners as specified in
the Resilient & Int elligent NextG
Sy stems (RIN GS) program, and by
No kia and Qualco mm. 1
 MIMO remains an important technology
mmWave
SU MIMO configurations Ntx x Nrx

TX RX

…
R15 (5G) R16 R17 R18 5G-Advanced
32x8
Massive MIMO R14 (pre-5G)
16x8 802.11be
802.11ax
8x8 Multiuser MIMO R13 LTE Advanced Pro

R10 LTE Advanced

4x4
MIMO 802.11ac

2x2
802.11n R8 LTE (4G) 802.11ad
1x1

2000 2010 2020 2024

Cellular 3GPP standard
WLAN IEEE standard How can MIMO continue to scale for 6G and beyond?
R. W. Heath, Jr. and A. Lozano, Foundations of MIMO Communications, Cambridge Press, 2019. 2
 (back to 2014)
Large apertures and bandwidth for mmWave
30 GHz aperture
Digital architecture from
antenna array 4G does not scale

RF
ADC
1-bit
Chain

Digital signal
3 GHz aperture processing

mmWave noise bandwidth RF

ADC
1-bi
Chain

sub6GHz noise bandwidth Power antennas Power bandwidth

Large arrays are critical but hard to realize for mmWave MIMO
R. W. Heath, Jr., N. González Prelcic, S. Rangan, Wonil Roh, and A. Sayeed, ``An Overview of Signal Processing Techniques for Millimeter Wave MIMO
Systems ,'' IEEE Journal on Sel. Topics in Sig. Proc., vol. 10, no. 3, pp. 436-453, April 2016. Received IEEE SPS D. G. Fink Overview Paper Award. 3
 (back to 2014)
Birth of the hybrid architecture
Hybrid architecture
supported in 5G
# RF <= # antennas
1-bit RF
DAC
ADC Chain

Analog
Digital signal signal
processing processing
# antennas / #RF = 8
1-bit RF
DAC
ADC Chain

Split beamforming between analog and digital domains, sacrifice flexibility and
slight performance loss for more scalable power consumption
O. E. Ayach, S. Rajagopal, S. Abu-Surra, Z. Pi and R. W. Heath, "Spatially Sparse Precoding in Millimeter Wave MIMO Systems," in IEEE Transactions on Wireless
Communications, vol. 13, no. 3, pp. 1499-1513, March 2014. 4
 FR3 Upper Midband
Scaling to FR3 in 6G 7 to 16 GHz

Even larger arrays

3 GHz 15 GHz

Need to scale up arrays to

maintain the same coverage as at
lower frequencies

Hybrid approach does not scale to 1,000s of antennas for upper midbands
[1] See e.g. industry white papers GigaMIMO by Qualcomm or Extreme massive MIMO by Nokia.
[2] S. Kang et al., "Cellular Wireless Networks in the Upper Mid-Band," in IEEE Open Journal of the Communications Society, vol. 5, pp. 2058-2075, 2024. 5
Reconfigurable vs. ideal antenna arrays
Ideal radiating Antenna Hybrid antenna Hybrid subarray with
current line array subarrays reconfigurable antennas

RF Chain
RF Chain RF Chain

RF Chain

RF Chain

RF Chain

RF Chain
RF Chain

Worse approximation of an ideal current line

Reconfigurable antennas offer another dimension for expanding the aperture

6
 Enter the tri-hybrid precoding architecture
3 layers of precoding

1-bit RF
DAC
ADC Chain

Analog
Digital signal EM signal
signal
processing processing
processing

1-bit RF
DAC
ADC Chain

digital dims <= analog dims <= antenna (EM) dims

The tri-hybrid MIJO

[1] M. R. Castellanos, S. Yang, C.-B. Chae and R. W Heath Jr., “Embracing Reconfigurable Antennas in the Tri-hybrid MIMO Architecture for 6G and Beyond,”
submitted to IEEE TCOM, available on arXiv as https://arxiv.org/abs/2501.16610.
[2] M. R. Castellanos, J. Carlson and R. W. Heath, "Energy-Efficient Tri-Hybrid Precoding with Dynamic Metasurface Antennas," Proc. Asil, 2023.
[3] D. Dardari, “Dynamic Scattering Arrays for Simultaneous Electromagnetic Processing and Radiation in Holographic MIMO Systems”, on arXiv, 2024. 7
 Beamforming with reconfigurable antennas
Dynamic metasurface Parasitic arrays Pattern reconfigurable
antennas antennas
State 2
State 1

State 3

DMAs gradually radiate the input Beamforming capabilities for Pattern reconfigurable antennas
power and should not be designed reconfigurable parasitic arrays typically have a limited number of
beyond a specified length diminishes with many elements [1] tunable states for beamforming [2]

Incorporating reconfigurable antennas into the MIMO precoding

problem creates new constraints and metrics
[1] N. V. Deshpande, M. R. Castellanos, S. R. Khosravirad, J. Du, H. Viswanathan, and R. W. H. Jr, “Beamforming with hybrid reconfigurable parasitic antenna arrays,” Feb.
25, 2025, arXiv: arXiv:2502.17864.
[2] J.-I. Oh, J.-W. Kim, S. H. Han, S. Kim, J.-W. Yu, and I.-J. Hwang, “Pattern Reconfigurable Dual-Polarized Dipole Antenna With Staggered Parasitic Elements,” IEEE Access,
vol. 10, pp. 93773–93784, 2022. 8
 Fundamentals of reconfigurability

1-bit RF
DAC
ADC Chain

1-bit RF
DAC
ADC Chain
Digital signal Analog signal EM signal
processing processing processing

1-bit RF
DAC
ADC Chain

Part 1 Part II Part III

Reconfigurability Architectures Example with DMAs 9
 Types of antenna reconfigurability
Frequency response Gain pattern Polarization

Antenna arrays can be reconfigured to alter their radiation

characteristics by dynamically tuning the individual elements
Methods to create reconfigurable antennas
Patch antenna

Tunable element
Electrical
Integrate RF switches or tunable capacitors to
vary the antenna characteristics

Mechanical
Use motors or actuators to physically
move a part of the antenna

Material
Electrical reconfigurability is the most viable
Incorporate fluid or liquid for wireless communications due to the need
crystal substrates and metals to
change the antenna properties
for fast switching speeds
11
 Frequency-reconfigurable antennas
Reconfigurable slot antenna Reconfigurable patch antenna

Varactor-loaded microstrip line tunes the Varactor-loaded stubs attached to a patch antenna
resonant frequency of a slot antenna [1] change the effective width and length [2]

Frequency-reconfigurable antennas are the most common type of reconfigurable

antenna and tune the effective aperture size of the element
[1] S.-C. Tang, X.-Y. Wang, and J.-X. Chen, “Low-Profile Frequency-Reconfigurable Dielectric Patch Antenna and Array Based on New Varactor-Loading Scheme,” IEEE
Transactions on Antennas and Propagation, vol. 69, no. 9, pp. 5469–5478, Sep. 2021.
[2] N. Nguyen-Trong, L. Hall, and C. Fumeaux, “A Frequency- and Polarization-Reconfigurable Stub-Loaded Microstrip Patch Antenna,” IEEE Transactions on Antennas and
Propagation, vol. 63, no. 11, pp. 5235–5240, Nov. 2015. 12
 Reconfigurable parasitic arrays
State 1

State 2

Antenna 1 Antenna 2

A slot antenna with parasitic RF A dual-polarized dipole antenna with

MEMS-loaded slots can reconfigure tunable parasitic elements allows for
the element pattern [1] multi-state pattern reconfigurability [2]

The reconfigurable component is integrated into a parasitic element rather than the
actual antenna element to enable frequency, polarization, or pattern reconfigurability
[1] L. Petit, L. Dussopt, and J.-M. Laheurte, “MEMS-Switched Parasitic-Antenna Array for Radiation Pattern Diversity,” IEEE Transactions on Antennas and Propagation, vol. 54,
no. 9, pp. 2624–2631, Sep. 2006.
[2] J.-I. Oh, J.-W. Kim, S. H. Han, S. Kim, J.-W. Yu, and I.-J. Hwang, “Pattern Reconfigurable Dual-Polarized Dipole Antenna With Staggered Parasitic Elements,” IEEE Access,
vol. 10, pp. 93773–93784, 2022.
 Dynamic metasurface antennas
Element design DMA element design incorporates tunable varactor
diodes to control the amplitude and phase response
of the individual elements

Beamsteering capabilities

Array design
Steer beam patterns both
in azimuth and elevation

Dynamic metasurface antennas enable beamsteering by

tuning the varactor diodes for each slot element
[1] M. Boyarsky, T. Sleasman, M. F. Imani, J. N. Gollub, and D. R. Smith, “Electronically steered metasurface antenna,” Sci Rep, vol. 11, no. 1, p. 4693, Feb. 2021.
[2] R. Deng, Y. Zhang, H. Zhang, B. Di, H. Zhang and L. Song, "Reconfigurable Holographic Surface: A New Paradigm to Implemen t Holographic Radio," in IEEE VT Mag, 2023.
 Stacked intelligent metasurfaces SIM-based beamfocusing [2]
SIM-based transmitter architecture [1] Ideal beamfocusing
Conventional transmitter
for fully-digital array

SIM beamfocusing with increasing layers

SIM-based t ransmitter

SIM-based beamfocusing approaches the digital

solution as number of layers increase

Stacked intelligent metasurfaces contain multiple layers of reconfigurable elements

to tune and alter incoming/outgoing electromagnetic waves
[1] J. An, M. Di Renzo, M. Debbah, and C. Yuen, “Stacked Intelligent Metasurfaces for Multiuser Beamforming in the Wave Domain,” in ICC 2023 - IEEE International
Conference on Communications, May 2023, pp. 2834–2839.
[2] H. Liu et al., “Stacked Intelligent Metasurfaces for Wireless Sensing and Communication: Applications and Challenges,” Jul. 04, 2024, arXiv: arXiv:2407.03566.
 Liquid-metal-based radiators
Fluid-metal-based reconfigurable antenna Electrowetting-on-dielectric (EWOD)

Liquid-metal-based radiator controlled by Positions of droplets are controlled by manipulating

applying a voltage to electrodes in the electrolyte the electric field through the electrodes

Frequency-reconfigurable antennas are the most common type of reconfigurable

antenna and tune the effective aperture size of the element
[1] H. Wang et al., “Continuous electrowetting surface-wave fluid antenna for mobile communications,” Proc. of IEEE TENCON 2022.
[2] C.G. Cooney et al., “Electrowetting droplet microfluidics on a single planar surface,” Microfluid Nanofluid 2, pp. 435–446, 2006. 16
 Tri-hybrid MIMO architectures

1-bit RF
DAC
ADC Chain

1-bit RF
DAC
ADC Chain
Digital signal Analog signal EM signal
processing processing processing

1-bit RF
DAC
ADC Chain

Part 1 Part II Part III

Reconfigurability Architectures Example with DMAs 17
 Review of the hybrid MIMO precoding architecture
More parameters to configure Channel experienced through
and different constraints the analog network

1-bit RF RF 1-bit
DAC ADC
ADC Chain Chain ADC

Analog Analog
Digital signal Digital signal
signal signal
processing processing
processing processing

1-bit RF RF 1-bit
FBB DAC
ADC Chain FRF WRF ADC WBB
Chain ADC

Combiner Precoder
Total transmit power
constraint
Analog hardware
Received signal model constraint

Estimating the channel with low overhead and joint configuration of both analog
and digital filters are the critical challenges 18
Replacing analog beamforming
Hybrid sub-array architecture Tri-hybrid w/out analog

1-bit RF Analog signal 1-bit RF

DAC DAC
ADC Chain processing ADC Chain

1-bit RF Analog signal 1-bit RF

DAC DAC
Digital signal ADC Chain processing Digital signal ADC Chain
processing processing

1-bit RF Analog signal 1-bit RF

DAC DAC
ADC Chain processing ADC Chain

subarray replaced w/ low power reconfig. antenna

Use reconfigurable antennas to replace subarrays and save power

19
 Enhancing analog beamforming
Hybrid sub-array architecture Tri-hybrid sub-arrays architecture

1-bit RF Analog signal 1-bit RF Analog signal

DAC DAC
ADC Chain processing ADC Chain processing

1-bit RF Analog signal 1-bit RF Analog signal

DAC DAC
Digital signal ADC Chain processing Digital signal ADC Chain processing
processing processing

1-bit RF Analog signal 1-bit RF Analog signal

DAC DAC
ADC Chain processing ADC Chain processing

antenna made reconfigurable

Use reconfigurable antennas to expand aperture and flexibility

20
 Considerations in forming the tri-hybrid layers
fully or partially connected analog
Analog signal
processing
RF RF
Analog signal
Analog
signal vs processing
vs
processing
control
control
Analog signal
processing
single or multiple port antennas
Analog parts include many components like filters, switches, diplexers, phase
shifters, matching networks, and amplifiers

Each design decision has implications on the power consumption, hardware

complexity, signal processing models and signaling constraints
21
 Tri-hybrid MIMO precoding architecture

1-bit RF RF 1-bit
DAC ADC
ADC Chain Chain ADC

Analog Analog
Digital signal EM signal EM signal Digital signal
signal signal
processing processing processing processing
processing processing

1-bit RF RF 1-bit
DAC ADC
ADC Chain Chain ADC

Effective channel measured by the digital signal

Joint antenna,
analog and digital
processor depends on antenna and analog configuration
beamforming

Tri-hybrid architecture adds a third set of parameters complicating channel

estimation and performance optimization
22
ontrol [47]. (b) A fl metasurface manipulates fl waves to achieve prec
Precoding
onal metasurface in a hybrid
integrates architecture
transmitarray and fl functionalities, enabling versa

finite resolution constraint set

1-bit RF finite resolution constraint set
DAC
Chain
og, and antenna. We begin time complex baseband input to the antenna array is
ADC

tal MIMO transmit signal x[k] ↑ CN t sub-array structure

solution. Then Analog
Digital signal
signal
processing
tri-hybrid MIMO. Finally,processing
nt types of 1-bit fi RF x[k] = FanaFdig [k]s[k], k = 1, . . . , K .
DAC
ADC Chain

radiated power constraint that

Assumes MIMO-OFDM The N t → N s hybrid precoder
assumes isotropic
Fhyb [k]antennas
= FanaFdig [k] in
(antenna
divides processing between input
the constraint)
analog and digital domai
al precoding
This split reduces the number of RF chains in MIMO devi
re MIMO systems where with many antennas. Fully-digital architectures, while eff
ts is less than the number tive, consume inordinate amounts of power because of ea
Many approaches to design the hybrid precoders
eamforming – using phase dedicated RF chain. A hybrid architecture s fi N RF <
t 23
 ennas. Each array exhibits different precoding structures.
Precoding in the tri-hybrid architecture
enna input port signal. The AIP constraint constrained consumptionor finitetosetother
of possible
existing
antenna antenna configurations
RF
fi
1-bit
s to account ADC for
DAC
the
Chain

at further translate theAnalogsignals from the an-

Digital signal
processing
signal
EM signal
processing
V. PERFORMfrequency-dependent
A NCE COM P
e radiating elements.processing For example, DMAs antenna responseA RCHI TE
all of the power 1-bit
DAC
injected into the waveguide
RF
ADC Chain
power can change depending on the DMA Tri-hybrid MIMO expands o
. By suitably modeling theradiated manifold
power of architecture
constraint that assumesto different perfo
antenna
constraint can be placed onmanifold characterization
the antenna (antenna output
traditional hybrid constraint)
architectures
K 2
OP) as k = 1 Fant [k]FanaFdig [k] fro → P . a tri-hybrid architecture that
urther be used to fi a radiated power Fig. 8. We select DMAs becau
orporatingMore theconstraints,
antenna lossesmore parameters, harder to evaluate output
and element characterized power,works [66
in prior
designs become antenna-specific
enna properties are directly embedded into example for analyzing the 24co
Tri-hybrid MIMO with dynamic metasurface antennas

1-bit RF
DAC
ADC Chain

1-bit RF
DAC
ADC Chain
Digital signal Analog signal EM signal
processing processing processing

1-bit RF
DAC
ADC Chain

Part 1 Part II Part III

Reconfigurability Tri-hybrid architectures Example with DMAs 25
 Dynamic metasurface antennas (DMA)
Varactor diode DMA element Waveguide
controller Slot that radiates energy Physical structure of
from waveguide each DMA subarray

DMA design
= Substrate Varactor diode
Alter element geometry
to tune DMA resonant Circuit model
= Copper
Waveguide frequency
excitation = Varactor diode

DMAs enable low-power beamforming via

Tunable capacitance for beamforming
reconfigurable components like varactor diodes
[1] M. Boyarsky, T. Sleasman, M. F. Imani, J. N. Gollub, and D. R. Smith, “Electronically steered metasurface antenna,” Sci Rep, vol. 11, no. 1, Art. no. 1, Feb. 2021. 26
 Complexity of beamforming DMA beamforming weights
Idea phase shifter
DMA waveguide propagation
Waveguide Lorentzian-constrained
Excitation weight distribution

Waveguide
fields
Gap in weights

Waveguide field propagation introduces

inherent phase advance and attenuation
DMA precoding weight
Precoding with DMAs must account for range can limit
waveguide propagation and limited weight range beamforming capabilities
[1] D. R. Smith, O. Yurduseven, L. P. Mancera, P. Bowen, and N. B. Kundtz, “Analysis of a Waveguide-Fed Metasurface Antenna,” Phys. Rev. Applied, vol. 8, no. 5, p. 054048, Nov. 2017. 27
Tri-hybrid MIMO system under consideration

Sub-array with DMAs at the TX Fully digital at the RX

1-bit RF Analog signal RF 1-bit

DAC ADC
ADC Chain processing Chain ADC
1-bit RF Analog signal
DAC
Digital signal ADC Chain processing
Digital signal
processing processing

1-bit RF Analog signal RF 1-bit

DAC ADC
ADC Chain processing Chain ADC

Key assumptions
MIMO-OFDM, ideal DMAs with Lorenzian constraint, waveguide attenuation
and frequency flat
28
 Array setup for comparisons
power divider phase shifters power divider phase shifters

PA PA

…
DAC RF PA PA
DAC RF

PA PA

Hybrid MIMO subarray Tri-hybrid subarray with DMAs

Total antennas # slots in DMA

Antennas in subarray
Total RF chains
29
 Optimization formulation

Approximate problem solved by finding an unconstrained hybrid precoder per [1]

then mapping to a DMA solution, more details in [2]

[1] S. Park, A. Alkhateeb, and R. W. Heath, Jr., “Dynamic subarrays for hybrid precoding in wideband mmWave MIMO systems,” IEEE Trans. Wireless Commun.,
vol. 16, no. 5, pp. 2907–2920, May 2017.
[2] M. R. Castellanos, S. Yang, C.-B. Chae and R. W Heath Jr., “Embracing Reconfigurable Antennas in the Tri-hybrid MIMO Architecture for 6G and Beyond,”
submitted to IEEE TCOM, available on arXiv as https://arxiv.org/abs/2501.16610. 30
 Precoding architectures

Illustrate the impact of aperture scaling in the tri-hybrid architecture

[1] M. R. Castellanos, S. Yang, C.-B. Chae and R. W Heath Jr., “Embracing Reconfigurable Antennas in the Tri-hybrid MIMO Architecture for 6G and Beyond,”
submitted to IEEE TCOM, available on arXiv as https://arxiv.org/abs/2501.16610. 31
 Reference: Power consumption
Tri-hybrid

DMA-only

DMA-digital hybrid

Fully analog

Partially connected hybrid

Fully connected hybrid

Fully digital
[1] M. R. Castellanos, S. Yang, C.-B. Chae and R. W Heath Jr., “Embracing Reconfigurable Antennas in the Tri-hybrid MIMO Architecture for 6G and Beyond,”
submitted to IEEE TCOM, available on arXiv as https://arxiv.org/abs/2501.16610. 32
 Reference: Losses
Tri-hybrid

DMA-only

DMA-digital hybrid

Fully analog

Partially connected hybrid

Fully connected hybrid

Fully digital
[1] M. R. Castellanos, S. Yang, C.-B. Chae and R. W Heath Jr., “Embracing Reconfigurable Antennas in the Tri-hybrid MIMO Architecture for 6G and Beyond,”
submitted to IEEE TCOM, available on arXiv as https://arxiv.org/abs/2501.16610. 33
Reference: Power consumption values

34
 Formulating a fair comparison

Reconfigurable antennas have different

PA losses depending on their configuration

Not all the applied power makes it to

…
DAC RF PA
the receiver, introduction additional
large-scale fluctuations
PA

antenna input power antenna output power

architecture-
DMA control dependent losses
Consider performance as a function of
input power
35
Spectral efficiency

Energy efficiency

36
 Performance comparison

DMA in the tri-hybrid configuration provides a good compromise between high

spectral efficiency and high energy efficiency
37
Final thoughts

38
 Tri-hybrid vs. fluid vs. movable antennas
Tri-hybrid architecture Fluid antenna arrays [1] Movable antenna arrays [2]

1-DAC RF
Chain
bi
Change the effective antenna position by Flexibly change the antenna element
Digital signal Analog signal
Dynamic selecting one from densely spaced array positions in the array for beamforming
metasurface
processing processing
antennas

DAC
RF
Chain Mounted antennas on
wooden arms driven by
an external motor [3]
Fluid antenna radiator with a fluid,
movable conductor
Uses normal antenna elements that
Incorporates a large class of Fluid antennas allow for the instantaneous can be moved via an external
reconfigurable antennas and surfaces switching of element position mechanical source

The tri-hybrid architecture provides a general framework for working with

reconfigurable antennas, but must be refined for each case
[1] Y. Shen et al., “Design and Implementation of mmWave Surface Wave Enabled Fluid Antennas and Experimental Results for Fluid Antenna Multiple Access,” May 15, 2024, arXiv: arXiv:2405.09663.
[2] L. Zhu, W. Ma, and R. Zhang, “Movable-Antenna Array Enhanced Beamforming: Achieving Full Array Gain With Null Steering,” IEEE Communications Letters, vol. 27, no. 12, pp. 3340–3344, Dec. 2023
[3] A. Zhuravlev, V. Razevig, S. Ivashov, A. Bugaev, and M. Chizh, “Experimental simulation of multi-static radar with a pair of separated movable antennas,” in 2015 IEEE International Conference on Microwaves,
Communications, Antennas and Electronic Systems (COMCAS), Nov. 2015, pp. 1–5. 39
 Circuit theory - a useful tool for reconfigurable antennas
Parasitic Parasitic reconfigurable array [1] Mutual coupling enables
load
beamforming in parasitic
reconfigurable arrays
Transmit Transmit Wireless Receive
DSP DAC ADC DSP
signal RF chain channel RF chain

Circuit theory helps in

Mutual coupling
Parasitic
incorporating mutual coupling
load in the communication system
model [2]
Current from active source
(signal input) Circuit theoretic model [1]
+
Current on receiver Beamforming problems for
− Noise
− +
reconfigurable antenna arrays
Current on parasitic element
+ + Load
involve physically consistent
port constraints [1]
− network
−
Reconfigurable Output signal on
parasitic load receiver load [1] N. V. Deshpande, M. R. Castellanos, S. R. Khosravirad, J. Du, H.
Viswanathan and R. W. Heath, “Beamforming with hybrid reconfigurable
parasitic antenna arrays,” submitted to IEEE Transactions on Wireless
+ Communications, arXiv preprint arXiv:2502.17864 (2025).
[2] A. Mezghani et al., "Reincorporating Circuit Theory Into Information
− Theory," in IEEE BITS the Information Theory Magazine, vol. 4, no. 1, pp. 40-58,
March 2024 40
 Physics based models of antennas, circuits, and wireless
Circuit theory approaches Electromagnetic theory approach

Impedance/ Scattering Green’s

Current / Voltage / Input root Output
voltage admittance current power parameter root power
Electromagnetic
current densities Function Electromagnetic
wave wave fields
parameter
(S) (G)
(Z / Y)

Useful for radiation pattern analysis of

antennas that captures wave
Useful for modeling multi-port reconfigurable antennas,
phenomena like scattering, diffraction,
analog beamforming, matching network filters [1]-[5]
reflection, polarization [6]-[9]

Both circuit and EM theory are useful for modelling wireless systems with reconfigurable apertures
[1] A. Stutz-Tirri, G. Schwan, and C. Studer, “Efficient and Physically Co nsistent Mo deling of Rec onfigurable Electromagnetic Struc tures,” IEEE O pen J. Commun. So c., vol. 6, pp. 1610–1633, 2025.
[2] K. Konno, S. Terranov a, Q. Chen, and G. Gradoni, “Generalized Impedanc e Model of Wireless Links Assisted by Reconfigurabl e Intelligent Surfac es,” IEEE Trans. Antennas Propagat., vol. 72, no . 10, pp. 7691–7699, Oct. 2024.
[3] M. T. Iv rlac and J. A. No ssek, “To ward a Circ uit Theory of Co mmunicat ion,” IEEE Trans. Circuits Sy st. I, vol. 57, no. 7, pp. 1663–1683, Jul. 2010.
[4] A. A. D’Amico and L. Sanguinett i, “Holographic M IMO Com municatio ns: What is the Benefit of Closely Spaced A ntennas?,” IEEE Tr ans. Wireless Commun., vo l. 23, no. 10, pp. 13826–13840, Oct. 2024.
[5] N. V. Deshpande, M . R. Castellanos, S. R. Khosrav irad, J. Du, H. Viswanathan and R. W. Heath, "A Generalizatio n of the Achievable Rate of a M ISO System Using Bo de -Fano Wideband Matching Theory," in IEEE Transactions o n Wireless
Communications, vol. 23, no. 10, pp. 13313-13329, Oct. 2024
[6] R. Faqiri, C. Saigre-Tardif, G. C. Alexandropo ulos, N. Shlezinger, M. F. Imani, and P. Del Hougne, “PhysFad: Physics-Based End-to-End Channel Modeling of RIS-Parametrized Environments Wit h Adjustable Fading,” IEEE Trans. Wireless
Commun., vo l. 22, no. 1, pp. 580–595, Jan. 2023.
[7] D. Dardari, “Reconfigurable Electromagnetic Env ironment s: A General Framework,” IEEE J. Select . Areas Commun., vol. 42, no. 6, pp. 1479 –1493, Jun. 2024.
[8] A. Pizzo, L. Sanguinetti, and T. L. Marzetta, “Fourier Plane-Wave Series Expansion for Holographic MIMO Comm unications,” IEE E Trans. Wireless Commun., vo l. 21, no. 9, pp. 6890–6905, Sep. 2022.
[9] A. Pizzo and A. Lo zano, “Mutual Coupling in Holographic M IMO: Physical Modeling and Info rmat ion-Theoretic Analysis,” Feb. 14, 2025, arXiv: arXiv:2502.10209. 41
 Opportunities for AI-RAN

1-bit RF RF 1-bit
DAC ADC
ADC Chain Chain ADC

Analog Analog
Digital signal EM signal EM signal Digital signal
signal signal
processing processing processing processing
processing processing

1-bit RF RF 1-bit
DAC ADC
ADC Chain Chain ADC

Joint antenna,
analog and digital Channel
beamforming Feedback
estimation

Many parameters, complicated design designs, seamless merging of physics-based

models, hard optimizations, antenna-dependent TX and RX operations
42
 Questions

See the following for more information:

[1] M. R. Castellanos, S. Yang, C.-B. Chae and R. W Heath Jr., “Embracing Reconfigurable Antennas in the Tri-hybrid MIMO
Architecture for 6G and Beyond,” submitted to IEEE TCOM, available on arXiv as https://arxiv.org/abs/2501.16610.
43
Backup

44
 Advanced RIS designs use inter-element tunable loads
Reconfigurable intelligent RIS phase shifting matrix
surface Mutual
coupling
Reconfigurable admittance matrix
Diagonal RIS: Beyond-diagonal RIS:
Base station One tunable load per element Inter-element tunable loads
[1][2] [3]-[6]
User
𝑌12 𝑌1𝑁
𝑌1 𝑌2 𝑌𝑁
Rx
𝑌1 𝑌2 𝑌𝑁

Direct link is
blocked
Recent advances in RIS involve beyond diagonal phase shifting

Techniques from beyond diagonal RIS literature could also be leveraged for tri-hybrid MIMO
[1] Q.-U.-A. Nadeem, A. Kammoun, A . Chaaban, M. Debbah, and M.-S. Alouini, “Asymptotic Max-Min SIN R Analysis of Rec onfigurable Intelligent Surface Assisted M ISO System s,” IEEE Trans. Wireless Commun., vol. 19, no . 12, pp. 7748–7764, Dec.
2020.
[2] E. Bjö rnson, H. Wymeersc h, B. Matthiesen, P. Po pov ski, L. Sanguinet ti and E. de Carvalho, "Rec onfigurable Intelligent Surfaces: A signal processing perspective with wireless applicatio ns," in IEEE Signal Processing Magazine, vol. 39, no . 2, pp. 135-
158, March 2022.
[3] M. Nerini, S. Shen, H. Li, and B. Clerckx, “Beyond Diagonal Reconfigurable Intelligent Surfaces Utilizing Graph Theory: Mo deling, Archit ecture Design, and Optimization,” IEEE Trans. Wireless Commun., vol. 23, no . 8, pp. 9972–9985, A ug. 2024.
[4] M. Nerini, S. Shen, H. Li, M . Di Renzo, and B. Clerckx, “A Universal Framework for Multiport N etwork Analysis of Reco nfigurable Intelligent S urfac es,” IEEE Trans. Wireless Commun., vol. 23, no . 10, pp. 14575–14590, Oct. 2024.
[5] A. S. de Sena, M. Rasti, N. H. M ahm ood, and M. Latva-aho, “Beyond Diagonal RIS for M ult i-Band Multi-Cell MIMO N etworks: A Practical Frequency-Dependent M odel and Performance Analysis,” Jun. 24, 2024, arX iv: arXiv:2401.06475.
[6] P. Zheng, R. Wang, A. Shamim, and T. Y. Al-Naffouri, “Mutual Coupling in RIS-Aided Communication: M odel Training and Experimental Validatio n,” IEEE Trans. Wireless Com mun., vol. 23, no. 11, pp. 17174–17188, No v. 2024 45
 Power consumption model
Power consumption values Power amplifier (PA)
Local oscillator PA power consumption
Phase shifters Signal transmit power
RF chains PA efficiency

Digital-to-analog converter (DAC)

DAC power consumption
DAC resolution (bits) Sampling frequency

Parameter Digital Hybrid Tri-hybrid Noise corner

Bandwidth
frequency

Power consumption model [1] L. N. Ribeiro, S. Schwarz, M. Rupp, and A. L. F. de Almeida, “Energy Efficiency of
mmWave Massive MIMO Precoding With Low-Resolution DACs,” IEEE Journal of Selected
Topics in Signal Processing, vol. 12, no. 2, pp. 298–312, May 2018.
[2] S. Cui, A. J. Goldsmith, and A. Bahai, “Energy-constrained modulation optimization,”
IEEE Transactions on Wireless Communications, vol. 4, no. 5, pp. 2349–2360, Sep. 2005. 46
 Circuit theory - a versatile framework for wireless
Application 1: Application 2:
Parasitic reconfigurable array Reflecting intelligent surface (RIS) [2]
for transmission [1]
Current from active
source (signal input) +
Current on receiver
Mutual coupling between −
active and parasitic antenna Noise
− +

+ + Load
Multi-
− port
−

Reconfigurable load Output signal on

Mutual coupling between
network receiver load
Mutual coupling
parasitic antennas between RIS elements
+
−

Circuit theoretic model

Circuit theory is a general mathematical tool that can be applied to different system models
[1] N. V. Deshpande, M. R. Castellanos, S. R. Khosravirad, J. Du, H. Viswanathan and R. W. Heath, “Beamforming with hybrid reconfigurable parasitic antenna arrays,” submitted to IEEE Transactions on
Wireless Communications, arXiv preprint arXiv:2502.17864 (2025).
[2] D. Badheka, J. Sapis, S. R. Khosravirad, and H. Viswanathan, “Accurate Modeling of Intelligent Reflecting Surface for Communication Systems,” IEEE Trans. Wireless Commun., vol. 22, no. 9, pp. 5871–5883,
Sep. 2023 47
 Physically consistent information theory

Communication Applied
theory electromagnetism
& antenna theory

Circuit theory 𝑻𝑴𝟎𝟏/ 𝑻𝑬𝟎𝟏 𝑻𝑴𝟎𝟏 + 𝑻𝑴𝟏𝟐

𝑻𝑬𝟏𝟏

current 𝑬 =෍ …
extrinsic noise intrinsic noise
voltage

Better integrate antennas

RF including antennas RF including
and circuits in information
mixers, filters,
amplifiers channel
mixers, filters,
amplifiers
theory

[1] A. Mezghani, M. Akrout, M. R. Castellanos, S. Saab, B. Hochwald, R. W. Heath, J. A. Nossek, “Reincorporating circuit theory into information theory,” to
appear in IEEE BITS The Inf. Theory Mag., 2024. (source of both figures)
[2] V. Shyianov, M. Akrout, F. Bellili, A. Mezghani and R. W. Heath, "Achievable rate with antenna size constraint: Shannon meets Chu and Bode," in IEEE
Trans. Commun. , vol. 70, no. 3, pp. 2010-2024, Mar. 2022, 48