Reconfigurable Intelligent Surfaces Empowered THz Communication in LEO Satellite Networks
Massive swarms of low Earth orbit (LEO) satellites are poising to serve for high-speed and low-latency ubiquitous connectivity with almost global coverage. Broadband inter-satellite communication is one of the key elements of satellite communication systems that orchestrate massive satellite swarms...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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IEEE
2022-01-01
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| Series: | IEEE Access |
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| Online Access: | https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/9954397/ |
| _version_ | 1811322193477369856 |
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| author | Kursat Tekbiyik Gunes Karabulut Kurt Ali Riza Ekti Halim Yanikomeroglu |
| author_facet | Kursat Tekbiyik Gunes Karabulut Kurt Ali Riza Ekti Halim Yanikomeroglu |
| author_sort | Kursat Tekbiyik |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Massive swarms of low Earth orbit (LEO) satellites are poising to serve for high-speed and low-latency ubiquitous connectivity with almost global coverage. Broadband inter-satellite communication is one of the key elements of satellite communication systems that orchestrate massive satellite swarms in cooperation. Thanks to technological advancements in microelectronics and micro-systems, the terahertz (THz) band has emerged as a strong candidate for inter-satellite links (ISLs) due to its promise of wideband communication. Especially, multi-antenna systems can improve the system performance along with the wideband supported by the THz band. However, multi-antenna systems should be reconsidered due to their size, weight, and price/power (SWaP) constraints. On the other hand, as a state-of-art multi-antenna technology, reconfigurable intelligent surface (RIS) is able to relax SWaP constraints because of its passive component-based structures. However, as similar reflection characteristic throughout wideband is difficult to meet, it is possible to observe beam misalignment. In this work, we first provide an assessment of the use of the THz band for ISLs and quantify the impact of misalignment fading on error performance. Then, in order to compensate for the high path loss associated with high carrier frequencies, and to further improve the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), we propose the use of RISs mounted on neighboring satellites to enable signal propagation. Based on a mathematical analysis of the problem, we present the error rate expressions for RIS-assisted ISLs with misalignment fading. Also, numerical results show that RIS can leverage the error rate performance and achievable capacity of THz ISLs. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-13T13:30:57Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-da7f6dd47b744866b70ce95057ece9cf |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2169-3536 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-13T13:30:57Z |
| publishDate | 2022-01-01 |
| publisher | IEEE |
| record_format | Article |
| series | IEEE Access |
| spelling | doaj.art-da7f6dd47b744866b70ce95057ece9cf2022-12-22T02:44:59ZengIEEEIEEE Access2169-35362022-01-011012195712196910.1109/ACCESS.2022.32230869954397Reconfigurable Intelligent Surfaces Empowered THz Communication in LEO Satellite NetworksKursat Tekbiyik0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2548-3286Gunes Karabulut Kurt1https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7188-2619Ali Riza Ekti2https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0368-0374Halim Yanikomeroglu3https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4776-9354Department of Electronics and Communications Engineering, İstanbul Technical University, İstanbul, TurkeyDepartment of Electrical Engineering, Poly-Grames Research Center, Polytechnique Montréal, Montréal, CanadaOak Ridge National Laboratory, Electrification and Energy Infrastructure Division, Grid Communications and Security Group, Oak Ridge, TN, USADepartment of Systems and Computer Engineering, Carleton University, Ottawa, CanadaMassive swarms of low Earth orbit (LEO) satellites are poising to serve for high-speed and low-latency ubiquitous connectivity with almost global coverage. Broadband inter-satellite communication is one of the key elements of satellite communication systems that orchestrate massive satellite swarms in cooperation. Thanks to technological advancements in microelectronics and micro-systems, the terahertz (THz) band has emerged as a strong candidate for inter-satellite links (ISLs) due to its promise of wideband communication. Especially, multi-antenna systems can improve the system performance along with the wideband supported by the THz band. However, multi-antenna systems should be reconsidered due to their size, weight, and price/power (SWaP) constraints. On the other hand, as a state-of-art multi-antenna technology, reconfigurable intelligent surface (RIS) is able to relax SWaP constraints because of its passive component-based structures. However, as similar reflection characteristic throughout wideband is difficult to meet, it is possible to observe beam misalignment. In this work, we first provide an assessment of the use of the THz band for ISLs and quantify the impact of misalignment fading on error performance. Then, in order to compensate for the high path loss associated with high carrier frequencies, and to further improve the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), we propose the use of RISs mounted on neighboring satellites to enable signal propagation. Based on a mathematical analysis of the problem, we present the error rate expressions for RIS-assisted ISLs with misalignment fading. Also, numerical results show that RIS can leverage the error rate performance and achievable capacity of THz ISLs.https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/9954397/Inter-satellite links (ISLs)low earth orbit (LEO) satellite networksterahertz (THz) bandreconfigurable intelligent surfaces (RISs) |
| spellingShingle | Kursat Tekbiyik Gunes Karabulut Kurt Ali Riza Ekti Halim Yanikomeroglu Reconfigurable Intelligent Surfaces Empowered THz Communication in LEO Satellite Networks IEEE Access Inter-satellite links (ISLs) low earth orbit (LEO) satellite networks terahertz (THz) band reconfigurable intelligent surfaces (RISs) |
| title | Reconfigurable Intelligent Surfaces Empowered THz Communication in LEO Satellite Networks |
| title_full | Reconfigurable Intelligent Surfaces Empowered THz Communication in LEO Satellite Networks |
| title_fullStr | Reconfigurable Intelligent Surfaces Empowered THz Communication in LEO Satellite Networks |
| title_full_unstemmed | Reconfigurable Intelligent Surfaces Empowered THz Communication in LEO Satellite Networks |
| title_short | Reconfigurable Intelligent Surfaces Empowered THz Communication in LEO Satellite Networks |
| title_sort | reconfigurable intelligent surfaces empowered thz communication in leo satellite networks |
| topic | Inter-satellite links (ISLs) low earth orbit (LEO) satellite networks terahertz (THz) band reconfigurable intelligent surfaces (RISs) |
| url | https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/9954397/ |
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