Seminar on IRS by Prof. Ertugrul Basar on July 7, 2022

Towards Networks with Extremely Low Power Consumption: From Reconfigurable Intelligent Surfaces to Thermal Noise Communication

Ertugrul Basar

Koç University, Turkey

July 7, 2022, 16:00, Seminar Room 01.021

Abstract – Signal processing and communication communities have witnessed the rise of many exciting communication technologies in recent years. Notable examples include alternative waveforms, massive multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) signaling, non-orthogonal multiple access (NOMA), joint communications and sensing, and so on. It is inevitable that 6G wireless networks will require a rethinking of wireless communication systems and technologies, particularly at the physical layer (PHY) since the cellular industry reached another important milestone with the development of 5G wireless networks with diverse applications. Within this perspective, this talk aims to shed light on the recent developments in reconfigurable intelligent surface (RIS)-empowered communication towards 6G wireless networks by putting forward promising candidates for future research and development. Specifically, we put our emphasis on active, transmitter-type, transmissive-reflective, and standalone RISs, by discussing their advantages and disadvantages. We will also cover the recent developments towards next-generation RIS-empowered communication. Finally, taking RIS-based RF chain-free transmitters one step further, we put forward the paradigm of thermal noise communication (TherCom). In this context, we discuss the potential of thermal noise-driven communication systems, which can enable zero-signal-power transmission by simply indexing resistors or other noise sources according to information bits.

Ertugrul Basar received his Ph.D. degree from Istanbul Technical University in 2013. He is currently an Associate Professor with the Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering, Koç University, Istanbul, Turkey and a Visiting Professor (Mercator Fellow) with the Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Information Technology, Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Bochum, Germany. He is the director of Communications Research and Innovation Laboratory (CoreLab) since 2018. His primary research interests include beyond 5G systems, index modulation, intelligent surfaces, waveform design, and deep learning/signal processing for communications. Dr. Basar currently serves as a Senior Editor of IEEE Communications Letters and an Editor of IEEE Transactions on Communications and Frontiers in Communications and Networks. He is a Young Member of Turkish Academy of Sciences and a Senior Member of IEEE. He is the founding Academic Chair of the IEEE ComSoc Emerging Technologies Initiative on Reconfigurable Intelligent Surfaces. He is the author/co-author of more than 120 journal publications and 7 patents that received more than 8K citations in the past five years.