A Study Of Large Intelligent Surfaces in Rician Fading Channels

Rician statistics have become increasingly popular, particularly in the study of mixed-generation wireless networks. However, clarity of these statistics is needed in the context of wireless communications for further progression in the research of 5G and beyond 5G. Meanwhile, large intelligent surfaces (LISs) have emerged as a strong contender to massive multiple-input-multiple-output schemes, making it a popular research topic in current and future mixed-generation networks. In this paper, we provide a comprehensive study of LIS-aided wireless schemes under Rician fading. Notably, two schemes are considered. The first is the LIS non-access-point scheme, where the LIS acts as an intelligent re-flector of the incoming signal. The second is the LIS access-point scheme, in which the LIS acts as a virtual transmitter of the in-coming signal. We also present a mathematical framework for the calculation of the symbol error probability for both LIS-aided schemes using Rician statistics. Computer simulated results are provided to evaluate the effect of Rician fading on both schemes.