Experimental Analysis of Biasing Voltage Generation in Wave-Controlled RIS

Reconfigurable intelligent surfaces (RISs), an emerging technology proposed for inclusion in next generation wireless communication systems, are programmable surfaces that can adaptively reflect incident electromagnetic radiation in different desired directions. To reduce the complexity and physical profile of conventional RIS designs, a novel concept known as Wave-Controlled RIS has been proposed, in which standing waves along a transmission line are used to generate the required dc bias for reflective control. This paper shows the design of such a Wave-Controlled RIS and its biasing transmission line. The effectiveness of this approach in generating the correct dc bias from a single standing wave frequency is analyzed through both theoretical modeling and experimental validation, which uncovered a dependence on impedance matching not accounted for by the theory. Additionally, the potential for reflective control using only a single standing wave frequency on the biasing transmission line is explored, demonstrating the ability of single-beam steering toward angles near broadside.