Reflecting Intelligent Surfaces Assisted High-Rank Ultra Massive MIMO Terahertz Channels

Reflective Intelligent Surface (RIS)-assisted Ultra-Massive MIMO (Um-MIMO) systems in the terahertz (THz) spectrum are gaining attention for surpassing current wireless system limitations. However, limited diffraction at these frequencies typically results in low-rank Um-MIMO channels, completely reducing the potential for spatial multiplexing gains. In this work, we aim at promoting a new research direction towards the strategies for achieving high-rank Um-MIMO for RIS-assisted THz communications. The maximum achievable spatial multiplexing gain over the RIS-assisted channel is analyzed, and the optimal antennas and RIS elements placement strategy is proposed for achieving extremely high-rank Um-MIMO channels. Simulation results demonstrate that while conventional Um-MIMO THz systems display low-rank, the proposed approach enables achieving a rank on the order of hundreds for the Um-MIMO THz systems.