Analytical Modeling of the Path-Loss for Reconfigurable Intelligent Surfaces – Anomalous Mirror or Scatterer ?

Reconfigurable intelligent surfaces (RISs) are an emerging field of research in wireless communications. A fundamental component for analyzing and optimizing RIS-empowered wireless networks is the development of simple but sufficiently accurate models for the power scattered by an RIS. By leveraging the general scalar theory of diffraction and the Huygens-Fresnel principle, we introduce simple formulas for the electric field scattered by an RIS that is modeled as a sheet of electromagnetic material of negligible thickness. The proposed approach allows us to identify the conditions under which an RIS of finite size can be approximated as an anomalous mirror or as a scatterer. Numerical results are shown to confirm the proposed approach.