Features and Potentialities of Static Passive EM Skins for NLOS Specular Wireless Links

The ability of passive flat patterned electromagnetic skins (EMSs) to overcome the asymptotic limit of the total path attenuation (TPA) of flat metallic reflectors in non-line-of-sight (NLOS) specular point-to-point fixed wireless access applications is assessed. For the first time, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, closed-form expressions of the achievable TPA in EMS-powered NLOS links are stated. The condition on the panel size of EMS screens to overcome the performance of flat passive conductive screens (PCSs) with the same aperture is derived and numerically validated.