Multi-user ISAC through Stacked Intelligent Metasurfaces: New Algorithms and Experiments
Open accessAbstract
This paper investigates a stacked intelligent metasurfaces (SIM)-assisted integrated sensing and communications (ISAC) system. An extended target model is considered, where the base station (BS) aims to estimate the complete target response matrix relative to the SIM. Under the constraints of minimum signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio (SINR) for the communication users (CUs) and maximum transmit power, we jointly optimize the transmit beamforming at the BS and the end-to-end transmission matrix of the SIM, to minimize the Cramér-Rao bound (CRB) for target estimation. Effective algorithms such as alternating optimization (AO) and semidefinite relaxation (SDR) are employed to solve the non-convex SINR-constrained CRB minimization problem. Finally, we design and build a hardware platform for SIM, and experimentally evaluate the performance of SIM-aided communication and sensing tasks.
The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.
Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Claims the paper makes
The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.
Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
Liu et al. built a SIM comprised of three transmissive metasurface layers for enabling integrated sensing and communication tasks at 5.8 GHz.
“In [76], a SIM comprised of three transmissive metasurface layers was built for enabling integrated sensing and communication (ISAC) tasks at 5 . 8 GHz.”
From Emerging Technologies in Intelligent Metasurfaces: Shaping the Future of Wireless Communications (2026) · cites this paper as [76]
Self-check
Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.
The self-check needs the paper’s full text.
Cites
Intelligent Reflecting Surface Enhanced Wireless Network via Joint Active and Passive Beamforming
Wu, Q., & Zhang, R. (2019) · IEEE Transactions on Wireless Communications · doi:10.1109/twc.2019.2936025 · Cited by 4,545 · see citing works
Integrated Sensing and Communications: Toward Dual-Functional Wireless Networks for 6G and Beyond
Liu, F., Cui, Y., Masouros, C., Xu, J., Han, T. X., Eldar, Y. C., & Buzzi, S. (2022) · IEEE Journal on Selected Areas in Communications · doi:10.1109/jsac.2022.3156632 · Cited by 3,857 · see citing works
All-optical machine learning using diffractive deep neural networks
Lin, X., Rivenson, Y., Yardimci, N. T., Veli, M., Luo, Y., Jarrahi, M., & Ozcan, A. (2018) · Science · doi:10.1126/science.aat8084 · Cited by 2,568 · see citing works
Wu, Q., & Zhang, R. (2019) · IEEE Transactions on Communications · doi:10.1109/tcomm.2019.2958916 · Cited by 1,295 · see citing works
A Survey on Fundamental Limits of Integrated Sensing and Communication
Liu, A., Huang, Z., Li, M., Wan, Y., Li, W., Han, T. X., Liu, C., Du, R., Tan, D. K. P., Lu, J., et al. (2022) · IEEE Communications Surveys & Tutorials · doi:10.1109/comst.2022.3149272 · Cited by 1,154 · see citing works
MU-MIMO Communications With MIMO Radar: From Co-Existence to Joint Transmission
Liu, F., Masouros, C., Li, A., Sun, H., & Hanzo, L. (2018) · IEEE Transactions on Wireless Communications · doi:10.1109/twc.2018.2803045 · Cited by 952 · see citing works
An Overview of Signal Processing Techniques for RIS/IRS-Aided Wireless Systems
Pan, C., Zhou, G., Zhi, K., Hong, S., Wu, T., Pan, Y., Ren, H., Renzo, M. D., Swindlehurst, A. L., Zhang, R., et al. (2022) · IEEE Journal of Selected Topics in Signal Processing · doi:10.1109/jstsp.2022.3195671 · Cited by 809 · see citing works
Cramér-Rao Bound Optimization for Joint Radar-Communication Beamforming
Liu, F., Liu, Y., Li, A., Masouros, C., & Eldar, Y. C. (2021) · IEEE Transactions on Signal Processing · doi:10.1109/tsp.2021.3135692 · Cited by 789 · see citing works
Stacked Intelligent Metasurfaces for Efficient Holographic MIMO Communications in 6G
An, J., Xu, C., Ng, D. W. K., Alexandropoulos, G. C., Huang, C., Yuen, C., & Hanzo, L. (2023) · IEEE Journal on Selected Areas in Communications · doi:10.1109/jsac.2023.3288261 · Cited by 358 · see citing works
Secure Intelligent Reflecting Surface-Aided Integrated Sensing and Communication
Hua, M., Wu, Q., Chen, W., Dobre, O. A., & Swindlehurst, A. L. (2023) · IEEE Transactions on Wireless Communications · doi:10.1109/twc.2023.3280179 · Cited by 295 · see citing works
Li, Y. B., Li, L. L., Xu, B. B., Wu, W., Wu, R. Y., Wan, X., Cheng, Q., & Cui, T. J. (2016) · Scientific Reports · doi:10.1038/srep23731 · Cited by 240 · see citing works
MIMO Integrated Sensing and Communication: CRB-Rate Tradeoff
Hua, H., Han, T. X., & Xu, J. (2023) · IEEE Transactions on Wireless Communications · doi:10.1109/twc.2023.3303326 · Cited by 179 · see citing works
Zhang, S., Zhang, H., Di, B., Tan, Y., Han, Z., & Song, L. (2020) · IEEE Transactions on Vehicular Technology · doi:10.1109/tvt.2020.3024756 · Cited by 154 · see citing works
Joint Transmit and Reflective Beamforming for IRS-Assisted Integrated Sensing and Communication
Song, X., Zhao, D., Hua, H., Han, T. X., Yang, X., & Xu, J. (2022) · IEEE Wireless Communications and Networking Conference · doi:10.1109/wcnc51071.2022.9771801 · Cited by 146 · see citing works
An Information-Theoretic Approach to Joint Sensing and Communication
Ahmadipour, M., Kobayashi, M., Wigger, M., & Caire, G. (2022) · IEEE Transactions on Information Theory · doi:10.1109/tit.2022.3176139 · Cited by 145 · see citing works
Stacked Intelligent Metasurfaces for Multiuser Beamforming in the Wave Domain
An, J., Renzo, M. D., Debbah, M. A., & Yuen, C. (2023) · International Conference on Communications · doi:10.1109/icc45041.2023.10279173 · Cited by 106 · see citing works
Random ISAC Signals Deserve Dedicated Precoding
Lu, S., Liu, F., Dong, F., Xiong, Y., Xu, J., Liu, Y., & Jin, S. (2024) · IEEE Transactions on Signal Processing · doi:10.1109/tsp.2024.3427373 · Cited by 91 · see citing works
Liu, Z., Li, X., Ji, H., Zhang, H., & Leung, V. C. M. (2023) · IEEE Transactions on Vehicular Technology · doi:10.1109/tvt.2023.3294338 · Cited by 85 · see citing works
Song, X., Han, T. X., & Xu, J. (2023) · International Conference on Communications · doi:10.1109/icc45041.2023.10279464 · Cited by 27 · see citing works
Stacked Intelligent Metasurface Performs a 2D DFT in the Wave Domain for DOA Estimation
An, J., Yuen, C., Guan, Y. L., Di Renzo, M., Debbah, M., Poor, H. V., & Hanzo, L. (2024) · ICC 2024 - IEEE International Conference on Communications · doi:10.1109/icc51166.2024.10622963 · Cited by 26 · see citing works
Design and Prototyping of Wideband Transmissive RIS for Enhanced Wireless Communications
Zhang, J., Xiong, R., Liu, J., Mi, T., & Qiu, R. C. (2025) · IEEE Transactions on Communications · doi:10.1109/tcomm.2025.3606651 · Cited by 8 · see citing works
Self-citation
Flagged first, then by citations
Research works printed but not linked: 2
- X. Song, X. Qin et al., "Cramér-Rao Bound Minimization for IRS- Enabled Multiuser Integrated Sensing and Communications," arXiv preprint arXiv:2306.17493, 2023. · arXiv
- J. Zhang, R. Xiong et al., "Design and Prototyping of Transmissive RIS-Aided Wireless Communication," arXiv preprint arXiv:2402.05570, 2024. · arXiv
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Magbool, A., Kumar, V., Wu, Q., Renzo, M. D., & Flanagan, M. F. (2025) · IEEE Open Journal of the Communications Society · doi:10.1109/ojcoms.2025.3594049 · Cited by 86 · see citing works
Tishchenko, A., Khalily, M., Shojaeifard, A., Burton, F. A., Björnson, E., Renzo, M. D., & Tafazolli, R. (2025) · IEEE Communications Surveys & Tutorials · doi:10.1109/comst.2024.3519785 · Cited by 83 · see citing works
Emerging Technologies in Intelligent Metasurfaces: Shaping the Future of Wireless Communications
An, J., Debbah, M., Cui, T. J., Chen, Z. N., & Yuen, C. (2026) · IEEE Transactions on Antennas and Propagation · doi:10.1109/tap.2025.3571069 · Cited by 72 · see citing works
“Moreover, Liu et al. [77] and Liu and Chen [78] synthesized a triple-layer meta-atom that enables precise phase-shift control across a range of 330 ◦ , with a signal loss of less than − 1 dB.”
Stacked Intelligent Metasurfaces for Wireless Communications: Applications and Challenges
Liu, H., An, J., Jia, X., Gan, L., Karagiannidis, G. K., Clerckx, B., Bennis, M., Debbah, M. A., & Cui, T. J. (2025) · IEEE Wireless Communications · doi:10.1109/mwc.001.2500002 · Cited by 68 · see citing works
Self-citationJoint AP-UE Association and Precoding for SIM-Aided Cell-Free Massive MIMO Systems
Shi, E., Zhang, J., An, J., Zhang, G., Liu, Z., Yuen, C., & Ai, B. (2025) · IEEE Transactions on Wireless Communications · doi:10.1109/twc.2025.3546927 · Cited by 63 · see citing works
Self-citationTransmit Beamforming Design for ISAC With Stacked Intelligent Metasurfaces
Li, S., Zhang, F., Mao, T., Na, R., Wang, Z., & Karagiannidis, G. K. (2025) · IEEE Transactions on Vehicular Technology · doi:10.1109/tvt.2024.3517709 · Cited by 55 · see citing works
Self-citationIntegrated Sensing and Communications Over the Years: An Evolution Perspective
Zhang, D. B., Cui, Y., Cao, X., Su, N., Gong, Y., Liu, F., Yuan, W., Jing, X., Zhang, J. A., Xu, J., et al. (2026) · IEEE Communications Surveys & Tutorials · doi:10.1109/comst.2026.3655674 · Cited by 46 · see citing works
Self-citationPapazafeiropoulos, A., Kourtessis, P., Chatzinotas, S., Kaklamani, D. I., & Venieris, I. S. (2025) · IEEE Transactions on Wireless Communications · doi:10.1109/twc.2025.3533913 · Cited by 42 · see citing works
Hu, Y., Zhang, J., Shi, E., Lu, Y., An, J., Yuen, C., & Ai, B. (2024) · IEEE Transactions on Vehicular Technology · doi:10.1109/tvt.2024.3499968 · Cited by 37 · see citing works
Self-citationUplink Performance of Stacked Intelligent Metasurface-Enhanced Cell-Free Massive MIMO Systems
Shi, E., Zhang, J., Zhu, Y., An, J., Yuen, C., & Ai, B. (2025) · IEEE Transactions on Wireless Communications · doi:10.1109/twc.2025.3540404 · Cited by 34 · see citing works
Self-citationJoint Power Allocation and Discrete Phase-Shift Optimization for SIM-Aided ISAC Systems
Zhang, Q., Du, Z., Zhao, Y., Guan, Y. L., Liu, J., & Yuen, C. (2025) · IEEE Transactions on Vehicular Technology · doi:10.1109/tvt.2025.3584064 · Cited by 27 · see citing works
Physical Layer Security for Integrated Sensing and Communication: A Survey
Matsumine, T., Ochiai, H., & Shikata, J. (2025) · IEEE Open Journal of the Communications Society · doi:10.1109/ojcoms.2025.3598312 · Cited by 24 · see citing works
Energy-Efficient SIM-Assisted Communications: How Many Layers Do We Need?
Shi, E., Zhang, J., An, J., Renzo, M. D., Ai, B., & Yuen, C. (2025) · IEEE Transactions on Wireless Communications · doi:10.1109/twc.2025.3612266 · Cited by 16 · see citing works
Self-citationNiu, H., An, J., Wu, T., Chen, J., Zhao, Y., Guan, Y. L., Renzo, M. D., Debbah, M. A., Karagiannidis, G. K., Poor, H. V., et al. (2025) · IEEE Transactions on Wireless Communications · doi:10.1109/twc.2025.3600915 · Cited by 14 · see citing works
Renzo, M. D. (2025) · European Conference on Antennas and Propagation · doi:10.23919/eucap63536.2025.10999805 · Cited by 10 · see citing works
Secrecy Rate Maximization in the Presence of Stacked Intelligent Metasurface
Kavianinia, M. R., Mohammadi, A., & Meghdadi, V. (2025) · IEEE Transactions on Information Forensics and Security · doi:10.1109/tifs.2025.3583242 · Cited by 10 · see citing works
Energy-Efficient Designs for SIM-Based Broadcast MIMO Systems
Perović, N. S., Bahingayi, E. E., & Tran, L. (2025) · IEEE Transactions on Communications · doi:10.1109/tcomm.2025.3618180 · Cited by 9 · see citing works
Stacked-Intelligent-Surface-Assisted MIMO Integrated Sensing and Communication
Abbas, O., Markley, L., & Chaaban, A. (2024) · IEEE Network · doi:10.1109/mnet.2024.3495664 · Cited by 6 · see citing works
Stacked Intelligent Metasurface-Enhanced Uplink Finite Blocklength Transmissions
Zhang, Y., Hu, X., Zhou, J., Yang, L., Li, Y., & Zhao, X. (2025) · IEEE Transactions on Communications · doi:10.1109/tcomm.2025.3588598 · Cited by 5 · see citing works
Multi-Layer RIS on Edge: Communication, Computation and Wireless Power Transfer
Chen, S., Jia, J., Zhang, B., Hui, Y., Qin, Y., Meng, W., & Xu, T. (2025) · IEEE Internet of Things Magazine · doi:10.1109/iotm.001.2400191 · Cited by 5 · see citing works
An, J., Yuen, C., Renzo, M. D., Bennis, M., Debbah, M. A., & Hanzo, L. (2026) · IEEE Communications Surveys & Tutorials · doi:10.1109/comst.2026.3720502 · Cited by 4 · see citing works
Stacked Intelligent Metasurfaces: Key Technologies, Scenario Adaptation, and Future Directions
Liu, J., & Kong, J. (2026) · Electronics · doi:10.3390/electronics15020274 · Cited by 3 · see citing works
Optimization of Stacked Intelligent Metasurfaces Assisted Multi-Device Symbiotic Radio Network
Zhou, X., Han, S., & Liang, Z. (2025) · IEEE/CIC International Conference on Communications in China (ICCC) · doi:10.1109/iccc65529.2025.11149039 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
Sparse Bayesian Learning Based Channel Estimation for SIM-Assisted Near-Field Communications
Yao, X., An, J., Gan, L., Clerckx, B., & Renzo, M. D. (2025) · International Conference on Communications · doi:10.1109/icc52391.2025.11161340 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
Abrardo, A., Bartoli, G., Toccafondi, A., & Renzo, M. D. (2025) · European Signal Processing Conference (EUSIPCO) · doi:10.23919/eusipco63237.2025.11226149 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
Zhang, Q., Liu, J., Get, Y., Zhao, Y., Khan, W. U., Dong, Z., Guan, Y. L., & Yuen, C. (2026) · IEEE Transactions on Wireless Communications · doi:10.1109/twc.2026.3661858 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
Fan, M., Sun, G., Pan, H., Wang, J., An, J., Du, H., & Yuen, C. (2025) · Globecom · doi:10.1109/globecom59602.2025.11431872 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
Abrardo, A., Bartoli, G., Toccafondi, A., & Renzo, M. D. (2025) · IEEE-APS Topical Conference on Antennas and Propagation in Wireless Communications (APWC) · doi:10.1109/apwc65665.2025.11190469 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
Hui, Y., Chen, S., Liu, X., & Meng, W. (2025) · IEEE Transactions on Wireless Communications · doi:10.1109/twc.2025.3622205 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
Baseband-Free End-to-End Communication System Based on Diffractive Deep Neural Network
Teng, X., Tang, W., Li, X., & Jin, S. (2025) · IEEE Transactions on Wireless Communications · doi:10.1109/twc.2025.3632886 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
Emerging Technologies in Intelligent Metasurfaces: Shaping the Future of Wireless Communications
An, J., Debbah, M., Cui, T. J., Chen, Z. N., & Yuen, C. (2024) · arXiv · Cited by 72 · see citing works
“Moreover, Liu et al. [77] and Liu and Chen [78] synthesized a triple-layer meta-atom that enables precise phase-shift control across a range of 330 ◦ , with a signal loss of less than − 1 dB.”
Elsherbini, M. M., & Ali, T. A. L. (2025) · Research Square · doi:10.21203/rs.3.rs-7372059/v1
Xie, Z., Sun, J., Yao, Y., Lu, Z., Xiao, W., & Jin, Y. (2026) · IEEE Sensors Journal · doi:10.1109/jsen.2026.3684744
Cao, Y., & Peng, W. (2026) · IEEE Wireless Communications · doi:10.1109/mwc.2026.3679500
Single-RF Based XL-MIMO Empowered by Stacked Intelligent Metasurface
Fu, Z., Zhou, H., & Liang, Y. (2026) · IEEE Wireless Communications and Networking Conference · doi:10.1109/wcnc65185.2026.11555538
Energy-Efficient Resource Allocation for Joint URLLC and Sensing via SIM
Ataeebojd, E., Rasti, M., Monemi, M., & Latva‐aho, M. (2026) · Joint European Conference on Networks and Communications & 6G Summit (EuCNC/6G Summit) · doi:10.1109/eucnc/6gsummit68295.2026.11577524
Niu, H., An, J., Shi, E., Li, Z., Gan, L., Zhang, J., Chatzinotas, S., & Yuen, C. (2026) · IEEE Open Journal of the Communications Society · doi:10.1109/ojcoms.2026.3729450
Self-citationSatti, A. Z., Zahid, E., Khan, S., ABDERRAHMANE, E.-R., & Nisa, N. U. (2026) · Research Square · doi:10.21203/rs.3.rs-9365981/v1
Sun, Y., Wang, L., Meng, F., Li, B., Lu, W., & Li, C. (2026) · Mobile Networks and Applications · doi:10.1007/s11036-026-02551-3
Distributed RIS-Aided Joint Spatial Division and Multiplexing for Communication
Wang, Z., Wan, K., & Qiu, R. C. (2026) · IEEE/CIC International Conference on Communications in China (ICCC) · doi:10.1109/iccc70295.2026.11680124
Self-citation
- Authors
- Wang, Z., Liu, H., Zhang, J., Xiong, R., Wan, K., Qian, X., Di Renzo, M., & Qiu, R. C.
- Affiliations
- Huazhong University of Science and Technology (CN)
- Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (FR)
- Université Paris-Saclay, CNRS,CentraleSupélec, Laboratoire Des Signaux Et Systemes,France,91192
- Venue
- GLOBECOM 2024 - 2024 IEEE Global Communications Conference
- Publisher
- IEEE
- Published
- 2024-12-08
- Pages
- 4442-4447
- ISSN
- 1930-529X (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W4408325774
- Cited by
- 35
- References
- 21
- Citations by year
- 2026: 9 · 2025: 23 · 2024: 3
- FWCI
- 26.81
- Type
- conference paper
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- arxiv.org
- Locations
- Globecom (publishedVersion)
- arXiv (Cornell University) (submittedVersion)
- HAL (submittedVersion, other-oa)
- arXiv (Cornell University)
- Funders
- European Commission
- Horizon Europe
- Agence Nationale de la Recherche
- CHIST-ERA
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Engineering › Electrical and Electronic Engineering › Advanced Wireless Communication Technologies
- Physical Sciences › Engineering › Aerospace Engineering › Radar Systems and Signal Processing
- Physical Sciences › Engineering › Aerospace Engineering › Advanced Antenna and Metasurface Technologies
- Keywords
- stacked intelligent metasurfaces, integrated sensing and communication, transmit beamforming, SINR constraints, transmit power constraint, non-convex optimization, alternating optimization, semidefinite relaxation, hardware platform
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review
