The DOI matches its Crossref record; 4 of the 4 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
The Road to 6G: Ten Physical Layer Challenges for Communications Engineers
Open accessAbstract
While the deployment of 5G cellular systems will continue well into the next decade, much interest is already being generated toward technologies that will underlie its successor, 6G. Undeniably, 5G will have a transformative impact on the way we live and communicate, but it is still far away from supporting the Internet of Everything, where upward of 1 million devices/km3(both terrestrial and aerial) will require ubiquitous, reliable, low-latency connectivity. This article looks at some of the fundamental problems that pertain to key physical layer enablers for 6G. This includes highlighting challenges related to intelligent reflecting surfaces, cell-free massive MIMO, and THz communications. Our analysis covers theoretical modeling challenges, hardware implementation issues, and scalability, among others. The article concludes by delineating the critical role of signal processing in the new era of wireless communications.
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Cites
A Vision of 6G Wireless Systems: Applications, Trends, Technologies, and Open Research Problems
Saad, W., Bennis, M., & Chen, M. (2020) · IEEE Network · doi:10.1109/mnet.001.1900287 · Cited by 4,985
Rappaport, T. S., Xing, Y., Kanhere, O., Ju, S., Madanayake, A., Mandal, S., Alkhateeb, A., & Trichopoulos, G. C. (2019) · IEEE Access · doi:10.1109/access.2019.2921522 · Cited by 2,617 · cited 3×
“6G wireless systems will rely on: i) Millimeterwave technologies (30 to 300 GHz); ii) THz technologies (300 GHz to 3 THz); and iii) Free space optics (FSO) [2].”
BackgroundMethodUbiquitous cell-free massive MIMO communications
Interdonato, G., Björnson, E., Quoc Ngo, H., Frenger, P., & Larsson, E. G. (2019) · EURASIP Journal on Wireless Communications and Networking · doi:10.1186/s13638-019-1507-0 · Cited by 646
Metrology State-of-the-Art and Challenges in Broadband Phase-Sensitive Terahertz Measurements
Naftaly, M., Clarke, R. G., Humphreys, D. A., & Ridler, N. M. (2017) · Proceedings of the IEEE · doi:10.1109/jproc.2016.2644108 · Cited by 49
Cited by
Security and Privacy for 6G: A Survey on Prospective Technologies and Challenges
Nguyen, V.-L., Lin, P.-C., Cheng, B.-C., Hwang, R.-H., & Lin, Y.-D. (2021) · IEEE Communications Surveys & Tutorials · doi:10.1109/comst.2021.3108618 · Cited by 515
Imoize, A. L., Adedeji, O., Tandiya, N., & Shetty, S. (2021) · Sensors · doi:10.3390/s21051709 · Cited by 281
Quy, V. K., Chehri, A., Quy, N. M., Han, N. D., & Ban, N. T. (2023) · IEEE Access · doi:10.1109/access.2023.3269297 · Cited by 164
Deep Learning-based Uplink Data Detection in User-Centric Cell-Free mMIMO Systems
Hematidoust, N., Tadaion, A., Buzzi, S., Magarini, M., & Sadeghi, M. T. (2025) · Iranian Journal of Science and Technology, Transactions of Electrical Engineering · doi:10.1007/s40998-025-00811-8 · Cited by 2
Metadata
- Authors
- Matthaiou, M., Yurduseven, O., Ngo, H. Q., Morales-Jimenez, D., Cotton, S. L., & Fusco, V. F.
- Venue
- IEEE Communications Magazine
- Published
- 2021-01
- Volume
- 59
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 64-69
- ISSN
- 0163-6804 (ISSN-L)
- 1558-1896
- OpenAlex
- W3017212501
- Cited by
- 370
- References
- 4
- FWCI
- 18.72
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
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