Design and analysis of optical MIMO communications for 256-QAM for reconfigurable holographic surfaces

Abstract Optical multiple‐input multiple‐output (HMIMO) systems leverage reconfigurable holographic surfaces (RHS) to dynamically shape electromagnetic wavefronts, offering superior beamforming and spectrum utilization for next‐generation 6G networks for 256-QAM. By integrating these surfaces into traditional MIMO architectures, HMIMO systems effectively handle high data rates, low latency, and enhanced energy efficiency – even in millimeter‐wave and terahertz bands. Through MATLAB simulations under Rayleigh and Rician fading models, this research demonstrates that HMIMO systems substantially outperform conventional optical MIMO. In Rayleigh environments, where multipath scattering dominates, Optical HMIMO’s adaptable beamforming mitigates rapid signal fluctuations. Under Rician fading, the strong line‐of‐sight component further boosts beamforming gains and spectral efficiency. The study highlights significant improvements in reliability (outage probability), beamforming gain, and spectral efficiency across diverse antenna configurations and SNR levels, underscoring the scalability and robustness of optical-HMIMO for urban and high‐mobility 6G scenarios.