Bistatic Polarimetric Measurements of Reconfigurable Intelligent Surfaces

The characterization of Reconfigurable Intelligent Surfaces (RIS) poses a challenge to conventional antenna and RCS measurement ranges due to the need to measure propagation paths towards and from geometrically unlinked directions. The bistatic radar measurement setup (BIRA) at the Thuringian Center of Innovation in Mobility is well-suited for bistatic far-field measurements during the research phase of the sixth generation of mobile communications. This setup comprises an eight-axis positioning system with two independent probes mounted on gantry arms, effectively mitigating geometric limitations. The facility was used to characterize a set of binary reconfigurable reflective surfaces to benchmark an innovative unit cell design in the C-band and to examine polarization-dependent characteristics.