# Stacked Intelligent Metasurface-Aided MIMO Transceiver Design

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2311.09814 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/2311.09814/

## Key facts

- Cited by 2 papers in the map (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- First posted on arXiv 16 Nov 2023.

## Built on by (most cited first, 2 of 2)

- [WirelessMathBench: A Mathematical Modeling Benchmark for LLMs in Wireless Communications](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2505.14354/) (2025)
- [A Learnable SIM Paradigm: Fundamentals, Training Techniques, and Applications](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2603.24599/) (2026)

## Abstract (arXiv)

Next-generation wireless networks are expected to utilize the limited radio frequency (RF) resources more efficiently with the aid of intelligent transceivers. To this end, we propose a promising transceiver architecture relying on stacked intelligent metasurfaces (SIM). An SIM is constructed by stacking an array of programmable metasurface layers, where each layer consists of a massive number of low-cost passive meta-atoms that individually manipulate the electromagnetic (EM) waves. By appropriately configuring the passive meta-atoms, an SIM is capable of accomplishing advanced computation and signal processing tasks, such as multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) precoding/combining, multi-user interference mitigation, and radar sensing, as the EM wave propagates through the multiple layers of the metasurface, which effectively reduces both the RF-related energy consumption and processing delay. Inspired by this, we provide an overview of the SIM-aided MIMO transceiver design, which encompasses its hardware architecture and its potential benefits over state-of-the-art solutions. Furthermore, we discuss promising application scenarios and identify the open research challenges associated with the design of advanced SIM architectures for next-generation wireless networks. Finally, numerical results are provided for quantifying the benefits of wave-based signal processing in wireless systems.