CircuitRIS: A Simulation Framework for Analyzing Circuit-Level Non-Idealities in RIS-Aided Wireless Communications

The advent of new generations of wireless communication pushed the development of innovative technologies to meet emerging requirements. Among these latter, Reconfigurable Intelligent Surfaces (RISs) attracted particular interest. A RIS is a passive, reconfigurable device that enhances the performance of wireless communication between end-users. This work presents a simulation framework for analyzing RISs, correlating circuit-level parameters with system-level metrics. This study examines the impact of circuit non-idealities on the overall performance of RIS-assisted communication systems in indoor environments. Furthermore, the analysis explores the influence of different phase quantization strategies, the number of unit cells, and the reflection angle on the system’s performance. In the specific case of RISs composed of unit cells equipped with varactor diodes to enable reconfigurability, we assessed the impact of varactor non-ideality on system performance