Survey of Millimeter Wave Backscatter Communition Systems

Abstract: Backscatter communication is a burgeoning low-power communication technology that has been introduced into the Internet of Things (IoT) due to its excellent self-sustainability. However, conventional backscatter communication (BackCom) technologies often suffer from insufficient data transmission rates and are difficult to meet the increasing bandwidth demands of Internet of Things applications. In contrast, millimeter wave (mmWave) backscatter communication holds great potential for high-speed data transmission because of its rich spectrum resources. Therefore, this paper presents a comprehensive survey of the existing literature on mmWave backscatter communications. Firstly, we introduce the fundamental principles of mmWave backscatter communication, including its architecture, basic techniques, and primer knowledge. Subsequently, we review the various mmWave backscatter communication techniques proposed in the current literature. We then discuss some applications based on these techniques before finally addressing some challenges and open issues associated with mmWave backscatter.