Pinching-Antenna Systems with LoS Blockages

Abstract: The aim of this letter is to explore the capability of pinching-antenna systems to construct line-of-sight (LoS) links in the presence of LoS blockages. Specifically, pinching antennas are pre-installed at preconfigured positions along waveguides and can be selectively activated to create LoS links for enhancing desired signals and non-line-of-sight (NLoS) links for eliminating inter-user interference. On this basis, a sum-rate maximization problem is formulated by jointly optimizing waveguide assignment and antenna activation. To solve this problem, a matching based algorithm is proposed using two distinct preference designs. Simulation results demonstrate that the considered pinching-antenna system and proposed solutions can dynamically establish LoS links and effectively exploit LoS blockages to mitigate interference, thereby significantly improving system throughput.