Integrated beamforming method with intelligent reflecting surface element allocation and system therefore

1. An integrated beamforming method, comprising:

allocating passive elements of an intelligent reflecting surface (IRS) to each of receivers;

setting phase shifts of the IRS, the passive elements of which are allocated to each of the receivers; and

performing transmit beamforming using the set phase shifts of the IRS, wherein the [[the]] phase shifts are updated as Equation below;

∠θ n =−∠( h d,k H w k )−∠ g n,k +∠( h n H w k ), n∈N k

θ n denotes the phase shifts of the n-th element, h d,k denotes a channel between a transmitter and a k-th receiver, w k may denote a transmit beamformer for the k-th receiver, g n,k denotes a channel between the n-th element and the k-th receiver.

2. The integrated beamforming method of claim 1 , further comprising:

alternately repeating the allocating, the setting, and the performing to maximize a minimum rate or a total rate.

3. The integrated beamforming method of claim 1 , wherein the setting includes:

setting the phase shifts of the IRS such that a channel from the IRS to each of the receivers performs constructive interference with a channel between a transmitter and each of the receivers.

4. The integrated beamforming method of claim 1 , wherein the allocating includes:

allocating the passive elements to each of the receivers to maximize a minimum rate or a total rate.

5. The integrated beamforming method of claim 1 , wherein the allocating includes:

allocating the passive elements to each of the receivers, such that a channel between a transmitter and the receivers and a beamformer gain are maximized.

6. The integrated beamforming method of claim 1 , wherein the performing includes:

performing the transmit beamforming using an effective channel established by the set phase shifts of the IRS.