.png){kind=icon}
.png){kind=icon}
Return
Electromagnetic Information Theory for Holographic MIMO Communications
.png){kind=icon}
PRE
AI
L
T
C
张
沙
Z
L
M
C
DOI：10.1109/COMST.2026.3689548.png)
.png){kind=icon}
Original request for help.png){kind=icon}
Share.png){kind=icon}
Save
Abstract
En 中文
Holographic multiple-input multiple-output (HMIMO) has recently emerged as a key enabler for next-generation wireless systems due to its capability to form nearly continuous apertures, enabling ultra-high spatial resolution and significantly enhanced capacity. However, this paradigm also raises fundamental questions about the applicability of Shannon’s information theory (SIT) to HMIMO systems and whether physical constraints—such as aperture size, electromagnetic (EM) coupling, resonance, and wavefront curvature—introduce additional limits beyond conventional statistical models. Classical SIT focuses on the probabilistic input–output relationship but does not explicitly incorporate the EM field interactions that fundamentally govern wave propagation. To bridge this gap, this paper introduces an electromagnetic information theory (EIT) framework for HMIMO systems, which unifies EM field theory with both Shannon’s probabilistic and Kolmogorov’s functional formulations of information theory to establish a physically consistent and mathematically complete foundation for performance evaluation. The paper establishes the fundamental physical limits—including constraints on antenna design, gain, and beamwidth—and examines their implications for HMIMO implementations. It then characterizes the excitation–field relationship and the corresponding field sampling and spatial degrees of freedom under physical constraints. Subsequently, field-based and operator-theoretic channel models are developed to describe EM-compliant propagation in HMIMO systems. By combining the statistical representation of SIT with the functional representation of Kolmogorov’s information theory, the proposed EIT framework provides a unified perspective on channel capacity, information flow, and field representation. Finally, we outline open research directions, including EM environment control, 3D superdirective HMIMO design, efficient field sampling, scattering and EM noise modeling, and excitation/field-based encoding and modulation. These developments mark a paradigm shift toward physically grounded, high-capacity, and adaptive wireless communication systems empowered by HMIMO and EIT.
Keywords:
Holographic multiple-input multiple-output (HMIMO)
antenna theory
cannel modeling
electromagnetic wave theory
information theory
Journal
I
IF:
0
Papers:
67
Citations:
0
Organization
Cited Papers