Professor Liu

Abstract: Multiple-antenna technologies are evolving toward larger aperture sizes, denser antenna deployments, higher frequencies, and more flexible aperture shapes. This evolution has led to the concept of continuous-aperture arrays (CAPA), which form a spatially continuous electromagnetic aperture. Unlike conventional spatially discrete arrays (SPDAs), CAPA can achieve extreme spatial resolution and approach the upper limits of spatial degrees of freedom within a given spatial resource. In this talk, we provide a comprehensive overview of the state-of-the-art in CAPAs. We begin by introducing the fundamental principles of CAPA, including practical implementation and signal models. Next, we explore its information-theoretic limits in both uplink and downlink communications. Additionally, we perform a performance analysis for CAPA-based line-of-sight and fading channels, followed by a discussion on CAPA’s beamforming design. Throughout, we highlight the key differences between CAPA and conventional SPDAs. Finally, we conclude with an exploration of potential opportunities and unresolved challenges in the field of CAPA.

Biography:

Yuanwei Liu has been a (tenured) full Professor in the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering (EEE) at The University of Hong Kong (HKU)  and a visiting professor in the School of Electronic Engineering and Computer Science at Queen Mary University of London (QMUL)  since September 1st, 2024. Prior to that, he was a Senior Lecturer (Associate Professor) (Aug. 2021- Aug. 2024) and a Lecturer (Assistant Professor) (Sept. 2017- July 2021) at Queen Mary University of London (QMUL), London, U.K, and a Postdoctoral Research Fellow (Sep. 2016- Aug. 2017) at King's College London (KCL), London, U.K. He received the Ph.D. degree from QMUL in 2016. He currently serves as the Co-Editor-in-Chief of IEEE ComSoc TC NewsLetter, an Area Editor of IEEE Transactions on Communications and IEEE Communications Letters, an Editor of serval IEEE top journals, such as IEEE Transactions on Wireless Communications, IEEE Communications Surveys & Tutorials, and IEEE Transactions on Network Science and Engineering. He is a Fellow of the IEEE, a Fellow of AAIA, a Web of Science Highly Cited Researcher, an IEEE Communication Society Distinguished Lecturer, and an IEEE Vehicular Technology Society Distinguished Lecturer. He was listed as one of [35 Innovators Under 35 China in 2022 by MIT Technology Review], is the recipient of the [2024 Early Career Researcher Award from Queen Mary Research and Innovation],the [2020 IEEE ComSoc Outstanding Young Researcher Award for the Europe, Middle East and Africa Region], the [2020 Early Achievement Award of the IEEE ComSoc - Signal Processing and Computing for Communications (SPCC) Technical Committee], and the recipient of the [2021 IEEE CTTC Early Achievement Awards]. He is the co-recipient of the [2024 IEEE Communications Society Heinrich Hertz Award], the Best Student Paper Award in IEEE VTC2022-Fall, the Best Paper Award in ISWCS 2022, the 2022 IEEE SPCC-TC Best Paper Award, the 2023 IEEE ICCT Best Paper Award, and the 2023 IEEE ISAP Best Emerging Technologies Paper Award. More information can be found in Google Scholar and Linkedin.

Email:

Address:Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, The University of Hong Kong., University of Maryland, Hong Kong, Hong Kong