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A PRISMA 2020–aligned systematic review of cascaded Optical Phased Array (OPA)–Reconfigurable Intelligent Surface (RIS) architectures for NLoS Optical Wireless ISAC systems.

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A Systematic Review of Cascaded OPA–RIS Architectures for NLoS Optical Wireless ISAC

Project Status: Ongoing | Last Updated: 2025-09-25

Next Steps:

  • Add CITATION.cff and link in README
  • Validate included_studies.csv against schema
  • Generate updated PRISMA flow diagram

Completed: PRISMA-P preregistration (OSF DOI), search strategy (initial), extraction (Sheet1), QA log (current), review_structure mapping

Planned/In-Progress: ROB rubric & SoF tables, automated synthesis tables, PRISMA flow image regeneration, expanded OPA/RIS/ISAC Results sections, benchmark box (turbulence), joint-metrics box (ISAC)

PRISMA 2020 Compliant Protocol Registered Open Data Code License

Project Transparency Panel

  • Last Updated: 2025-09-23 (Europe/Istanbul, UTC+03)
  • Completed: PRISMA-P preregistration (OSF DOI), search strategy (initial), extraction (Sheet1), QA log (current), review_structure mapping
  • Planned/In-Progress: ROB rubric & SoF tables, automated synthesis tables, PRISMA flow image regeneration, expanded OPA/RIS/ISAC Results sections, benchmark box (turbulence), joint-metrics box (ISAC)

Overview & Rationale

This repository documents a systematic review, conducted in accordance with PRISMA 2020, of cascaded Optical Phased Array (OPA)Reconfigurable Intelligent Surface (RIS) architectures for non-line-of-sight (NLoS) optical wireless integrated sensing and communications (ISAC). We synthesize methods and results across five technical pillars:

  1. Wigner-Uzayı Ortak Işın Biçimleme (WD-JD)
    Uzay ((x,y)) ve uzaysal frekans ((f_x,f_y)) bölgelerinde eşzamanlı odak/kontrast optimizasyonu; Wigner dağılımı tabanlı amaç fonksiyonları ve separable/FFT hızlandırma.

  2. Kanal Edinimi & RIS-Kodlu Faz Geri-Kazanımı (RC-PR-T)
    Sadece şiddet (intensity-only) ölçümlerle, NLoS + türbülans altında RIS faz maskeleri kullanarak faz/topoloji çıkarımı; başlangıç (spectral/Wirtinger) ve yakınsama stratejileri.

  3. Grating Lobe Baskılama & Aperiodik (Blue-Noise) RIS Tasarımı (BN-RIS)
    Poisson-disk/blue-noise yerleşimleri, hibrit ızgara + jitter; yan lob tepe değeri (PSL) ve yan güç dağılımının metrikleştirilmesi; aliasing’e karşı dayanım.

  4. Kolmogorov Türbülansına Karşı Robust Ön-Şekillendirme (RPB-Kol)
    (\mathbb{E}[I])–(\mathrm{Var}[I])–ROI-dışı güç çoklu hedefleri; (C_n^2, r_0,) Rytov değişkenleriyle senaryo süpürmeleri ve hassasiyet analizleri.

  5. Donanım-Farkındalıklı Uygulama & Kalibrasyon (HW-Q/CTRL)
    Faz-bit sınırlamaları, eleman gecikmesi/tepki süresi, optik verim/kayıplar, OPA↔RIS hizalama ve scan-rate/latency etkileri; kuantizasyon-farkındalıklı optimizasyon, ölçüm kalibrasyonu ve kontrol döngüsü bütünleştirme.

  • Last search completed: 2025-09-17
  • Planned update cadence: Quarterly (or on major field releases)
  • Note on Technical Pillars. The five axes (WD-JD, RC-PR-T, BN-RIS, RPB-Kol, HW-Q/CTRL) are thematic synthesis axes, not hard inclusion filters. They emerged during coding of included records to organize methods and trade-offs; the PRISMA eligibility criteria remain independent of these themes.

Registration

This review is preregistered at the Open Science Framework (OSF).
OSF link/DOI: https://doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/57VRJ
All protocol deviations will be logged in /protocol/AMENDMENTS.md.


2. Research Protocol (PRISMA-P)

Our protocol was designed and deposited prior to review initiation as recommended by PRISMA-P.
Protocol access: See /protocol/prisma_protocol.md and checklist.

2.1. Research Questions

Primary Research Question (PRQ):

What are the principal technical challenges, proposed algorithms, and performance trade-offs in implementing a cascaded OPA–RIS architecture for optical wireless ISAC in non-ideal channels? Secondary Research Questions: (SRQ1–4 mapped to above pillars; see full protocol)

2.2. Eligibility Criteria (PICO Framework)

Population / Problem
Optical wireless / free-space optics (OWC/FSO) and ISAC systems operating in non-line-of-sight (NLoS) or turbulence-affected optical channels.

Intervention / Index
Use of Optical Phased Arrays (OPA) and/or optical RIS/metasurfaces for beam steering, relaying, or wavefront shaping. Priority on cascaded OPA→RIS (or OPA↔RIS) architectures.

Comparator
Conventional optics (e.g., lenses/SLMs), single-hop FSO, or method ablations/baselines. A comparator is not mandatory for inclusion but recorded when present.

Outcomes (must report ≥1 primary metric)

  • Communications: SNR/SINR (dB), BER/EVM, throughput/capacity.
  • Sensing: detection probability (P_D), false alarm (P_{FA}), ROC/AUC, CRB/Fisher information.
  • Beam/Optics: HPBW, PSL/ISLR (dB), ROI contrast, scan range/rate, optical efficiency.
  • Channel/Physics: (C_n^2), Fried parameter (r_0), Rytov variance, propagation distance (z), NLoS geometry.

Study Designs & Media
Peer-reviewed journals and full conference papers; high-quality preprints included if methods are sufficiently documented. Simulation, benchtop, and field trials are all eligible.

Timeframe & Language
2019—present; English. (Foundational pre-2019 OPA/metasurface items may enter via backward/forward snowballing if they inform cascaded OPA–RIS/ISAC.) Snowballing Exception. Foundational pre-2019 optical OPA/metasurface works can enter via backward/forward snowballing when directly informative for cascaded OPA→RIS/ISAC; such inclusions are flagged in TRACE and discussed in Methods.

Exclusion Rules

  • Pure RF-only RIS (non-optical) without optical results.
  • Pure holography/SLM studies without OPA/RIS and without ISAC-relevant link/beam/sensing metrics.
  • Vision/biomedical optics unrelated to comms/sensing link metrics.
  • Patents/whitepapers without peer-reviewed methodological equivalents.

Retention Exceptions (Transparency). Studies lacking explicit ISAC metrics (e.g., OPA sidelobe suppression without joint sensing/communication) may be retained if they inform cascaded OPA→RIS feasibility or beam/optics outcomes. Such records are flagged for risk-of-bias and excluded from any quantitative ISAC-metric synthesis subsets; they remain eligible for narrative synthesis.

Edge Notes (for transparency)
When optical wavelength, aperture, or turbulence parameters are missing, the record is retained but flagged for risk-of-bias and excluded from any quantitative synthesis subset.

2.3. Information Sources & Search Strategy

Databases & Coverage
IEEE Xplore, Scopus, Web of Science, Optica Publishing Group (Optics Express/OL), arXiv (physics.optics, eess.SP). Google Scholar is used only for grey literature triage and snowballing.

  • Last search completed: 2025-09-17 (Europe/Istanbul, UTC+03)
  • Planned update cadence: Quarterly (or on major field releases)
  • Search record & amendments: /protocol/search_strategy.md, with date-stamped query snapshots

Core Concepts & Synonyms

  • OPA: “optical phased array”, OPA
  • RIS: “reconfigurable intelligent surface”, metasurface, “intelligent reflecting surface” (optical)
  • ISAC: “integrated sensing and communication”, “joint sensing and communication”, dual-function, JSC
  • NLoS & Channel: non-line-of-sight, “around-the-corner”, diffuse reflection, turbulence, (C_n^2), Fried (r_0), Rytov, scintillation, beam wander
  • Cascaded/Relay: cascaded, relay, double-pass, two-hop, multi-bounce

Example Boolean Queries (copy & adapt per portal syntax)

  • IEEE Xplore (All Metadata)
    ("optical phased array" OR OPA) AND (RIS OR metasurface OR "intelligent surface" OR "intelligent reflecting surface") AND (ISAC OR "integrated sensing" OR "joint sensing and communication" OR JSC) AND ("non-line-of-sight" OR NLoS OR turbulence OR "Cn^2" OR "Fried parameter" OR Rytov) AND (optical OR photonic) AND (2019:2025)

  • Scopus / Web of Science (TITLE-ABS-KEY)
    TITLE-ABS-KEY( ("optical phased array" OR OPA) AND (RIS OR metasurface OR "intelligent reflecting surface") AND (ISAC OR "integrated sensing" OR "joint sensing and communication" OR JSC) AND ("non-line-of-sight" OR NLoS OR turbulence OR "Cn^2" OR "Fried parameter" OR Rytov) AND (optical OR photonic) ) AND PUBYEAR > 2018 AND LANGUAGE(English)

  • Optica Publishing Group (site search)
    "optical phased array" (RIS OR metasurface) (ISAC OR "integrated sensing") (NLoS OR "non-line-of-sight" OR turbulence OR Cn^2 OR Rytov) site:opg.optica.org

  • arXiv (physics.optics OR eess.SP)
    ("optical phased array" AND (RIS OR metasurface) AND (ISAC OR "integrated sensing" OR "joint sensing") AND (NLoS OR turbulence OR Cn^2 OR Rytov))

  • Google Scholar (scoping & snowballing)
    "optical phased array" RIS ISAC NLoS turbulence Cn^2 Rytov cascaded relay

Filters & Handling

  • Year ≥ 2019; English; document types: Article/Conference Paper/Preprint (with adequate methods).
  • De-duplication at DOI/arXiv-ID level.
  • Snowballing: backward/forward citation screening on all included records; each action logged in /data/screening_log.csv with flags SRC=IEEE/SCOPUS/WOS/OPTICA/ARXIV/GSCHOLAR, TRACE=BWD/FWD.

Reproducibility Hooks

  • Save exact query strings and export counts per database/date to /protocol/search_strategy.md.
  • Track daily/weekly deltas in /data/screening_log.csv (cols: date, source, query_id, hits, included_phase1, included_phase2).

3. Methodology & PRISMA Flow

Our methodology strictly tracks the PRISMA 2020 four-stage process (Identification → Screening → Eligibility → Inclusion).

  • Flow Diagram: /results/prisma_flow_diagram.png
  • Inclusion/Exclusion: All decisions and rationales logged in /data/screening_log.csv.
  • Transparency: Full records of included (included_studies.csv) and excluded (excluded_studies.csv) studies are published.

3.1. Data Extraction and Synthesis

  • Extraction Template: /protocol/data_extraction_form.xlsx (columns mirror the fields in Data Items & Extraction)
  • Canonical Database: /data/included_studies.csv (uses the CSV header from Step 3; controlled vocabularies live in /protocol/codebook.md)
  • Normalization: Per-study outcomes may be rescaled (e.g., dB per meter; per-aperture). Exact transforms are recorded in the normalization_notes field.
  • Synthesis Approach: Thematic synthesis mapped to the project’s five technical pillars (WD-JD, RC-PR-T, BN-RIS, RPB-Kol, HW-Q/CTRL). Mini meta-analyses are run only on homogeneous subsets; heterogeneous results are aggregated narratively with vote-counting of effect direction.
  • Reproducibility: All analysis scripts live under /scripts/analysis/ and regenerate tables/figures from included_studies.csv. Versioned queries live in /protocol/search_strategy.md.
  • Validation: Run python scripts/analysis/validate_included_studies.py data/included_studies.csv before commits.
  • Mapping to Manuscript Sections. Each included record is mapped to a manuscript section via /docs/review_structure.md (e.g., OPA → Section 3.1; RIS → Section 3.2; NLoS-Turb → Section 4.1). The mapping file is versioned and updated with each extraction/QA cycle.

Data Items & Extraction

All included records are extracted into /data/included_studies.csv using the template in /protocol/data_extraction_form.xlsx. Fields are aligned to the five technical pillars (WD-JD, RC-PR-T, BN-RIS, RPB-Kol, HW-Q/CTRL) to keep screening → synthesis consistent.

Required fields (must be filled for inclusion):

Field Type Description Example
record_id string Unique key (stable across updates) ieeexp-2023-01234
doi_or_id string DOI or arXiv ID 10.1364/OE.xxxxx
venue enum {journal, conf, preprint} journal
year int Publication year 2024
title string Paper title Cascaded OPA–RIS for NLoS ISAC
authors string First author et al. Lee et al.
SRC enum {IEEE, SCOPUS, WOS, OPTICA, ARXIV, GSCHOLAR} IEEE
TRACE enum {DIRECT, BWD, FWD} DIRECT
architecture enum {OPA→RIS, OPA↔RIS, single-hop, other} OPA→RIS
channel_regime enum {LoS, NLoS, NLoS+turbulence} NLoS+turbulence
wavelength_nm float Operating wavelength (nm) 1550
primary_outcome enum {SNR,SINR,BER,EVM,PSL,ISLR,Contrast,ROC,CRB} SINR
task_domain enum {comms, sensing, ISAC} ISAC
data_availability enum {code+data, code-only, none} code-only

OPA parameters (fill if applicable):

Field Type Description Example
opa_N_elements int Number of elements 4096
opa_pitch_um float Element pitch (µm) 6.0
opa_phase_bits int Quantization bits 2
opa_scan_range_deg float ±scan range 30
opa_scan_rate_hz float Max scan rate 1000

RIS/metasurface parameters (fill if applicable):

Field Type Description Example
ris_size_elems int Active elements (or equivalent area) 2048
ris_lattice enum {grid, aperiodic, blue-noise, hybrid} blue-noise
ris_phase_states int Discrete phase levels 4
ris_response_ms float Element response time (ms) 2.5
ris_fill_factor float Active fill (0–1) 0.72

Propagation / turbulence / geometry:

Field Type Description Example
z_total_m float Total path length 120
nlos_geometry enum {single-bounce, multi-bounce, around-the-corner} single-bounce
Cn2 float Refractive index structure const. (m^-2/3) 1e-14
r0_m float Fried parameter (m) 0.04
rytov_var float Rytov variance σ_R^2 0.9
regime enum {Fresnel, Fraunhofer, mixed} Fresnel

Algorithms / pillars (tick what applies):

Field Type Description Example
pillar_WD_JD bool Wigner-domain joint design used true
pillar_RC_PR_T bool RIS-coded phase retrieval true
pillar_BN_RIS bool Aperiodic/blue-noise design false
pillar_RPB_Kol bool Robust pre-shaping under turbulence true
pillar_HW_Q_CTRL bool Hardware-aware/quantization/calibration true
optimizer string e.g., ADAM, SGD, GA, CMA-ES ADAM
training_signal string pilot/PR masks used m=16 coded masks

Outcomes (record at least one; use units shown):

Field Type Units Example
snr_db float dB 24.5
sinr_db float dB 18.2
ber float 2.3e-4
evm_pct float % 3.8
psl_db float dB -17.2
islr_db float dB -11.0
hpbw_deg float deg 0.8
contrast float ROI/background 6.2
roc_auc float 0–1 0.93
crb_unit string parameter name & unit angle (deg^2)
runtime_s float seconds 42.3
mem_gb float gigabytes 3.1

Reproducibility & bias flags (quick):

Field Type Description Example
baselines_present bool Fair baselines/ablations? true
realism_score enum {low, mid, high} mid
rob_overall enum {low, some, high} some
normalization_notes string Any rescaling/assumptions applied SNR normalized per-meter
notes string Free-text caveats Missing r0 unit; inferred from fig.

CSV header (copy into /data/included_studies.csv):
record_id,doi_or_id,venue,year,title,authors,SRC,TRACE,architecture,channel_regime,wavelength_nm,primary_outcome,task_domain,data_availability,opa_N_elements,opa_pitch_um,opa_phase_bits,opa_scan_range_deg,opa_scan_rate_hz,ris_size_elems,ris_lattice,ris_phase_states,ris_response_ms,ris_fill_factor,z_total_m,nlos_geometry,Cn2,r0_m,rytov_var,regime,pillar_WD_JD,pillar_RC_PR_T,pillar_BN_RIS,pillar_RPB_Kol,pillar_HW_Q_CTRL,optimizer,training_signal,snr_db,sinr_db,ber,evm_pct,psl_db,islr_db,hpbw_deg,contrast,roc_auc,crb_unit,runtime_s,mem_gb,baselines_present,realism_score,rob_overall,normalization_notes,notes

Coding rules (consistency):

  • Use nm for wavelength, m for distances, deg for angles, dB for SNR/SINR/PSL/ISLR.
  • Booleans are true/false; enums exactly as listed.
  • If a value is missing, leave blank and explain in notes.
  • If paper units differ, convert; log any rescaling in normalization_notes.

Extraction workflow:

  1. Create a new row per study in /data/included_studies.csv.
  2. Prefer the main scenario if multiple settings exist; mention alternates in notes (you can split per-scenario rows later).
  3. Keep PDFs out of the repo; manage them in your reference manager; store persistent IDs in doi_or_id.

Pipeline Status (Reproducibility)

All scripts under /scripts/analysis/ are versioned and runnable. Generated artifacts under /results/ are being expanded iteratively. Where a table/figure is listed but not yet present, it is planned and will be added with a date-stamped commit; interim manual tables are linked in /supplementary_material.md.

3.2. Automated Counts & Tables

We auto-generate counts and synthesis tables from the CSVs:

  • PRISMA counts: python scripts/analysis/prisma_counts.py data/screening_log.csv
    Outputs results/prisma_counts.json and results/synthesis_tables/prisma_counts.csv.

  • Synthesis tables: python scripts/analysis/synth_make_tables.py data/included_studies.csv
    Emits pillar coverage, metrics coverage, hardware-awareness, and turbulence parameter summaries under results/synthesis_tables/.

For convenience, use the Makefile:

make all # validate + prisma + synth make validate # schema & row checks make prisma # update PRISMA counts make synth # rebuild synthesis tables

3.3. Risk of Bias & Certainty of Evidence

  • Risk-of-Bias rubric: /protocol/risk_of_bias_tool.md (planned; draft rubric to be committed with initial ROB pass).
  • ROB summaries: python scripts/analysis/rob_summary.py data/included_studies.csv
    results/synthesis_tables/rob_overall_counts.csv, results/synthesis_tables/rob_by_pillar.csv.
  • Certainty (SoF): planned; initial SoF tables will be generated after the first ROB pass. Heuristics are provisional and will be overrideable after manual review. → results/synthesis_tables/SoF_pillars.csv (simple heuristic based on % Low ROB per pillar).

Notes: We report ROB on the 3-level scale (low/some/high). SoF certainty labels (High/Moderate/Low) are derived heuristically and can be overridden after manual review.

4. Contribution & Open Science Statement

  • To the best of our knowledge, this is the first PRISMA-aligned synthesis that explicitly frames OPA–RIS architectures within a unified optical ISAC context; we welcome prior-art pointers via Issues.
  • All search strategies, data extraction, and synthesis code are published for transparency and reuse.
  • Open Access: All materials in this repo are freely available for academic use.
  • Data/Code Reuse Policy: Cite this repo if you use the extraction templates, search protocols, or results in your own work.

5. Repository Structure (Key Files and Folders)

├── README.md ├── LICENSE ├── data/ │ ├── included_studies.csv │ ├── excluded_studies.csv │ └── screening_log.csv ├── protocol/ │ ├── prisma_protocol.md │ ├── prisma_checklist.pdf │ ├── search_strategy.md │ ├── data_extraction_form.xlsx │ ├── risk_of_bias_tool.md │ └── exclusion_reasons.md ├── results/ │ ├── prisma_flow_diagram.png │ ├── prisma_counts.json │ └── synthesis_tables/ │ ├── prisma_counts.csv │ ├── pillars_summary.csv │ ├── metrics_coverage.csv │ ├── hardware_awareness.csv │ ├── turbulence_params.csv │ ├── rob_overall_counts.csv │ ├── rob_by_pillar.csv │ ├── SoF_pillars.csv │ └── excluded_reasons.csv ├── scripts/ │ └── analysis/ │ ├── validate_included_studies.py │ ├── prisma_counts.py │ ├── excluded_reasons.py │ ├── synth_make_tables.py │ ├── rob_summary.py │ └── make_prisma_flow.py ├── .github/ │ └── workflows/ │ └── validate-and-build.yml ├── manuscript/ │ └── review_article.md ├── docs/ └── supplementary_material.md

6. Citing This Work

Please cite this repository (and the forthcoming article/preprint) if you build upon its code, data, protocol, or synthesis tables.
Citation format and DOI link will be updated here after pre-print or journal acceptance.


7. Contact / Feedback

For scholarly correspondence, open a Github Issue or email: [Your Name & email here]
Community contributions and suggestions are welcome.


Keywords: PRISMA 2020, Cascaded OPA–RIS, Optical Phased Array, Reconfigurable Intelligent Surface, NLoS, Optical Wireless, ISAC, Systematic Review, Turbulence, Coded Phase Retrieval


This work rigorously implements systematic review best practices in the emerging field of programmable optical wireless systems. Please consult the protocol and checklist for full compliance details.

Data & QA Artifacts (Current):

Build the manuscript from sections

The manuscript is maintained under manuscript/sections/.

Build the full article with:

python scripts/analysis/build_manuscript.py

The output manuscript/full_article.md is generated and not tracked by git.

Validate data files

Run automated checks for CSV schemas and reason codes:

python scripts/analysis/validate_data_files.py
# report: results/qa_data_report.txt

The report must show:

  • ## ProblemsNone
  • ## SuggestionsNone
python scripts/run_pipeline.py
<!-- PIPELINE_RUN_END -->


<!-- INCLUDE_NOTE_START -->

### Dynamic includes in manuscript sections

You can embed generated content using:

<!-- INCLUDE: path/to/file.md -->

When `python scripts/analysis/build_manuscript.py` runs, these directives are expanded in-place.

<!-- INCLUDE_NOTE_END -->

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A PRISMA 2020–aligned systematic review of cascaded Optical Phased Array (OPA)–Reconfigurable Intelligent Surface (RIS) architectures for NLoS Optical Wireless ISAC systems.

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