Coding Techniques for Backscatter Communications—A Contemporary Survey

Backscatter communication (BackCom) networks enable passive/battery-free Internet-of-Thing devices, providing reliable, massive connectivity while ensuring self-sustainability, low maintenance, and low costs. Effective channel codes and decoding algorithms are necessary to achieve these objectives. However, a comprehensive survey/review paper on such techniques for BackCom networks has not been available. This paper aims to fill this gap. Because tags have limited computational resources, traditional coding techniques may not suit them. We first describe the basics of BackCom, channel codes and their relevant design parameters, and codes for general communication networks. We address the BackCom limitations, requirements, and channel characteristics. As conventional codes may not seamlessly move to the BackCom arena, we identify the potential BackCom coding techniques and multiple access schemes. We further highlight potential approaches for addressing code implementation complexity and reliability. Finally, we discuss open issues, challenges, and potential future research directions.