Performance Analysis of LoRa-Enabled Backscatter Communication

Future wireless networks are evolving towards enabling reliable communications for miniature-sized and resource-constrained Internet-of-things (IoT) devices, imposing stringent requirements on the future sixth-generation (6 G) mobile networks. These requirements include low cost, ultra-low latency, improved spectral and energy efficiencies, higher reliability, and significantly enhanced data rate. Emphasizing on the fact that these devices have limited capabilities and might be in inaccessible places, which make battery replacement or recharging a challenging task, energy-efficient solutions should be developed to ensure uninterrupted and seamless wireless communications for power-limited IoT devices. In this paper, we consider the integration of long-range (LoRa) modulation into backscatter communications (BackCom), and we develop a mathematical framework in order to investigate the error rate performance of the considered system model. In particular, we derive novel exact and approximated closed-form expressions for the symbol error rate (SER), under the assumption of canceled radio-frequency (RF) interference. The obtained analytical results, corroborated by numerical results, confirm the advantages of integrating LoRa into BackCom system as a low-complex technique in order to extend the transmission distance in power-limited backscatter devices.