Sum-Rate Maximization for Uplink Segmented Waveguide-Enabled Pinching-Antenna Systems

Abstract: A multiuser uplink transmission framework based on the segmented waveguide-enabled pinching-antenna system (SWAN) is proposed under two operating protocols: segment selection (SS) and segment aggregation (SA). For each protocol, the achievable uplink sum-rate is characterized for both time-division multiple access (TDMA) and non-orthogonal multiple access (NOMA). Low-complexity placement methods for the pinching antennas (PAs) are developed for both protocols and for both multiple-access schemes. Numerical results validate the effectiveness of the proposed methods and show that SWAN achieves higher sum-rate performance than conventional pinching-antenna systems, while SA provides additional performance gains over SS.