In this paper, we analyze the performance of an intelligent reflecting surface (IRS)-aided terahertz (THz) wireless communication system with pointing errors. Specifically, we derive closed-form analytical expressions for the upper bounded ergodic capacity and approximate expression of the outage probability. We adopt an α-μ fading channel model for our analysis that is experimentally demonstrated to be a good fit for THz small-scale fading statistics, especially in indoor communication scenarios. In the proposed analysis, the statistical distribution of the α-μ fading channel is used to derive analytical expressions for the ergodic capacity and outage probability. Our proposed analysis considers not only the IRS reflected channels, but also the direct channel between the communication nodes. The results of the derived analytical expressions are validated through Monte Carlo simulations. Through simulations, it has been noticed that pointing errors degrade the performance of the IRS-assisted THz wireless communication system which can be compensated by deploying an IRS having a large number of reflecting elements.
Keywords: ergodic capacity; intelligent reflecting surface; outage probability; terahertz; α-μ fading.