Antenna-pattern diversity versus space diversity for use at handhelds

This paper investigates diversity for dual-antenna systems operating in indoor environments. First, an approximated equation of the diversity gain is derived for different combining techniques. These theoretical results show that the two-term approximation, as generally used in the literature , is too rough an estimate. Consequently, a new six-term approximation is derived. Next, it is demonstrated by a comparison of theoretical and experimental diversity gain values that, due to mutual coupling between the two antennas in practice, the diversity gain will not approach 0 dB if the distance between the two antennas approaches zero. Finally, it is concluded from measurements at 900 MHz that antenna-pattern diversity is a better choice than space diversity for use at handhelds.