Analytical Approach for MIMO Performance and Electromagnetic Coupling in Linear Dipole Arrays

Multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) antenna systems seem promising to establish wireless communication links with enhanced channel capacities and link budgets. One of the most challenging tasks in order to accurately predict the information theoretic channel capacities of next-generation wireless MIMO communication systems is the exact modeling of the interactions between real MIMO antenna configurations and suitable multipath channel scenarios. In order to derive analytical models that account for real antenna radiation patterns and means of pattern distortion by mutual coupling, a spherical eigenmode (SME) evaluation of antenna radiation patterns is presented. In conjunction with a statistical based channel model, the eigenmode expansion provides an efficient alternative to account for mutual coupling and to adopt an analytical approach in the calculation of antenna envelope correlation and MIMO channel capacity