Enabling wireless communication in aircraft using multiple antenna system

This paper develops and applies a complete channel model for MIMO in aircraft that includes the effects of noise, interference and channel correlation. Clarke´s, hyper-Rayleigh, IEEE TGn and an advanced ray-tracing model were used to predict the channel effects. Gaussian noise, thermal noise (at the transmitter and the receiver), non-Gaussian noise, and the aircraft system noise were included as well. It was observed that the IEEE TGn model (D) has about a 1-2 bit/sec/Hz lower capacity as compared to the hyper-Rayleigh model and Clarke´s model when the transmitter and receiver are in the far field. The reduction in capacity from co-channel interference and correlation are quantified. Polarization agile PIFA and patch antennas were found to give higher capacity than the dipoles or regular patches for both correlated and un-correlated channels. This was due, in part, to the fact that more of these antennas could be placed on a small (8cm times 3cm) sensor surface.