Multi-Polarized MIMO Communications: Channel Model, Mutual Information and Array Optimization

This paper considers the use of n_r times n_t dual-polarized arrays for improving the mutual information of MIMO communications. We first develop an elegant model of the multi-polarized MIMO channel, which allows to account for spatial correlation and depolarization effects. The major advantage of the model lies in its analytical expression, whose parameters have a clear physical meaning. In a second part, we investigate the ergodic mutual information of multi-polarized schemes, and derive a condition upon which multi-polarized transmissions offer a higher capacity than equivalent uni-polarized schemes using the same number of antennas under the same overall array dimensions.