Optimal antenna pattern design for MIMO systems

It has been well-established that good diversity or multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) performance requires the use of antennas whose patterns (phase, magnitude, and or polarization) are nearly orthogonal [1]. While this general observation is helpful when considering the design of multi-antenna systems, effective antenna synthesis requires a more explicit mathematical formulation of the optimal antenna radiation patterns for a given scenario. The goal of this paper is to provide such a formulation, taking into account issues such as limited antenna aperture and limits on allowable array superdirectivity. Computational results demonstrate implementation of the approach and quantify the performance achieved with the radiation from practical geometries relative to that of the optimal radiation patterns.