Buon Kiong Lau

Scaling Up MIMO: Opportunities and Challenges with Very Large Arrays

Multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) technology is maturing and is being incorporated into emerging wireless broadband standards like long-term evolution (LTE) [1]. For example, the LTE standard allows for up to eight antenna ports at the base station. Basically, the more antennas the transmitter/receiver is equipped with, and the more degrees of freedom that the propagation channel can provide, the better the performance in terms of data rate or link reliability. More precisely, on a quasi static channel where a code word spans across only one time and frequency coherence interval, the reliability of a point-to-point MIMO link scales according to Prob(link outage) ` SNR-ntnr where nt and nr are the numbers of transmit and receive antennas, respectively, and signal-to-noise ratio is denoted by SNR. On a channel that varies rapidly as a function of time and frequency, and where circumstances permit coding across many channel coherence intervals, the achievable rate scales as min(nt, nr) log(1 + SNR). The gains in multiuser systems are even more impressive, because such systems offer the possibility to transmit simultaneously to several users and the flexibility to select what users to schedule for reception at any given point in time [2].Presents a list of articles published by the IEEE Signal Processing Society (SPS) that ranked among the top 100 most downloaded IEEE Xplore articles.

Impact of Matching Network on Bandwidth of Compact Antenna Arrays

We analyze the impact of the matching network on compact multiple-input multiple-output systems. Existing studies have found that the matching network has a significant influence on the performance of multiple antenna systems when the antennas are in close proximity. However, none has examined the wide-band case. In this paper, we investigate the wide-band performance of four different matching networks for multiple dipole antennas. The performance of the matching networks is given in terms of the bandwidths of correlation and matching efficiency, which are extensions of the single-antenna concept of bandwidth to multiple antenna systems. We also investigate the impact of the propagation conditions on the matching and bandwidth. For a uniform two-dimensional (2-D) angular power spectrum, we find that while individual-port matching can achieve in excess of 3% fractional correlation bandwidth for envelope correlation of 0.5 at an antenna separation of 0.01lambda, multiport matching is required for efficiency bandwidth to exist for a return loss of -6 dB. Moreover, even with multiport matching, both correlation and efficiency bandwidths decrease drastically at small antenna separations. At 0.01lambda, the correlation and efficiency bandwidths are 0.4% and 0.2%, respectively. Similar evaluations were performed for measured outdoor-to-indoor channels with moderate to small 2-D angular spreads. We find that the efficiency advantage of multiport matching over individual-port matching diminishes with decreasing angular spread

Characteristic Mode Based Tradeoff Analysis of Antenna-Chassis Interactions for Multiple Antenna Terminals

The design of multiple antennas in compact mobile terminals is a significant challenge, due to both practical and fundamental design tradeoffs. In this paper, fundamental antenna design tradeoffs of multiple antenna terminals are presented in the framework of characteristic mode analysis. In particular, interactions between the antenna elements and the characteristic modes and their impact on design tradeoffs are investigated in both theory and simulations. The results reveal that the characteristic modes play an important role in determining the optimal placement of antennas for low mutual coupling. Moreover, the ability of antenna elements to localize the excitation currents on the chassis can significantly influence the final performance. To demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed approach, a dual-band, dual-antenna terminal is designed to provide an isolation of over 10 dB for the 900 MHz band without additional matching or decoupling structures. A tradeoff analysis of bandwidth, efficiency, effective diversity gain and capacity is performed over different antenna locations. Finally, three fabricated prototypes verify the simulation results for representative cases.

Closely-Packed UWB MIMO/Diversity Antenna With Different Patterns and Polarizations for USB Dongle Applications

A closely-packed ultrawideband (UWB) multiple- input multiple-output (MIMO)/diversity antenna (of two elements) with a size of 25 mm by 40 mm is proposed for USB dongle applications. Wideband isolation can be achieved through the different patterns and polarizations of the two antenna elements. Moreover, the slot that is formed between the monopole and the ground plane of the half slot antenna is conveniently used to further enhance the isolation at the lower frequencies and to provide an additional resonance at one antenna element in order to increase its bandwidth. The underlying mechanisms of the antennas wide impedance bandwidth and low mutual coupling are analyzed in detail. Based on the measurement results, the proposed antenna can cover the lower UWB band of 3.1-5.15 GHz, and within the required band, the isolation exceeds 26 dB. The gains and total efficiencies of the two antenna elements are also measured. Furthermore, a chassis mode can be excited when a physical connection is required between the ground planes of the two antenna elements. Without affecting the performance of the half slot element, the monopole can now cover the band of 1.78-3 GHz, apart from the UWB band. The proposed antenna structure is found to provide good MIMO/diversity performance, with very low envelope correlation of less than 0.1 across the UWB band.

Actual Diversity Performance of a Multiband Diversity Antenna With Hand and Head Effects

Using the metric actual diversity gain (ADG), diversity performance is investigated for a compact mobile terminal prototype with two internal, triple frequency band antennas in four different cases of user interaction. ADG is presented as a preferred alternative to apparent diversity gain and effective diversity gain. Absorption due to user proximity causes degradation and imbalance in mean effective gain of the antennas over the frequency bands, contributing to a degradation in diversity performance. However, user-induced changes in the antenna patterns cause a decrease in correlation in the low frequency band, which facilitates increased diversity gain. The study reveals that a significant net diversity gain, i.e., ADG of 5-8 dB compared to a single antenna prototype, can be achieved using multiband antennas in the proximity of a user, even at low frequencies for antennas with high mutual coupling.

Multiplexing Efficiency of MIMO Antennas

A simple and intuitive metric of multiplexing efficiency is proposed for evaluating the performance of multiple-input-multiple-output (MIMO) antennas in the spatial multiplexing mode of operation. Apart from gaining valuable insights into the impact of antenna efficiency, efficiency imbalance, and correlation on multiplexing performance, the metric is particularly useful for antenna engineers whose goal is to achieve the optimum antenna system design. Experimental results involving prototype mobile terminals highlight the effectiveness of our proposal.

Mutual Coupling Reduction of Two PIFAs With a T-Shape Slot Impedance Transformer for MIMO Mobile Terminals

An efficient technique is introduced to reduce mutual coupling between two closely spaced PIFAs for MIMO mobile terminals. The proposed mutual coupling reduction method is based on a T-shape slot impedance transformer and can be applied to both single-band and dual-band PIFAs. For the proposed single-band dual PIFAs, the 10 dB impedance bandwidth covers the 2.4 GHz WLAN band (2.4-2.48 GHz), and within the WLAN band an isolation of over 20 dB is achieved. Moreover, the dual-band version covers both the WLAN band and the WiMAX band of 3.4-3.6 GHz, with isolations of over 19.2 dB and 22.8 dB, respectively. The efficiency, gain and radiation patterns of the two-PIFA prototypes are verified in measurements. Due to very low pattern correlation and very good matching and isolation characteristics, the capacity performances are mainly limited by radiation efficiency. The single-band and dual-band PIFAs are also studied with respect to their locations on the ground plane. An eight-fold increase in the bandwidth of one PIFA is achieved, when the single-band PIFAs are positioned at one corner of the ground plane, with the bandwidth of the other PIFA and the good isolation unchanged.

Simple and Efficient Decoupling of Compact Arrays With Parasitic Scatterers

Compact arrays such as multiple antennas on a mobile terminal suffer from low efficiency and high correlation between antenna signals. In the present paper, a simple and rigorous procedure for decoupling two closely coupled antennas with a parasitic scatterer is proposed. The parasitic scatterer, which can be an additional antenna, acts as a shield between two active antenna elements. In contrast to previous studies involving the use of parasitic scatterer for decoupling antennas, we demonstrate using antenna impedances the underlying decoupling mechanism for two arbitrary antennas. By a proper choice of parameters, perfect matching and decoupling can be obtained for a given antenna spacing without extending the overall area used, and without introducing additional decoupling networks. The price to pay is a reduction of bandwidth relative to that of widely spaced antennas, which is the case for other decoupling methods as well. Simulation and experimental results are used to substantiate the effectiveness of the proposed design approach on a two-monopole array with an antenna spacing of 0.1 wavelength. Finally, several practical considerations of the proposal are also presented, including the extension of the approach for more than two active antennas and its implementation in mobile terminals.

Optimal Single-Port Matching Impedance for Capacity Maximization in Compact MIMO Arrays

A complete multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) system model with compact arrays at both link ends containing arbitrary matching networks is presented based on a Z-parameter approach. The complete channel matrix including the coupling effect is also presented. Utilizing this system model, the optimum single-port matching impedance for capacity maximization is derived for a 2 times 2 MIMO system with coupling at the receivers only. A closed-form result for the optimum matching impedance in high signal-to-noise ratio scenarios is given and proved to be equal to the input impedance of the receive end. Simulation of ideal dipoles verifies our analytical results and demonstrates the superiority of the optimum matching to other matching conditions in improving MIMO system performance. Experimental data for monopoles is also presented to further confirm our numerical findings and validate the accuracy of our derivation.

Design of Bandwidth-Enhanced and Multiband MIMO Antennas Using Characteristic Modes

Recent work has shown that, with the help of the Theory of Characteristic Modes (TCM), minor modifications of the terminal chassis can facilitate the design of orthogonal multiple-input-multiple-output (MIMO) antennas with viable bandwidth at frequencies below 1 GHz. Herein, a new framework is proposed to further exploit TCM to enhance the performance of the orthogonal MIMO antennas. By correlating the characteristic currents and near fields of modes with high modal significance in a given frequency band, a single feed may be designed to excite multiple modes, leading to enlarged bandwidth. Similarly, the correlation of characteristic currents and near fields across different bands provides candidate modes that can be excited for multiband operation using a single feed. Moreover, the impedance matching of these modes can be improved by additional structural manipulation. As proof of concept, a dual-band (818-896 MHz, 1841-2067 MHz), dual-antenna prototype was designed on a 130 × 66-mm2 chassis for Long Term Evolution (LTE) operation. Full-wave simulation results were experimentally verified with a fabricated prototype.