Performance evaluation of MIMO pattern reconfigurable antennas

Pattern reconfigurable antennas with omnidirectional beam steering capabilities are explored for improving the capacity of multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) systems. A physical experiment is conducted and the performance improvement is demonstrated using two electrically steerable passive array radiator (ESPAR) antennas against a pair of monopole antennas on a hardware testbed. The former excels in both spatially averaged as well as peak channel capacity measurements. It is shown that pattern reconfigurable antennas significantly add to the diversity gain of the system, making the pattern reconfigurable antenna a promising option as a receiver in MIMO-related applications.