The user´s body effects on decoupling networks for compact MIMO handsets

Antenna design is very important for the performance of wireless communication. It becomes even more important when multiple antennas are introduced in modern handsets, especially at low frequencies where physical laws impose challenging design constraints. In this paper, the impact of the user´s proximity to a MIMO antenna for compact hand-held devices designed to operate in the lower bands has been investigated. The implementation contains a decoupling network to reduce the mutual coupling between the elements of the MIMO antenna. A tunable configuration is presented. Partial compensation for the user effect is considered.