Spectral and power efficiency of IEEE802.11n MIMO-OFDM WLAN systems using higher-order space-multimode diversity compact stacked circular microstrip antenna arrays

The recent developments in wireless communication systems in indoor environments require high data rates and high transmission qualities especially for multimedia applications in WLAN (Wireless Local Area Network) systems. The support of high data rate MIMO spatial-multiplexing communication in OFDM-WLAN systems conforming to IEEE802.11n standard requires the use of compact antennas with low correlation ports. In this paper, higher-order space-multimode diversity stacked circular microstrip patch uniform linear arrays (SCP-ULAs) are proposed for use in WLAN systems. The performance analysis of higher-order modal SCP-ULA is presented in terms of modal correlation, ergodic spectral efficiency and average BER by using both maximum-likelihood (ML) and suboptimal zero-forcing (ZF) and minimum mean-squared error (MMSE) MIMO detectors.