Multiple-Input Multiple-Output System Capacity: Antenna and Propagation Aspects

This tutorial aims to review some of the system and measurement work done at Qualcomm related to multiple-input-multiple-output (MIMO) systems around the 2000–2005 timeframe. During the same period, Qualcomm was actively involved in the development of the MIMO technology adopted by IEEE 802.11n. In this tutorial, we show the spectral efficiency and physical-layer (PHY) data rates that can be reached with Qualcomm´s MIMO technology using practical 8 × 8 and 16 × 16 antenna arrays mounted on a laptop. The results are based on measurements performed in Qualcomm´s New England offices. We show that very high data rates can be achieved for an office deployment. The results were compared with the simulated results obtained with IEEE802.11n MIMO channel models, and a good match was observed with channel model E.