Theories, Techniques, and Validation of Over-The-Air (OTA) Test Methods for Evaluating the Performance of MIMO Handsets

Several over-the-air (OTA) test methods have been proposed to characterize the performance of Multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO) devices. Knowing that antenna gain and spatial correlation are important factors to system performance, it has become necessary to include OTA testing of MIMO antenna performance.  This paper will discuss three predominant OTA test methods: the two-stage OTA method, the anechoic chamber method using multiple test probes, and the reverberation chamber method. In addition, this paper will discuss two MIMO channel models, namely the correlation-based and geometry-based models, and will show how antenna and spatial characteristics at the MIMO transmitter and receiver can be separated into independent terms.  Separating antenna gains and spatial characteristics allow the practical implementation of highly-accurate OTA measurement systems using commercially available test instrumentation. The paper will also show measurements of spatial correlation and system capacity taken from commercial MIMO devices.

Customers doing MIMO handset antenna design, MIMO handset verification,  or MIMO handset acceptance testing

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Steve Duffy is a product planner in Agilent’s Microwave & Communications Division, working on MIMO applications