Effect of Antenna Mutual Coupling on MIMO Channel Estimation and Capacity

Abstract

This paper describes investigations into the antenna mutual coupling (MC) effect on channel estimation and capacity of a multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) wireless communication system. The presented investigations close the gap existing in the previous works which assessed the effect of mutual coupling on MIMO capacity under the assumption of availability of perfect channel state information (CSI) at the receiver. The new approach assumes that the perfect CSI is not available due to channel estimation errors. The investigations are carried out for different spacing between array antenna elements producing a varying effect of mutual coupling on the channel estimation and the resulting MIMO channel capacity.