Diversity Performance of Multiantenna Systems for UMTS Cellular Phones in Different Propagation Environments

We present the evaluation of the diversity performance of several two-antenna systems for UMTS terminals. First, a two-antenna system with poor antenna-to-antenna isolation is described. Then, with the help of a neutralization technique, we introduced an optimized structure with high antenna-to-antenna isolation. The key parameters for an efficient diversity performance are then discussed, some of them being actually dependent on the propagation environment (uniform, indoor, outdoor, and outdoor-to-indoor chosen here). All these parameters, the total efficiency, the envelope correlation coefficient, the mean effective gain, the diversity gain, and the effective diversity gain, are computed with the help of the simulated radiation patterns of both antenna systems. Next, these key parameters are measured in a reverberation chamber to validate the simulations we achieved in the uniform environment. The comparison of the performance of the two prototypes is especially showing the usefulness of using a neutralization technique for enhanced diversity antenna systems.