Effective Diversity Gain Evaluation for Large-Scale MIMO Antenna System

The success of multiple-input–multiple-output (MIMO) technology has lured substantial studies on devising large-scale MIMO antenna systems, which shall yield a higher throughput in a multipath-rich environment. However, the lack of measurement measures applicable to diversity assessment of antennas in a large number may hinder the design process. In this letter, an effective diversity gain measurement approach is proposed. The system comprises a multichannel data acquisition card and RF power detectors. It can be expanded to accommodate tens of antennas, and the data sampling process can be executed in a timely fashion. Results of several multiantenna designs are presented to validate the method effectiveness. On top of diversity assessment, performance features also include evaluations of antenna radiation efficiency and propagation environment characteristics.