A study of adaptive arrays for mobile communication systems

The application of adaptive antenna techniques to increase the channel capacity in mobile radio communication is discussed. Directional sensitivity is obtained by using an antenna array at the base station, possibly both in receiving and transmitting mode. A scheme for separating several signals at the same frequency is proposed. The method is based on high-resolution direction finding following by optimal combination of the antenna outputs. Comparisons to a method based on reference signals are made. Computer simulations are carried out to test the applicability of the technique to scattering scenarios that typically arise in urban areas. The proposed scheme is found to have great potential in rejecting cochannel interference, albeit at the expense of high computational requirements.<<ETX>>