Effect of Channel Side Information on the Capacity of MIMO Systems in Correlated Fading Channels

Using antenna arrays at both sides of the wireless communication link (MIMO systems) can result in high channel capacity provided that the channel is ideal, i.e., propagation medium is rich scattering or Rayleigh fading, the antenna arrays at both sides are uncorrelated. Also, the availability of channel side information (CSI) at the transmitter further enhances the capacity of ideal channels. This paper investigates the effect of CSI availability at the transmitter on the capacity of correlated MIMO channels under Rician fading. It is concluded that the availability of CSI at the transmitter is more significant at low SNR, and the improvement in capacity when CSI is available at the transmitter is more pronounced at higher values of the Rician parameter K and correlation parameter r. Index Terms — Correlation, fading, MIMO, Rician channel, Channel side information