MIMO Channel Capacity Enhancement using Reconfigurable Aperture Antennas (RECAPs)

The capacity of multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) systems employing reconfigurable apertures (RECAPs) is carefully analyzed with a realistic thermal noise model for three different power constraints: average receive signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), maximum effective isotropic radiated power (EIRP), and average transmit power. Performance is studied not only for a noise-limited single link, but also in the presence of interference and multiple RECAP-equipped users. The impact of loss and finite bandwidth on the operation of the RECAP is also considered. For the practical EIRP constraint, results show that a compact MIMO RECAP (1λ×1λ) provides 30%50% capacity improvement for a single link. It is also found that RECAPs are even more beneficial in interference-limited and multiuser scenarios, where capacity is increased by 50% to 800% depending on the severity of the interference, indicating that RECAPs are an attractive solution for future wireless systems employing aggressive spectral reuse.