Prediction of the space-frequency correlation function for base station diversity reception

A model is proposed to estimate the signal statistics for urban-area base stations with highly elevated antennas. Based on the model, the envelope correlation of the received signal is estimated in the case of hybrid space-frequency diversity reception at the base. It is shown that the spatial correlation or the complex signals is determined of the mean angle of arrival and the width of the incoming beam. Useful closed-form approximations for inline and broadside antenna orientations are obtained. Comparisons between the theoretical model and available experimental data provide adequate justification for the model. It is shown that the lowest spatial correlations among all the possible angular orientations an obtained when the mean direction of the incoming signals is perpendicular to the axis of the base antennas. For this case, an antenna separation of 26/spl lambda/ is required to achieve an envelope correlation of 0.7 when the width of the incoming beam is 0.7/spl deg/, and this separation reduces to 9/spl lambda/ for a width of 3/spl deg/. The results indicate that the required spacings can be further reduced by using frequency diversity in conjunction with space diversity. Generalization of the model to incorporate local scattering effects is also proposed.