Collocated Microstrip Antennas for MIMO Systems With a Low Mutual Coupling Using Mode Confinement

Collocated antennas for mutiple input multiple output (MIMO) systems are presented. The structure is composed of a dual-polarized microstrip square patch combined to a dual-polarized microstrip square ring. Consequently, four different radiation patterns are available simultaneously. With a length of about one guided wavelength, the proposed structure is well suited to reduce the MIMO terminal size. The structure operates in the 5.25 GHz band and exhibits a mutual coupling between the four input ports less than -23.5 dB in simulation and -20 dB in measurement. MIMO channel capacity measurements have been performed and demonstrate that the proposed antenna system can replace a classical system based on space diversity.