Evaluation of the reconfigurable Printed Fractal Tree antenna for enhanced pattern diversity in MIMO systems

Abstract

This paper evaluates the reconfigurability of a 2D fractal tree antenna to improve the capacity of a 2×2 MIMO link using pattern diversity. Each fractal tree antenna possesses several degrees of freedom: number of fractal stages, branches per stage, angle between branches, and parent-to-child branch scaling length. Simulations of various Reconfigurable Printed Fractal Tree Arrays (RPFTAs) are conducted so their spatial correlation and MIMO channel capacity can be found. Capacity improvement from two different RPFTAs are reported, assuming a perfect feedback channel.