Wireless communication systems with spatial diversity: A volumetric model

This paper presents a novel physical-modeling approach to wireless systems with multiple antennas. The fundamental problem of modeling the communication channel is studied, where the channel consists of a finite spatial volume for transmitting, a finite spatial volume for reception, and an arbitrary set of reflective-scattering bodies. The number of communication modes (or degrees of freedom) for such a system is calculated, using the procedure developed. We present a simple model for multipath channels, which allows insight into the development of a correlated multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) channel model. In particular, the model is independent of transmitter and receiver elements and relies on the physical parameters of the channel involved. Our work explains which physical parameters determine the channel model and its channel capacity.