Estimating MIMO system performance using the correlation matrix approach

The channel capacity of a multiple-input-multiple-output (MIMO) communication system depends substantially on correlation between individual receive branches. We investigate the MIMO capacity using the correlation matrix approach and the Salz-Winters (1994) spatial correlation model. It is shown that for a linear array, correlation has no impact on the MIMO channel capacity provided that the two-element array beamwidth is smaller than the angle spread of the incoming signals. Simple but accurate approximations for the correlation coefficient and the corresponding channel capacity are derived for different angular spreads.