Spatial channel emulator for MIMO performance evaluation of mobile terminals

At present, techniques for evaluating the Multiple-Input Multiple-Output (MIMO) performance of mobile terminals in laboratories are under investigation. Employing a spatial channel emulator is one promising candidate because several characteristics of radio propagation can be emulated by using the emulator. However, detailed technical specifications for the emulator have not yet been thoroughly investigated. In this paper, we clarify the basic configuration for the spatial channel emulator while taking into consideration the MIMO channel model, which is standardized in the 3GPP and WINNER II project. Furthermore, we propose a theoretical criterion for the array configuration of probe antennas in the radiation part of the emulator.