Antenna designs and propagation models for the next generation wireless technology

Summary form only given. To help enable the next generation of wireless technology, paradigm shifts in the antenna designs are needed, and significant advances in the development of physics-based propagation models for channel characterization are required. In the antenna design area, high performance and low cost antenna array designs with full 2D steering capabilities can play a significant role in increasing the capacity, extending the range, and in improving the capabilities and quality of service in a wireless system. A wide variety of space diversity techniques have been proposed and the development of a low cost adaptive antenna array is crucial in the realization and implementation of these systems. Results of a comparative study between adaptive antennas and various diversity techniques are presented. Regarding the propagation models it is fair to say that there have been a great deal of ongoing research in this area. It is also fair to conclude that much of the available information need improvements particularly in two areas. This includes the desire to develop physics-based deterministic models that take into account unique propagation environments. As these models are mainly used to calculate electromagnetic field distributions, it is important to extend deterministic models to predict parameters relevant to the simulation of realistic propagation environments. Here an overview of some of the funded research in this area is reviewed, and the features of a specific propagation model based on combining ray tracing and the multigrid FDTD method to accurately model indoor propagation environment are described.