A Benchmark for Antenna Correlation Measurements

Multielement antennas have become a central part of most communication systems, and yet their design and evaluation remain a challenge. A key parameter is the correlation matrix, which relates the antenna patterns and the multipath propagation. The correlation governs communication metrics such as the various capacities, error rates, and outages. Calculation of the correlation matrix requires accurate measurements of the complex far-field patterns of the antennas, and there is a need to verify that both the measurement and the calculation are accurate. An approach is presented for benchmarking the measured correlation accuracy by using a biconical antenna with a closed-form expression for its wideband correlation function. The approach is demonstrated by checking both physical and numerical experiments (simulation) against the theory. It benchmarks the accuracy of both the measurement and calculation stages for the antenna correlation in a rich isotropic multipath propagation environment.