Performance evaluation of diversity schemes for laptop computers

Different diversity schemes to be used in connecting laptop computers to wireless local area networks are analysed, in order to achieve the best diversity gain performance. In particular, to perform experimental investigations, two multi-band planar inverted-F antennas (PIFAs) have been mounted on a notebook in different configurations, to implement spatial, polarisation and pattern diversity schemes. The analysis has been carried out both in the 2.4 and 5 GHz frequency bands, by resorting to a large reverberation chamber, where a Rayleigh fading has been properly generated. Frequency stirring has been applied in the whole measurement campaign, whereas polarisation stirring has been considered only for polarisation diversity measurements. Power imbalance, correlation coefficients and diversity gain have been calculated from the collected samples of the signals received at the two PIFAs. The effect of the distance between the two antennas has been explicitly considered. © 2010 The Institution of Engineering and Technology.