EURASIP Journal on Wireless Communications and Networking 
Volume 2007 (2007), Article ID 19070, 19 pages
doi:10.1155/2007/19070
Research Article

Survey of Channel and Radio Propagation Models for Wireless MIMO Systems

P. Almers,1 E. Bonek,2 A. Burr,3 N. Czink,2,4 M. Debbah,5 V. Degli-Esposti,6 H. Hofstetter,5 P. Kyösti,7 D. Laurenson,8 G. Matz,2 A. F. Molisch,1,9 C. Oestges,10 and H. Özcelik2

 1Department of Electroscience, Lund University, P.O. Box 118, Lund 221 00, Sweden
2Institut für Nachrichtentechnik und Hochfrequenztechnik, Technische Universität Wien, Gußhausstraße, Wien 1040, Austria
3Department of Electronics, University of York, Heslington, York YO10 5DD, UK
4Forschungszentrum Telekommunikation Wien (ftw.), Donau City Straße 1, Wien 1220, Austria
5Mobile Communications Group, Institut Eurecom, 2229 Route des Cretes, BP193, Sophia Antipolis 06904, France
6Dipartimento di Elettronica, Informatica e Sistemistica, Università di Bologna, Villa Griffone, Pontecchio Marconi, Bologna 40044, Italy
7Elektrobit, Tutkijantie 7, Oulu 90570, Finland
8Institute for Digital Communications, School of Engineering and Electronics, The University of Edinburgh, Mayfield Road, Edinburgh EH9 3JL, UK
9Mitsubishi Electric Research Lab, 558 Central Avenue, Murray Hill, NJ 07974, USA
10Microwave Laboratory, Universite catholique de Louvain, Louvain-la-Neuve 1348, Belgium
Received 24 May 2006; Revised 15 November 2006; Accepted 15 November 2006

Recommended by Rodney A. Kennedy

Abstract

This paper provides an overview of the state-of-the-art radio propagation and channel models for wireless multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) systems. We distinguish between physical models and analytical models and discuss popular examples from both model types. Physical models focus on the double-directional propagation mechanisms between the location of transmitter and receiver without taking the antenna configuration into account. Analytical models capture physical wave propagation and antenna configuration simultaneously by describing the impulse response (equivalently, the transfer function) between the antenna arrays at both link ends. We also review some MIMO models that are included in current standardization activities for the purpose of reproducible and comparable MIMO system evaluations. Finally, we describe a couple of key features of channels and radio propagation which are not sufficiently included in current MIMO models.