Performance comparison of spatial diversity array topologies in an OFDM based wireless LAN

Spatial diversity is well known to provide improved coverage and capacity for wireless systems. With the increasing demand for wireless LANs, the robust provision of its services to users is becoming increasingly important. This paper examines the performance of spatial diversity in an OFDM based wireless LAN for various antenna topologies. It is shown that a circular array topology at the access point provides the best performance when operating in an indoor office environment compared with linear and semi-circular topologies. It is also shown that such a configuration improves the service provision by more than 10 dB compared to a single antenna system.