To achieve high throughput, next generation wireless communications deploy multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) antenna systems to exploit spatial diversity, which enables multiple streams of data to be transmitted. A critical step for companies releasing new products is to test and verify the maximum throughput of their systems. Small chambers are currently used to test maximum throughput as they are less expensive than large facilities and have demonstrated high MIMO capacity gains through measurements. However, there is little or no literature or present theory detailing the cause of the high throughput. It is hypothesized these gains are due to near-field interactions between the device-under-test (DUT) and the test antennas.

The purpose of the proposed work is to derive the capacity of MIMO communications systems in a near-field environment and to determine the impact a small chamber has on throughput.