Effective degree of freedom (EDOF) of a multiple-input–multiple-output (MIMO) system represents its equivalent number of independent single-input–single-output (SISO) systems, which directly characterizes the communication performance. Traditional EDOF only considers single polarization, where the full polarized components degrade into two independent transverse components under the far-field approximation. However, the traditional model is not applicable to complex scenarios especially for the near-field region. Based on an electromagnetic (EM) channel model built from the dyadic Green’s function, we first calculate the EM EDOF to estimate the performance of an arbitrary MIMO system with full polarizations in free space. Then, we clarify the relations between the limit of EDOF and the optimal number of sources/receivers. Finally, potential benefits of near-field MIMO communications are demonstrated with the EM EDOF, in which the contribution of the longitudinally polarized source is taken into account. This letter establishes a fundamental EM framework for MIMO wireless communications.

The holographic multiple-input-multiple-output (MIMO) communications refer to the MIMO systems built with ultra-dense antenna arrays, whose channel models and potential applications have attracted increasing attentions recently. When the spacing between adjacent array elements is larger than half wavelength, the effect of mutual coupling can generally be neglected in current antenna designs. However, in holographic MIMO communications, the influence of strong mutual coupling on antenna characteristics is inevitable, resulting in distorted radiation patterns and low radiation efficiencies. In this paper, starting from the analytical correlation and efficiency models, we investigate how the mutual coupling affects the capacity of a space-constrained MIMO system from the aspects of degree of freedom (DOF) and antenna efficiency. The involved fundamental concepts of correlation, DOF, efficiency and mutual coupling are crucial for both antenna and wireless-communication engineers when designing emerging MIMO communication systems.

Establishing and approaching the fundamental limit of orbital-angular-momentum (OAM) multiplexing are necessary and increasingly urgent for current multiple-input multiple-output research. In this work, we elaborate the fundamental limit in terms of independent scattering channels (or the degrees of freedom of scattered fields) through angular-spectral analysis, in conjunction with a rigorous Green’s function method. The scattering-channel limit is universal for arbitrary spatial-mode multiplexing, which is launched by a planar electromagnetic device, such as antenna, metasurface, etc., with a predefined physical size. As a proof of concept, we demonstrate both theoretically and experimentally the limit by a phase-only metasurface hologram that transforms orthogonal OAM modes to plane-wave modes scattered at critically separated angular-spectral regions. Particularly, a minimax optimization algorithm is applied to suppress angular-spectrum aliasing, achieving good performances in both full-wave simulation and experimental measurement at microwave frequencies. This work offers a theoretical upper bound and corresponding approach route for engineering designs of OAM multiplexing.

The performance of holographic multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) communications, employing two-dimensional (2-D) planar antenna arrays, is typically compromised by finite degrees-of-freedom (DOF) stemming from limited array size. The DOF constraint becomes significant when the element spacing approaches approximately half a wavelength, thereby restricting the overall performance of MIMO systems. To break this inherent limitation, we propose a novel three-dimensional (3-D) antenna array that strategically explores the untapped vertical dimension. We investigate the performance of MIMO systems utilizing 3-D arrays across different multi-path scenarios, encompassing Rayleigh channels with varying angular spreads and the 3rd generation partnership project (3GPP) channels. We subsequently showcase the advantages of these 3-D arrays over their 2-D counterparts with the same aperture sizes. As a proof of concept, a practical dipole-based 3-D array, facilitated by an electromagnetic band-gap (EBG) reflecting surface, is conceived, constructed, and evaluated. The experimental results align closely with full-wave simulations, and channel simulations substantiate that the DOF and capacity constraints of traditional holographic MIMO systems can be surpassed by adopting such a 3-D array configuration.

Rydberg atom-based antennas exploit the quantum properties of highly excited Rydberg atoms, providing unique advantages over classical antennas, such as high sensitivity, broad frequency range, and low intrinsic noise. Despite the increasing interests in their applications in antenna and communication engineering, some key properties, involving the lack of polarization multiplexing and isotropic reception without mutual coupling, remain unexplored in the analysis of Rydberg atom-based multiple-input and multiple-output (MIMO) communications. Generally, the design considerations for any antenna, even for atomic ones, can be extracted to factors such as radiation pattern, efficiency, and polarization, allowing them to be seamlessly integrated into existing system models. In this letter, we extract the antenna properties from relevant quantum characteristics, enabling electromagnetic modeling and capacity analysis of Rydberg MIMO systems in both far-field and near-field scenarios. Focusing on spatial multiplexing performance under the same signal-to-noise (SNR) level, our results indicate that Rydberg atom-based antenna arrays offer certain advantages over classical dipole -type arrays in single-polarization MIMO communications.

The performance of multiple-input-multiple-output (MIMO) wireless communication system can usually be indicated by its effective degree of freedom (EDOF). The parabolic equation (PE) method is widely used to predict the electromagnetic (EM) propagation loss for its simplicity and efficiency. A novel PE-based EM channel model is firstly established for acquiring the EDOF in electrically large and complex environment. At first, the accuracy of the proposed PE Model is verified by comparing with the dyadic Green’s function. It is shown that the PE Model produces the same results as the analytical one. Then, the connection between the limit of the EM EDOF and the optimal source/receiver numbers is analyzed in the inhomogeneous environment with obstacles. Finally, a complex urban environment is analyzed and the sensitivity analysis is made for the EM EDOF. Numerical results show that the EM EDOF will be stable when the number of transmitting/receiving array sources reach a certain point. The proposed PE model can be used as an efficient tool for evaluating the communication channels in complex environments.