Antennas analysis and synthesis in complex environments

M. Lucido, M.D. Migliore, G. Panariello, D. Pinchera, F. Schettino

New advances in communication systems give new challenges in the field of antenna research. The development of MIMO systems, the use of cluster of antennas in cooperative communication systems, the interest toward MANET (mobile ad hoc networks), clearly show that the use of multiple antennas allow a dramatic increasing of the channel capacity of wireless systems. In spite of the huge industrial interest toward these technologies, our understanding on the role of the antennas in limiting the channel capacity of wireless systems is still very limited. This limits also our ability to develop effective synthesis algorithms for these kind of antennas, and makes difficult the identification of parameters able to characterize the performance of antennas in complex environments, and consequently the objective function of antenna synthesis algorithms. Different groups in Europe are working in the analysis and synthesis of antennas in complex environments, and the COST action could be an important occasion to coordinate the European research on this items.