Understanding MIMO and Our Unique FlexMIMO Antenna

Today's wireless applications only continue to to increase demands on bandwidth and performance, and MIMO antenna solutions are one way to boost performance. MIMO, or Multiple-Input Multiple-Output, is a wireless and antenna scheme which allows multiple incoming and outgoing streams. This must be supported by the underlying wireless protocol (such as Wi-Fi 802.11ac), and when it works, it uses the multiple antennas to try and construct the best way to send the highest quality signal.

The premise itself is simple, but execution is a matter of careful antenna design. As with all antennas, placement and the surrounding space are very important for matters of performance. When embedded in another enclosure, the surrounding materials can have an impact on antenna performance, and placement becomes even more critical. Compounding this with that the fact that MIMO adds at least one more antenna to the mix, it can be very difficult to engineer a strong MIMO solution.

Ezurio (formerly Laird Connectivity) offers the FlexMIMO antenna, which is unique in how easy it makes embedding a MIMO antenna array into a host device. The unique feature of the FlexMIMO is how it precisely arranges two antennas into a single merged unit. The two antennas are laid out on one platform, which eliminates the problem of having to orient the antennas to each other. They are optimally arranged to simplify size, cost, and technical requirements. 

This is the beginning of the technical considerations around MIMO antennas, but far from the end. Placing multiple MIMO antennas is still yet another option, and how those antennas are arranged will have further impacts on performance, and can lead to a much stronger service connection when arranged correctly. 

Read our MIMO application brief to learn more about the FlexMIMO and how it uniquely implements MIMO configuration in a single antenna unit.