Antenna Array Geometries for Directional Wireless Networks

As we move to higher carrier frequencies, directional wireless networks using planar arrays with many antenna elements will become common. Directional radios have been implemented using a variety of antenna array geometries. While it is clear that the optimal choice of array geometry is effected by the physical extent of the network space, there has been limited study of the interaction of array geometry and system performance under the realistic assumption of a finite operating space. In this study, we examine antenna array geometries in directional wireless networks and their effect on interference using probabilistic analysis. We treat the nodes as having a uniform distribution in a given physical space and calculate the expected interference. We observe that linear antenna arrays, independent of position, perform significantly better than other rectangular antenna array geometries given a fixed number of antennas.