Part of the 802.11n standard defined a very high-rate mode called MIMO which stands for multiple input, multiple output and can enable several 100 Mbps data rates. As the name implies this enables multiple input receive paths and output transmit paths for data to travel – currently up to 4 inputs x 4 outputs. There are a few factors to consider however with MIMO. Each transmit/receive path will require an additional antenna and a separate RF chain inside the IC. This leads to higher system cost, complexity, and solution size than a single antenna design. Also, the power consumption of today’s MIMO solutions are considerably higher than single antenna implementations.