Reconfiguration of antenna arrays at both ends of a mmWave link

Abstract

Methods, systems, and devices for wireless communications are described. In some systems, a first device and a second device can communicate over a communication link using a set of antenna elements. The first device can identify one or more antenna array reconfiguration trigger conditions and can select a first subset of antenna elements for operation accordingly. The first device can send a message to a second device that includes an indication of antenna array reconfiguration at the first device, a request for the second device to modify the antenna array configuration of the second device, or both. The second device can receive the message and, based on the indication or the request, can modify its antenna array configuration. For example, the second device can select a second subset of antenna elements based on the selected first subset of antenna elements. The devices can communicate using their modified antenna array configurations.

Description

[0001] Claiming priority under 35 USC § 119

[0002] This application claims priority to and the benefit of U.S. Non-Provisional Application No. 16 / 692,916, filed on November 22, 2019, which is expressly incorporated herein by reference. Technical Field

[0003] The following relates generally to wireless communications, and more specifically to antenna array reconfiguration at both ends of a millimeter wave (mmW) link. Background Art

[0004] Wireless communication systems are widely deployed to provide various types of telecommunication services such as voice, video, packet data, messaging, broadcast, etc. These systems may be able to support communications with multiple users by sharing available system resources (e.g., time, frequency, and power). Examples of such multiple access systems include fourth generation (4G) systems, such as long term evolution (LTE) systems, improved LTE (LTE-A) systems, or LTE-A Pro systems, and fifth generation (5G) systems, which may be referred to as new radio (NR) systems. These systems may employ techniques such as code division multiple access (CDMA), time division multiple access (TDMA), frequency division multiple access (FDMA), orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA), or discrete Fourier transform spread orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (DFT-S-OFDM). A wireless multiple access communication system may include one or more base stations or one or more network access nodes, each of which simultaneously supports communications for multiple communication devices, which may also be referred to as user equipment (UE).

[0005] Devices such as UEs or base stations can use beamforming techniques to communicate with other devices. A device may have multiple panels (e.g., antenna modules, antenna arrays) that are used to form communication beams (e.g., receive beams or transmit beams) for communicating with other devices. A communication link between a first device and a second device may be associated with a link budget that may be based on the antenna arrays used to form the communication beams at each end of the link. In some cases, it may be desirable for a device to operate with a smaller antenna array, which may adversely affect the link margin of the link budget. Summary of the Invention

[0006] The described technology relates to improved methods, systems, devices, and apparatuses for supporting antenna array reconfiguration at both ends of a millimeter wave (mmW) link. Generally, the described technology provides power savings at the device while maintaining link margin for wireless communications (e.g., mmW communications in a relatively high frequency range). In some wireless communication systems, a first device and a second device can communicate over a communication link using a set of antenna elements. These devices can be user equipment (UE), base stations, or a combination thereof that communicate over a sidelink, backhaul link, access link, etc. The first device can identify one or more antenna array reconfiguration trigger conditions and can accordingly select a first subset of antenna elements for communication. The first device can send a message to the second device that includes an indication of antenna array reconfiguration at the first device, a request to the second device to modify the antenna array configuration of the second device, or both. The second device can receive the message and, based on the indication or request, can modify its antenna array configuration. For example, the second device can select a second subset of antenna elements based on the first subset of antenna elements selected by the first device (e.g., to maintain the link margin between the first device and the second device). The devices can communicate using their modified antenna array configurations.

[0007] A method for wireless communication at a first device is described. The method may include selecting, from a set of antenna elements of an antenna module, a subset of the set of antenna elements for a communication link with a second device, sending a message to the second device indicating the selected subset of antenna elements, and communicating with the second device over the communication link using the selected subset of antenna elements and based on the message.

[0008] An apparatus for wireless communication at a first device is described. The apparatus may include a processor, a memory coupled to the processor, and instructions stored in the memory. The instructions are executable by the processor to cause the apparatus to select, from a set of antenna elements of an antenna module, a subset of the set of antenna elements for use in a communication link with a second device, send a message to the second device indicating the selected subset of antenna elements, and communicate with the second device over the communication link using the selected subset of antenna elements and based on the message.

[0009] Another apparatus for wireless communication at a first device is described. The apparatus may include means for selecting, from a set of antenna elements of an antenna module, a subset of antenna elements in the set of antenna elements for a communication link with a second device, sending a message to the second device indicating the selected subset of antenna elements, and communicating with the second device over the communication link using the selected subset of antenna elements and based on the message.

[0010] A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing code for wireless communication at a first device is described. The code may include instructions executable by a processor to select, from a set of antenna elements of an antenna module, a subset of the set of antenna elements for a communication link with a second device, send a message to the second device indicating the selected subset of antenna elements, and communicate with the second device over the communication link using the selected subset of antenna elements and based on the message.

[0011] In some examples of the methods, apparatus, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, selecting a subset of antenna elements may include operations, features, means, or instructions for selecting the subset of antenna elements based on a link budget threshold for the communication link.

[0012] In some examples of the methods, apparatus, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, sending a message may include operations, features, elements, or instructions for sending a request message requesting the second device to modify the antenna element configuration at the second device based on a subset of antenna elements selected at the first device.

[0013] Some examples of the methods, apparatus, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein may also include operations, features, means, or instructions for receiving, in response to the request message, a confirmation message from the second device indicating that the second device modified the antenna element configuration at the second device based on the subset of antenna elements selected at the first device.

[0014] In some examples of the methods, apparatus, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, communicating with the second device over the communication link using the selected subset of antenna elements can be based on receiving a confirmation message.

[0015] In some examples of the methods, apparatus, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, the request message indicates a requested number of antenna elements for the second device to use for the communication link.

[0016] In some examples of the methods, apparatus, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, sending a message may include operations, features, means, or instructions for sending a capability message to a first device, wherein the capability message indicates that the first device is capable of operating a selected subset of antenna elements.

[0017] Some examples of the methods, apparatus, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein may also include operations, features, means, or instructions for dynamically selecting antenna element capabilities of the first device based on the selection for the capabilities message.

[0018] Some examples of the methods, apparatus, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein may also include operations, features, units, or instructions for determining selection of a subset of antenna elements based on power availability at the first device, power availability at the second device, thermal constraints at the first device, thermal constraints at the second device, interference constraints at the first device, interference constraints at the second device, power amplifier ratings at the first device, power amplifier ratings at the second device, exposure constraints at the first device, exposure constraints at the second device, mmW component ratings at the first device, mmW component ratings at the second device, beamwidth constraints of beams used with the subset of antenna elements at the first device, beamwidth constraints of beams used with the second subset of antenna elements at the second device, angular spread estimates of one or more primary clusters at the first device, angular spread estimates of one or more primary clusters at the second device, or a combination thereof.

[0019] In some examples of the methods, apparatus, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, a set of antenna elements may be controlled by a set of radio frequency integrated circuits (RFICs) for an antenna module, and selecting a subset of antenna elements may include operating a subset of the RFICs of the set of RFICs to control operations, features, units, or instructions for the selected subset of antenna elements.

[0020] In some examples of the methods, apparatus, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, communicating with a second device over a communication link may include operations, features, means, or instructions for receiving one or more messages from the second device over the communication link using the selected subset of antenna elements.

[0021] In some examples of the methods, apparatus, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, a carrier frequency for the communication link may be greater than 52.6 gigahertz (GHz).

[0022] In some examples of the methods, apparatus, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, the first device and the second device include UEs, and the communication link includes a sidelink or a relay communication link.

[0023] In some examples of the methods, apparatus, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, the first device and the second device include base stations, and the communication link includes a sidelink or a relay communication link.

[0024] Another method for wireless communication at a first device is described. The method may include receiving a message from a second device indicating a first subset of antenna elements selected by the second device for a communication link, selecting, from a set of antenna elements of an antenna module, a second subset of antenna elements in the set of antenna elements for the communication link with the second device based on the message, and communicating with the second device over the communication link using the selected second subset of antenna elements.

[0025] An apparatus for wireless communication at a first device is described. The apparatus may include a processor, a memory coupled to the processor, and instructions stored in the memory. The instructions may be executable by the processor to cause the apparatus to: receive a message from a second device indicating a first subset of antenna elements selected by the second device for a communication link; select, based on the message, a second subset of antenna elements from a set of antenna elements of an antenna module for the communication link with the second device; and communicate with the second device over the communication link using the selected second subset of antenna elements.

[0026] Another apparatus for wireless communication at a first device is described. The apparatus may include means for receiving a message from a second device indicating a first subset of antenna elements selected by the second device for a communication link, selecting, based on the message, a second subset of antenna elements from a set of antenna elements of an antenna module for the communication link with the second device, and communicating with the second device over the communication link using the selected second subset of antenna elements.

[0027] A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing code for wireless communication at a first device is described. The code may include instructions executable by a processor to: receive a message from a second device indicating a first subset of antenna elements selected by the second device for a communication link; select, based on the message, a second subset of antenna elements from a set of antenna elements of an antenna module for the communication link with the second device; and communicate with the second device over the communication link using the selected second subset of antenna elements.

[0028] In some examples of the methods, apparatus, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, selecting the second subset of antenna elements may include operations, features, means, or instructions for selecting the second subset of antenna elements based on a link budget threshold for the communication link and the first subset of antenna elements.

[0029] In some examples of the methods, apparatus, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, receiving a message may include operations, features, units, or instructions for receiving a request message requesting a first device to modify an antenna element configuration at the first device based on a first subset of antenna elements, wherein a second subset of antenna elements may be selected based on the request message.

[0030] Some examples of the methods, apparatus, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein may also include operations, features, means, or instructions for sending a confirmation message to the second device in response to the request message indicating that the first device modified the antenna element configuration at the first device based on selecting the second subset of antenna elements.

[0031] In some examples of the methods, apparatus, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, the request message indicates a requested number of antenna elements for the first device to use for the communication link, and the selected second subset of antenna elements includes the requested number of antenna elements.

[0032] In some examples of the methods, apparatus, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, receiving the message may include an operation, feature, means, or instruction for receiving a capability message for the second device, wherein the capability message indicates that the second device is capable of operating the first subset of antenna elements.

[0033] Some examples of the methods, apparatus, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein may also include operations, features, means, or instructions for modifying transmit power for the communication link based on the first subset of antenna elements and the selected second subset of antenna elements.

[0034] Some examples of the methods, apparatus, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein may also include operations, features, units, or instructions for communicating with a second device over a communication link using a first number of antenna elements, determining that the second device has reduced the number of operating antenna elements for the communication link based on the indicated first subset of antenna elements, and selecting a second number of antenna elements for a second subset of antenna elements for the communication link that is greater than the first number of antenna elements based on the second device reducing the number of operating antenna elements for the communication link.

[0035] Some examples of the methods, apparatus, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein may also include operations, features, units, or instructions for communicating with a second device over a communication link using a first number of antenna elements, determining that the second device has increased the number of operating antenna elements for the communication link based on the indicated first subset of antenna elements, and selecting a second number of antenna elements for a second subset of antenna elements for the communication link that is less than the first number of antenna elements based on the second device increasing the number of operating antenna elements for the communication link.

[0036] In some examples of the methods, apparatus, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, a set of antenna elements may be controlled by a set of RFICs for an antenna module, and selecting a second subset of antenna elements may include a subset of RFICs for operating the set of RFICs to control operations, features, units, or instructions for the selected second subset of antenna elements.

[0037] In some examples of the methods, apparatus, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, communicating with a second device over a communication link may include operations, features, means, or instructions for sending one or more messages to the second device over the communication link using the selected second subset of antenna elements.

[0038] In some examples of the methods, apparatus, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, a carrier frequency for the communication link may be greater than 52.6 GHz.

[0039] In some examples of the methods, apparatus, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, the first device and the second device include UEs, and the communication link includes a sidelink or a relay communication link.

[0040] In some examples of the methods, apparatus, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, the first device and the second device include base stations, and the communication link includes a backhaul link or a relay communication link. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0041] Figure 1 and Figure 2 An example of a wireless communication system supporting antenna array reconfiguration at both ends of a millimeter wave (mmW) link in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure is shown.

[0042] Figure 3 An example of a device supporting antenna array reconfiguration at both ends of a mmW link according to aspects of the present disclosure is shown.

[0043] Figure 4An example of a process flow supporting antenna array reconfiguration at both ends of a mmW link in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure is shown.

[0044] Figure 5 and Figure 6 A block diagram of a device supporting antenna array reconfiguration at both ends of a mmW link is shown in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

[0045] Figure 7 A block diagram of a communication manager supporting antenna array reconfiguration at both ends of a mmW link is shown in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

[0046] Figure 8 and Figure 9 A schematic diagram of a system including devices supporting antenna array reconfiguration at both ends of a mmW link is shown, in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

[0047] Figures 10 to 13 A flow chart illustrating a method of supporting antenna array reconfiguration at both ends of a mmW link according to aspects of the present disclosure is shown.

[0048] Specific implementation method

[0049] As more and more wireless devices communicate on available spectrum, the demand for communication resources increases, so there is a need for technologies that can effectively and reliably increase throughput. In some cases, communication devices can use additional frequency ranges, which can enable the device to achieve higher throughput. Higher frequency ranges (e.g., frequency ranges above 52.6 gigahertz (GHz)) can be implemented for wireless communication, where transmitting at these higher frequencies involves transmitting at shorter wavelengths. Such shorter wavelengths can support devices that use antenna elements that are more closely spaced (e.g., because the antenna element spacing can be a function of the operating wavelength). In some cases, the size of the antenna module containing the antenna elements can remain unchanged so that the device can support operation in multiple frequency bands (e.g., supporting communication in lower frequency bands (such as equal to or below 52.6 GHz) and higher frequency bands (such as above 52.6 GHz)). As such, more antenna elements can be packaged on an antenna module equipped for a device for high-frequency communication than on an antenna module not equipped for these high-frequency communications.

[0050] However, operating a large number of antenna elements can have significant power costs. In order to reduce the power overhead associated with high-frequency communications, a device may choose to operate a subset of its antenna elements. While this can reduce power and processing costs at one end of a communication link, operating a smaller number of antenna elements (e.g., a smaller antenna array) can have an adverse effect on the link margin of a communication link between two communicating devices. For example, when one device switches (e.g., from using a relatively large antenna array) to using a smaller antenna array to communicate with another device, the received signal strength of the transmissions on the communication link may decrease. This may result in a reduction in the link margin of the link budget of the communication link. In some cases, if the received signal strength of the transmissions decreases by a threshold amount, the link margin may become insufficient, which may be associated with an increase in communication failures across the communication link because the signal is not received with sufficient signal strength (e.g., the received signal strength is above a threshold signal strength for reliable reception).

[0051] If a first device (e.g., a user equipment (UE) or a base station) determines to reduce the size of its antenna array (e.g., due to power constraints or some other factors), the first device may send an array indication message to a second device (e.g., another UE or a base station) to inform the second device of the antenna array size selected by the first device, request the second device to modify the antenna array size of the second device, or both. In some examples, the array indication message may include an indication of the antenna array size of the first device. Based on receiving the indication of the antenna array size of the first device, the second device may select an antenna element configuration based on the antenna array size of the first device (e.g., to maintain link margin). In some other examples, the array indication message may include a request for the second device to modify the antenna array size of the second device. Based on receiving the request from the first device, the second device may determine whether to accept or reject the request. If the second device determines to accept the request, the second device may send a confirmation message to the first device indicating that the second device has modified its antenna array size as requested. Based on receiving the confirmation message, the first device may operate using the antenna array it selected. By sending an indication of the antenna array size selected for operation during subsequent communications, two communicating devices may more efficiently use available resources at both ends of the communication link while maintaining link margin.

[0052] In some implementations, the first device may determine to select an antenna array size and send an array indication message to the second device based on the first device determining that one or more conditions are satisfied. These conditions may include any parameters or triggering conditions that may affect the antenna array size implemented by the first device, the second device, or both. In one example, the condition that may trigger the first device to send the array indication message may include determining the power availability of the first device, the second device, or both. In some examples, the first device may determine that the first device is power-limited and the second device is not power-limited, and the first device may accordingly send an array indication to the second device, which indicates an increased antenna array size for the second device or requests that the second device operate using the increased antenna array size.

[0053] Certain aspects of the subject matter described herein can be implemented to achieve one or more advantages. The described techniques can support more efficient use of resources during communications using receive and transmit beams (e.g., at higher frequencies). Additionally, a wireless device can achieve power savings by selecting a subset of antenna elements for communicating with a second wireless device over a communication link. The wireless device can send an array indication message to indicate a change in the size of an operating antenna array, and the second wireless device can maintain reliable communications (e.g., to maintain a link budget) by modifying its antenna array size accordingly. Thus, the supported techniques can include improved network operation and efficiency, among other benefits.

[0054] Aspects of the present disclosure are initially described in the context of wireless communication systems. Additional aspects are described with reference to device configurations and process flows. Aspects of the present disclosure are further illustrated and described through apparatus diagrams, system diagrams, and flow charts related to antenna array reconfiguration at both ends of a millimeter wave (mmW) link.

[0055] Figure 1 An example of a wireless communication system 100 that supports antenna array reconfiguration at both ends of a mmW link in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure is shown. The wireless communication system 100 may include one or more base stations 105, one or more UEs 115, and a core network 130. In some examples, the wireless communication system 100 may be a Long Term Evolution (LTE) network, an Advanced LTE (LTE-A) network, an LTE-A Pro network, or a New Radio (NR) network. In some examples, the wireless communication system 100 may support enhanced broadband communication, ultra-reliable (e.g., mission-critical) communication, low-latency communication, or communication with low-cost and low-complexity devices, or any combination thereof.

[0056] Base stations 105 may be dispersed throughout a geographic area to form wireless communication system 100 and may be devices of varying forms or capabilities. Base stations 105 and UEs 115 may communicate wirelessly via one or more communication links 125. Each base station 105 may provide a coverage area 110 over which UEs 115 and base stations 105 may establish one or more communication links 125. Coverage areas 110 may be examples of geographic areas over which base stations 105 and UEs 115 may support transmission of signals according to one or more radio access technologies.

[0057] The UEs 115 may be dispersed throughout the coverage area 110 of the wireless communication system 100, and each UE 115 may be stationary, mobile, or both at different times. The UEs 115 may be devices of different forms or with different capabilities. Figure 1 1. Some example UEs 115 are shown in FIG. 1. The UEs 115 described herein may be capable of communicating with various types of devices, such as other UEs 115, base stations 105, or network devices (e.g., core network nodes, relays, integrated access and backhaul (IAB) nodes, or other network devices), such as Figure 1 shown.

[0058] The base stations 105 can communicate with the core network 130, or communicate with each other, or perform both operations described above. For example, the base stations 105 can be connected to the core network 130 via one or more backhaul links 120 (e.g., via S1, N2, N3 or other interfaces). The base stations 105 can communicate with each other directly (e.g., directly between the base stations 105) or indirectly (e.g., via the core network 130) on the backhaul links 120 (e.g., via X2, Xn or other interfaces), or perform both operations described above. In some examples, the backhaul links 120 can be or include one or more wireless links.

[0059] One or more of the base stations 105 described herein may include or may be referred to by one of ordinary skill in the art as a base station transceiver, a radio base station, an access point, a radio transceiver, a Node B, an evolved Node B (eNodeB, eNB), a next generation Node B or a Gigabit Node B (any of which may be referred to as a gNB), a Home Node B, a Home Evolved Node B, or some other appropriate terminology.

[0060] UE 115 may include or may be referred to as a mobile device, a wireless device, a remote device, a handheld device, or a subscriber device, or some other appropriate terminology, where a "device" may also be referred to as a unit, a station, a terminal, or a client, among other examples. UE 115 may also include or may be referred to as a personal electronic device, such as a cellular phone, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a tablet computer, a laptop computer, or a personal computer. In some examples, UE 115 may include or be referred to as a wireless local loop (WLL) station, an Internet of Things (IoT) device, an Internet of Everything (IoE) device, or a machine type communication (MTC) device, among other examples, which may be implemented in various items such as appliances, or vehicles, meters, and among other examples.

[0061] The UE 115 described herein may be able to communicate with various types of devices, such as other UEs 115, which may sometimes act as relays, as well as base stations 105 and network devices, including macro eNBs or gNBs, small cell eNBs or gNBs, or relay base stations, among other examples. Figure 1 shown.

[0062] UE 115 and base station 105 can wirelessly communicate with each other via one or more communication links 125 on one or more carriers. The term "carrier" can refer to a collection of radio frequency spectrum resources with a defined physical layer structure for supporting communication link 125. For example, a carrier used for communication link 125 can include a portion of a radio frequency spectrum band (e.g., a bandwidth part (BWP)) that operates according to one or more physical layer channels for a given radio access technology (e.g., LTE, LTE-A, LTE-A Pro, NR). Each physical layer channel can carry acquisition signaling (e.g., synchronization signals, system information), control signaling to coordinate operation for the carrier, user data, or other signaling. The wireless communication system 100 can support communication with UE 115 using carrier aggregation or multi-carrier operation. Depending on the carrier aggregation configuration, UE 115 can be configured with multiple downlink component carriers and one or more uplink component carriers. Carrier aggregation can be used with both frequency division duplex (FDD) component carriers and time division duplex (TDD) component carriers.

[0063] The signal waveform transmitted on the carrier may be composed of multiple subcarriers (e.g., using multicarrier modulation (MCM) techniques such as orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) or discrete Fourier transform spread OFDM (DFT-S-OFDM)). In a system employing MCM techniques, a resource element may be composed of one symbol period (e.g., the duration of one modulation symbol) and one subcarrier, where the symbol period and subcarrier spacing are inversely related. The number of bits carried by each resource element may depend on the modulation scheme (e.g., the order of the modulation scheme, the coding rate of the modulation scheme, or both). Therefore, the more resource elements received by the UE 115 and the higher the order of the modulation scheme, the higher the data rate for the UE 115 can be. Wireless communication resources may refer to a combination of radio frequency spectrum resources, time resources, and spatial resources (e.g., spatial layers or beams), and the use of multiple spatial layers may further increase the data rate or data integrity used for communication with the UE 115.

[0064] The basic time unit (which may be referred to as T s =1 / (Δf max ·N f ) seconds sampling period, where Δf max It can represent the maximum supported subcarrier spacing, and N f The time slots for the base station 105 or the UE 115 may be expressed as multiples of a maximum supported discrete Fourier transform (DFT) size. The time slots of the communication resources may be organized according to radio frames, each having a specified duration (e.g., 10 milliseconds (ms)). Each radio frame may be identified by a system frame number (SFN) (e.g., ranging from 0 to 1023).

[0065] Each frame may include a plurality of consecutively numbered subframes or time slots, and each subframe or time slot may have the same duration. In some examples, a frame may be divided (e.g., in the time domain) into subframes, and each subframe may be further divided into a number of time slots. Alternatively, each frame may include a variable number of time slots, and the number of time slots may depend on the subcarrier spacing. Each time slot may include a number of symbol periods (e.g., depending on the length of a cyclic prefix added in front of each symbol period). In some wireless communication systems 100, a time slot may be further divided into a plurality of mini-slots containing one or more symbols. Excluding the cyclic prefix, each symbol period may contain one or more (e.g., N f The duration of a symbol period may depend on the subcarrier spacing or the operating frequency band.

[0066] A subframe, slot, mini-slot, or symbol may be the smallest scheduling unit (e.g., in the time domain) of the wireless communication system 100 and may be referred to as a transmission time interval (TTI). In some examples, the TTI duration (e.g., the number of symbol periods in a TTI) may be variable. Additionally or alternatively, the smallest scheduling unit of the wireless communication system 100 may be dynamically selected (e.g., in the form of bursts of shortened TTIs (sTTIs)).

[0067] Physical channels may be multiplexed on a carrier according to various techniques. For example, physical control channels and physical data channels may be multiplexed on a downlink carrier using one or more of a time division multiplexing (TDM) technique, a frequency division multiplexing (FDM) technique, or a hybrid TDM-FDM technique. A control region (e.g., a control resource set (CORESET)) for a physical control channel may be defined by a number of symbol periods and may extend across the system bandwidth of a carrier or a subset of the system bandwidth. One or more control regions (e.g., CORESETs) may be configured for a group of UEs 115. For example, one or more of the UEs 115 may monitor or search the control region for control information according to one or more search space sets, and each search space set may include one or more control channel candidates at one or more aggregation levels arranged in a cascaded manner. The aggregation level for the control channel candidates may refer to the number of control channel resources (e.g., control channel elements (CCEs)) associated with the encoded information for a control information format having a given payload size. The search space sets may include a common search space set configured for transmitting control information to multiple UEs 115 and a UE-specific search space set for transmitting control information to a specific UE 115 .

[0068] In some examples, base stations 105 can be mobile and, therefore, provide communication coverage for mobile geographic coverage areas 110. In some examples, different geographic coverage areas 110 associated with different technologies can overlap, but the different geographic coverage areas 110 can be supported by the same base station 105. In other examples, overlapping geographic coverage areas 110 associated with different technologies can be supported by different base stations 105. The wireless communication system 100 can include, for example, a heterogeneous network in which different types of base stations 105 use the same or different radio access technologies to provide coverage for various geographic coverage areas 110.

[0069] The wireless communication system 100 can be configured to support ultra-reliable communication or low-latency communication, or various combinations thereof. For example, the wireless communication system 100 can be configured to support ultra-reliable low-latency communication (URLLC) or mission-critical communication. UE 115 can be designed to support ultra-reliable, low-latency or critical functions (e.g., mission-critical functions). Ultra-reliable communication can include private communication or group communication and can be supported by one or more mission-critical services such as mission-critical push-to-talk (MCPTT), mission-critical video (MCVideo), or mission-critical data (MCData). Support for mission-critical functions can include prioritization of services, and mission-critical services can be used for public safety or general commercial applications. The terms ultra-reliable, low-latency, mission-critical, and ultra-reliable low-latency can be used interchangeably in this article.

[0070] In some examples, UE 115 may also be able to communicate directly with other UEs 115 over a device-to-device (D2D) communication link 135 (e.g., using a peer-to-peer (P2P) or D2D protocol). One or more UEs 115 utilizing D2D communication may be within the geographic coverage area 110 of the base station 105. Other UEs 115 in such a group may be outside the geographic coverage area 110 of the base station 105 or otherwise unable to receive transmissions from the base station 105. In some examples, groups of UEs 115 communicating via D2D communication may utilize a one-to-many (1:M) system, in which each UE 115 transmits to each other UE 115 in the group. In some examples, the base station 105 facilitates the scheduling of resources for the D2D communication. In other cases, the D2D communication is performed between the UEs 115 without involving the base station 105.

[0071] In some systems, the D2D communication link 135 can be an example of a communication channel (such as a sidelink communication channel) between vehicles (e.g., UE 115). In some examples, the vehicles can communicate using vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication, vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communication, or some combination thereof. The vehicles can signal information related to traffic conditions, signal scheduling, weather, safety, emergency situations, or any other information related to the V2X system. In some examples, vehicles in a V2X system can communicate with roadside infrastructure (such as a roadside unit) or communicate with a network via one or more network nodes (e.g., base station 105) using vehicle-to-network (V2N) communication, or both.

[0072] The core network 130 may provide user authentication, access authorization, tracking, Internet Protocol (IP) connectivity, and other access, routing, or mobility functions. The core network 130 may be an evolved packet core (EPC) or a 5G core (5GC), which may include at least one control plane entity (e.g., a mobility management entity (MME), an access and mobility management function unit (AMF)) that manages access and mobility, and at least one user plane entity (e.g., a serving gateway (S-GW), a packet data network (PDN) gateway (P-GW), or a user plane function unit (UPF)) that routes packets to or interconnects to an external network. The control plane entity may manage non-access stratum (NAS) functions, such as mobility, authentication, and bearer management for UEs 115 served by base stations 105 associated with the core network 130. User IP packets may be transmitted via the user plane entity, which may provide IP address allocation and other functions. The user plane entity may be connected to the network operator IP service 150. Operator IP services 150 may include access to the Internet, an intranet, an IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS), or packet-switched streaming services.

[0073] Some of the network devices (e.g., base stations 105) may include subcomponents such as access network entities 140, which may be examples of access node controllers (ANCs). Each access network entity 140 may communicate with the UE 115 through one or more other access network transport entities 145 (which may be referred to as radio heads, smart radio heads, or transmit / receive points (TRPs)). Each access network transport entity 145 may include one or more antenna panels. In some configurations, the various functions of each access network entity 140 or base station 105 may be distributed across various network devices (e.g., radio heads and ANCs) or consolidated into a single network device (e.g., base station 105).

[0074] The wireless communication system 100 can operate using one or more frequency bands, typically in the range of 300 megahertz (MHz) to 300 gigahertz (GHz). Typically, the region from 300 MHz to 3 GHz is referred to as the ultra-high frequency (UHF) region or decimeter band because the wavelengths range from approximately one decimeter to one meter in length. UHF waves can be blocked or redirected by buildings and environmental features, but the waves can penetrate structures sufficiently for macro cells to provide service to UEs 115 located indoors. Transmissions on UHF waves can be associated with smaller antennas and shorter distances (e.g., less than 100 kilometers) compared to transmissions using the smaller frequencies and longer waves of the high frequency (HF) or very high frequency (VHF) portions of the spectrum below 300 MHz.

[0075] The wireless communication system 100 may also operate in the super high frequency (SHF) region using frequency bands from 3 GHz to 30 GHz (also known as centimeter bands) or in the extremely high frequency (EHF) region of the spectrum (e.g., from 30 GHz to 300 GHz) (also known as millimeter bands). In some examples, the wireless communication system 100 may support mmW communications between the UE 115 and the base station 105, and the EHF antennas of the corresponding devices may be even smaller and spaced more closely than the UHF antennas. In some examples, this may facilitate the use of antenna arrays within the device. However, propagation of EHF transmissions may be subject to even greater atmospheric attenuation and shorter distances than SHF or UHF transmissions. The technology disclosed herein may be employed across transmissions using one or more different frequency regions, and the designated use of frequency bands spanning these frequency regions may vary by country or regulatory agency.

[0076] The wireless communication system 100 can utilize both licensed and unlicensed radio frequency spectrum bands. For example, the wireless communication system 100 can employ license assisted access (LAA), LTE unlicensed (LTE-U) radio access technology, or NR technology in an unlicensed band (such as the 5 GHz industrial, scientific, and medical (ISM) band). When operating in an unlicensed radio frequency spectrum band, devices (such as base stations 105 and UEs 115) can employ carrier sensing for conflict detection and avoidance. In some examples, operations in the unlicensed band can be based on a carrier aggregation configuration in combination with component carriers operating in a licensed band (e.g., LAA). Operations in the unlicensed spectrum can include downlink transmissions, uplink transmissions, P2P transmissions, or D2D transmissions, among other examples.

[0077] The base station 105 or UE 115 may be equipped with multiple antennas, which may be used to employ techniques such as transmit diversity, receive diversity, multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) communications, or beamforming. The antennas of the base station 105 or UE 115 may be located within one or more antenna arrays or antenna panels (which may support MIMO operations or transmit or receive beamforming). For example, one or more base station antennas or antenna arrays may be co-located at an antenna assembly, such as an antenna tower. In some examples, the antennas or antenna arrays associated with the base station 105 may be located at different geographical locations. The base station 105 may have an antenna array having a number of rows and columns of antenna ports that the base station 105 may use to support beamforming for communications with the UE 115. Similarly, the UE 115 may have one or more antenna arrays that may support various MIMO or beamforming operations. Additionally or alternatively, the antenna panel may support radio frequency beamforming for signals transmitted via the antenna ports.

[0078] The base station 105 or UE 115 can use MIMO communication to take advantage of multipath signal propagation and improve spectral efficiency by sending or receiving multiple signals via different spatial layers. Such a technique may be referred to as spatial multiplexing. For example, a transmitting device may send multiple signals via different antennas or different combinations of antennas. Similarly, a receiving device may receive multiple signals via different antennas or different combinations of antennas. Each of the multiple signals may be referred to as a separate spatial stream and may carry bits associated with the same data stream (e.g., the same codeword) or different data streams (e.g., different codewords). Different spatial layers may be associated with different antenna ports for channel measurement and reporting. MIMO techniques include single-user MIMO (SU-MIMO) (where multiple spatial layers are sent to the same receiving device) and multi-user MIMO (MU-MIMO) (where multiple spatial layers are sent to multiple devices).

[0079] Beamforming (which may also be referred to as spatial filtering, directional transmission, or directional reception) is a signal processing technique that can be used at a transmitting device or a receiving device (e.g., a base station 105, a UE 115) to form or direct an antenna beam (e.g., a transmit beam, a receive beam) along a spatial path between the transmitting device and the receiving device. Beamforming can be achieved by combining signals transmitted via antenna elements of an antenna array so that some signals propagating at a particular orientation relative to the antenna array experience constructive interference, while other signals experience destructive interference. Adjustments to signals transmitted via antenna elements can include the transmitting device or the receiving device applying an amplitude offset, a phase offset, or both to the signals carried via the antenna elements associated with the device. Adjustments associated with each of the antenna elements can be defined by a set of beamforming weights associated with a particular orientation (e.g., relative to the antenna array of the transmitting device or the receiving device, or relative to some other orientation).

[0080] As part of the beamforming operation, the base station 105 or the UE 115 can use beam scanning techniques. For example, the base station 105 can use multiple antennas or antenna arrays (e.g., antenna panels) to perform beamforming operations for directional communication with the UE 115. The base station 105 can transmit some signals (e.g., synchronization signals, reference signals, beam selection signals, or other control signals) multiple times in different directions. For example, the base station 105 can transmit signals according to different sets of beamforming weights associated with different transmission directions. The transmissions in different beam directions can be used (e.g., by a transmitting device (such as the base station 105) or by a receiving device (such as the UE 115)) to identify the beam direction for subsequent transmission or reception by the base station 105.

[0081] Base station 105 may transmit some signals (e.g., data signals associated with a particular receiving device (e.g., UE 115)) in a single beam direction (e.g., a direction associated with the receiving device). In some examples, the beam direction associated with transmissions along the single beam direction may be determined based on signals transmitted in one or more beam directions. For example, UE 115 may receive one or more of the signals transmitted by base station 105 in different directions and may report to base station 105 an indication of the signal received by UE 115 having the highest signal quality or otherwise acceptable signal quality.

[0082] In some examples, transmissions by a device (e.g., by a base station 105 or a UE 115) may be performed using multiple beam directions, and the device may use a combination of digital precoding or radio frequency beamforming to generate a combined beam for transmission (e.g., from the base station 105 to the UE 115). The UE 115 may report feedback indicating precoding weights used for one or more beam directions, and the feedback may correspond to a configured number of beams across the system bandwidth or one or more subbands. The base station 105 may send reference signals (e.g., cell-specific reference signals (CRS), channel state information reference signals (CSI-RS)) that may be precoded or not precoded. The UE 115 may provide feedback for beam selection, which may be a precoding matrix indicator (PMI) or codebook-based feedback (e.g., a multi-panel type codebook, a linear combination type codebook, a port selection type codebook). Although these techniques are described with reference to signals sent by base station 105 in one or more directions, UE 115 may employ similar techniques to send signals multiple times in different directions (e.g., to identify a beam direction for subsequent transmission or reception by UE 115) or to send signals in a single direction (e.g., to send data to a receiving device).

[0083] When receiving various signals (such as synchronization signals, reference signals, beam selection signals, or other control signals) from the base station 105, a receiving device (e.g., UE 115) can try multiple reception configurations (e.g., directional listening). For example, the receiving device can try multiple reception directions by receiving via different antenna subarrays, by processing the received signals according to different antenna subarrays, by receiving according to different sets of receive beamforming weights applied to the signals received at multiple antenna elements of the antenna array (e.g., different sets of directional listening weights), or by processing the received signals according to different sets of receive beamforming weights applied to the signals received at multiple antenna elements of the antenna array (any of the above operations can be referred to as "listening" according to different reception configurations or reception directions). In some examples, the receiving device can use a single reception configuration to receive along a single beam direction (e.g., when receiving data signals). A single receive configuration may be aligned on a beam direction determined based on listening according to different receive configuration directions (e.g., a beam direction determined to have the highest signal strength, highest signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), or otherwise acceptable signal quality based on listening according to multiple beam directions).

[0084] In some cases, a first device (e.g., a UE 115 or a base station 105) can communicate with a second device via a communication link (e.g., one of a backhaul link 120, an access link such as communication link 125, or a sidelink such as communication link 135) using the beamforming techniques described herein. These devices can be examples of UEs 115 operating on higher mmW frequency bands, base stations 105 operating on higher mmW frequency bands, customer premises equipment (CPE) operating on higher mmW frequency bands, or some combination of these or other similar devices. In some examples, the transmitting device and the receiving device can have symmetrical or nearly symmetrical antenna array capabilities. For example, the device can be a UE 115 in a sidelink or relay setup, a base station 105 in a backhaul setup, a device communicating in a private network, an industrial IoT device, or some similar combination of devices.

[0085] The first device may be configured with one or more antenna modules, and each of the one or more antenna modules may include a set of antenna elements that can support communication using a transmit or receive beam. In some cases, the first device may select a subset of antenna elements from the set of antenna elements for operation when communicating with the second device. The first device may determine to select a subset of antenna elements based on conditions at the first device (e.g., power availability, thermal conditions, etc.). The first device may send a message to the second device indicating the selected subset of antenna elements. Based on the indication, the second device may accordingly select a subset of antenna elements for operation from the set of antenna elements configured at the second device.

[0086] A communication link between a first device and a second device may be associated with a link budget, and the first device and the second device may select their respective subsets of antenna elements based on a link margin that maintains the link budget (e.g., based on a link budget threshold for the communication link). That is, a device may achieve a "sufficient" link budget if the estimated received power for a signal is sufficient for successful reception (e.g., based on receiver sensitivity), where the link margin measures the amount by which the received power exceeds the receiver sensitivity. In one example, the first device may determine to select a subset of antenna elements (e.g., the first device may reduce the number of antenna elements to be operated) due to identifying a condition at the first device (e.g., power availability at the first device is below a threshold power availability, etc.). The first device may send a message to the second device, the message including an indication of the subset of antenna elements that the first device is selected to operate, an indication that the second device operates a particular subset of antenna elements, or a combination thereof. Based on receiving the message, the second device may select a subset of antenna elements based on the indication in the message. In some examples, the first device may choose to reduce the number of operating antenna elements used for communication with the second device, and the second device may correspondingly choose to increase the number of operating antenna elements used for communication based on the link margin (e.g., in order to maintain the link margin or correspondingly maintain a link budget threshold).

[0087] Figure 2 An example of a wireless communication system 200 that supports antenna array reconfiguration at both ends of a mmW link according to aspects of the present disclosure is shown. In some examples, the wireless communication system 200 can implement aspects of the wireless communication system 100. In some cases, the wireless communication system 200 may include UE 115-a, UE 115-b, base station 105-a, and base station 105-b, which may be referenced. Figure 11 and 1 . Examples of UEs 115 and base stations 105 are described. Base station 105-a may be associated with coverage area 110-a, which may correspond to an area in which base station 105-a may serve one or more UEs 115. Base station 105-a may communicate with one or more UEs 115 (e.g., UE 115-a, UE 115-b, or both) using access link 205. Additionally, wireless communication system 200 may support communication between two base stations 105. For example, base station 105-a may communicate with base station 105-b using backhaul link 215. Both UE 115-a and UE 115-b may support sidelink communication capabilities and may communicate using sidelink 210. In some cases, access link 205, sidelink 210, and backhaul link 215 may be examples of relay links, private network links, industrial IoT communication links, or other similar communication links.

[0088] A wireless communication system (e.g., wireless communication system 200) may support an access link 205, a backhaul link 215, and a sidelink 210 for communication between wireless devices. Access link 205 may refer to a communication link between a UE 115 and a base station 105. For example, access link 205 may support uplink signaling, downlink signaling, connection procedures, etc. Backhaul link 215 and sidelink 210 may refer to similar communication links between wireless devices, where backhaul link 215 refers to a communication link between base stations 105, and sidelink 210 refers to a communication link between UEs 115.

[0089] UE 115-a, UE 115-b, base station 105-a, and base station 105-b may each be an example device capable of sending and / or receiving array indication message 220 to indicate a selected subset of antenna elements. Although illustrated as being sent via sidelink 210, array indication message 220 may be sent and / or received via access link 205, backhaul link 215, sidelink 210, or any other type of communication link. Furthermore, although the examples herein are described in the context of sidelink 210 communications between UE 115-a and UE 115-b, the described techniques are equally applicable to access link 205 communications between UE 115-a and base station 105-a and backhaul link 215 communications between base station 105-a and base station 105-b.

[0090] In some cases, UE 115-a and UE 115-b may be symmetrical or nearly symmetrical devices such that both UE 115-a and UE 115-b may have similar antenna configurations (e.g., a similar number of antenna modules and / or a similar number of antenna elements on each antenna module). Both UE 115-a and UE 115-b may be configured with one or more antenna modules, and each antenna module may include a set of antenna elements.

[0091] The sidelink 210 may be associated with a link budget and a corresponding link margin (e.g., the link margin may be maintained above a link budget threshold). The link budget, the link margin, or both may be based on the received power and the effective isotropic radiated power (EIRP) at both ends of the sidelink 210. The EIRP may be based on the antenna array gain of each endpoint of the communication link (e.g., UE 115-a and UE 115-b), which may be based on the number of antenna elements used for transmission and / or reception by UE 115-a and UE 115-b (e.g., antenna array size). Increasing the number of operating antenna elements used for communication on the sidelink 210 at UE 115-a and / or UE 115-b may increase the EIRP at both ends of the link and may correspondingly increase the link margin. Similarly, reducing the number of operating antenna elements at UE 115-a and / or UE 115-b may reduce the link margin. In some cases, a lower link margin may be associated with a lower EIRP and may result in more communication failures than a higher link margin associated with a higher EIRP. As such, operating more antenna elements of an antenna module (e.g., a larger antenna array) may increase the achievable EIRP of a communication link.

[0092] In some cases, UE 115-a or UE 115-b may identify a condition (e.g., a limiting condition that limits the number of operational antenna elements for UE 115) and, based on the condition, may select to switch a subset of antenna elements of the operational antenna array at UE 115. The conditions that trigger antenna array switching (e.g., power availability) may include any conditions that may affect the antenna element configuration of the device and may not be limited to limiting conditions (e.g., based on the condition, UE 115-a may increase the number of operational antenna elements thereof). The conditions may include, but are not limited to, power availability at UE 115-a, power availability at UE 115-b, thermal constraints at UE 115-a, thermal constraints at UE 115-b, interference constraints at UE 115-a, interference constraints at UE 115-b, power amplifier ratings at UE 115-a, power amplifier ratings at UE 115-b, differential power amplifier ratings between UE 115-a and UE 115-b, exposure constraints at UE 115-a (e.g., maximum allowed exposure constraints, such as power density exposure (PDE) constraints), exposure constraints at UE 115-b (e.g., maximum allowed exposure constraints, such as PDE constraints), mmW component ratings at UE 115-a, mmW component ratings at UE 115-b, beamwidth constraints at UE 115-a for beams used with a subset of antenna elements operated by UE 115-a, beamwidth constraints at UE 115-b for beams used with a subset of antenna elements operated by UE 115-a, 115-a, an angular spread estimate of a primary cluster at UE 115-a (e.g., one or more clusters of devices with which UE 115-a transmits and / or receives messages), and an angular spread estimate of a primary cluster at UE 115-b. These conditions may apply to either UE 115-a or UE 115-b, or both, and UE 115-a and / or UE 115-b may identify any number of conditions that may apply in combination.

[0093] In the examples described herein, when UE 115-a is communicating with UE 115-b (e.g., after a communication link has been established between UE 115-a and UE 115-b), UE 115-a may determine that a condition applies to the antenna element configuration of UE 115-a. UE 115-a may determine to modify (e.g., increase or decrease) the number of operating antenna elements for the communication link accordingly. As such, UE 115-a may select a subset of antenna elements from a set of antenna elements of an antenna module of UE 115-a and may communicate with UE 115-b by operating the selected subset of antenna elements (e.g., transmitting using the selected subset of antenna elements, receiving using the selected subset of antenna elements, etc.).

[0094] Additionally or alternatively, UE 115-a may determine whether a condition applies to UE 115-b and UE 115-a may modify its antenna element configuration accordingly. For example, UE 115-a may determine that UE 115-b has greater power availability than UE 115-a. In such an example, UE 115-a may select a reduced subset of antenna elements and may send a message to UE 115-b requesting UE 115-b to increase the number of antenna elements that UE 115-b is operating based on UE 115-b having greater power availability. UE 115-a may reduce the number of its operating antenna elements if UE 115-a has lower (e.g., tighter) thermal constraints, a more centralized local geometry, a lower power amplifier rating, a lower (e.g., tighter) exposure constraints, a wider angular spread, or some combination of these parameters than UE 115-b. Similarly, if UE 115-b has higher (e.g., less stringent) thermal constraints, sparser local geometry (e.g., less clutter), higher power amplifier ratings, higher (e.g., less stringent) exposure constraints, and / or narrower angular spread than UE 115-a, or any other conditions that may affect the antenna element configuration of UE 115-a or UE 115-b, then UE 115-a may reduce the number of its operating antenna elements.

[0095] In one example, UE 115-a may identify a trigger condition for an antenna array switch and may select a subset of antenna elements to operate based on the condition. UE 115-a may be physically configured with a set of antenna elements on an antenna module of UE 115-a, but UE 115-a may determine to operate a subset of the set of antenna elements. For example, UE 115-a may determine to operate a subset of antenna elements or save power (e.g., enter a power save mode) based on power availability at UE 115-a. UE 115-a may, based on the selection, turn off—or otherwise not operate—the remaining antenna elements of the set of antenna elements, thereby effectively saving power at UE 115-a. In some cases, the operating subset of antenna elements may form an antenna array that is smaller than the antenna array that UE 115-a operated prior to identifying the limiting condition, thereby reducing the antenna gain associated with UE 115-a and adversely affecting the link margin of sidelink 210. In some examples, operating a subset of antenna elements may result in an inability to maintain a link margin for sidelink 210. As such, if UE 115-a reduces the operating antenna array size without making any changes at UE 115-b, both UE 115-a and UE 115b may experience an increase in communication failures.

[0096] In some examples of the techniques described herein, UE 115-a may send a message (e.g., array indication message 220) to UE 115-b indicating an antenna array reconfiguration at UE 115-a. Based on receiving the array indication message 220, UE 115-b may identify the number of antenna elements (e.g., antenna array size) that UE 115-a is operating or requesting to operate. By transmitting this information between UEs 115, one UE 115 (e.g., UE 115-b) may react to an antenna array reconfiguration at another UE 115 (e.g., UE 115-a) in order to maintain link margin and mitigate communication failures due to the reconfiguration. The array indication message 220 may be sent statically (e.g., once at the start of communication on the sidelink 210) or may be sent dynamically (e.g., periodically or aperiodically as conditions at UE 115-a or UE 115-b change). The array indication message 220 may be sent via the sidelink 210 and may support more flexible antenna configurations (e.g., more degrees of freedom in antenna array arrangement, placement, and selection) and more efficient use of resources at both ends of the sidelink 210. For example, when two communicating devices collaborate on their operating antenna element configurations, the devices may communicate more efficiently based on the unique conditions at each end of the communication link.

[0097] In some cases, array indication message 220 may be an example of a request message. For example, in addition to or as an alternative to instructing antenna reconfiguration at UE 115-a, array indication message 220 may request UE 115-b to modify the antenna element configuration of UE 115-b. In some examples, UE 115-a may determine to reduce the number of its antenna elements in operation, and array indication message 220 may request UE 115-b to increase the number of its antenna elements in operation (e.g., to operate with a larger antenna array size). Based on the collaboration on the antenna element configuration, UE 115-a and UE 115-b may more efficiently use resources at both ends of sidelink 210.

[0098] UE 115-b may receive the array indication message 220 (e.g., a request) and may determine to modify its antenna element configuration based on the request. In some examples, UE 115-b may determine to modify its antenna element configuration based on the request and may send an acknowledgment message to UE 115-a based on agreeing to the request. In some examples, the array indication message 220 may indicate that UE 115-a is operating a reduced number of antenna elements (e.g., using a bit to indicate a reduction in the number of antenna elements, a bit field to indicate a specific reduced number of antenna elements, a bit field to indicate a specific subset of selected antenna elements, or some combination thereof). In such an example, by agreeing to the array indication message 220, UE 115-b may determine to increase the number of antenna elements it operates (e.g., to compensate for the smaller antenna array size of UE 115-a). Based on receiving the acknowledgment, UE 115-a may determine that it can operate the reduced number of antenna elements without adversely affecting the link margin of the sidelink 210.

[0099] In other examples, UE 115-b may determine based on the array indication message 220 not to modify its antenna element configuration and may avoid sending the confirmation message. Alternatively, UE 115-b may send a rejection message to UE 115-a based on determining not to modify its antenna element configuration as requested. In such an example, UE 115-b may have constraints that restrict UE 115-b from modifying its current antenna element configuration. In some illustrative examples, UE 115-b may be power limited or may determine to communicate using a wider angular spread (e.g., UE 115-b may be in broadcast mode and increasing the number of antenna elements operated by UE 115-b may reduce the angular spread of its broadcast messages). Based on not receiving the confirmation message or receiving the rejection message, UE 115-a may determine to resume operation of the initial antenna element configuration (e.g., UE 115-a may not reduce the number of its operating antenna elements). Alternatively, based on not receiving a confirmation message or receiving a rejection message, UE 115-a may determine whether to operate using its selected subset of antenna elements based on the impact that a smaller antenna array size may have on the link margin. In some examples, UE 115-a may determine that the link margin remains above the link budget threshold even with the smaller antenna array, and even if UE 115-b rejects the request, UE 115-a may determine to operate the selected subset of antenna elements. In other examples, UE 115-a may determine that by operating the selected subset of antenna elements—without a change in the antenna array size at UE 115-b—the link margin drops below the link budget threshold. In such an example, UE 115-a may determine to resume operation of the initial antenna element configuration (e.g., UE 115-a may not reduce the number of antenna elements it operates).

[0100] In some cases, array indication message 220 may be a capability message. The capability message may be an operational capability message and may indicate a number of antenna elements that UE 115-a is capable of operating, which may be different from the number of antenna elements with which UE 115-a is physically configured. For example, UE 115-a may indicate via array indication message 220 that UE 115-a is capable of operating a number of antenna elements based on a constraint. The indicated number may be less than the number of antenna elements currently operated by UE 115-a (e.g., if UE 115-a chooses to reduce the number of its operating antenna elements). UE 115-b may receive the capability message and may determine to modify its antenna element configuration based on the capability message in array indication message 220.

[0101] The array indication message 220 may include the antenna element configuration (e.g., the number of antenna elements or the antenna array size) that the UE 115-a is operating. Additionally or alternatively, the array indication message 220 may include the antenna element configuration (e.g., the number of antenna elements or the antenna array size) that the UE 115-b may operate to maintain a link margin for the sidelink 210. The array indication message 220 may also include other information, such as information related to the link budget of the sidelink 210 (e.g., transmit power, path loss, etc.).

[0102] In an example where the array indication message 220 includes the antenna element configuration of UE 115-a but does not include the antenna element configuration for UE 115-b, UE 115-b may determine an antenna element configuration that UE 115-b may operate to maintain the link margin based on the antenna element configuration of UE 115-a. As such, UE 115-b may use the antenna element configuration of UE 115-a (e.g., antenna array size) and determine the antenna array gain of UE 115-a. UE 115-b may calculate the antenna element configuration that UE 115-b may operate to maintain the link margin based on calculating the link budget for the sidelink 210. For example, UE 115-b may determine a threshold antenna array gain for UE 115-b based on the antenna array gain of UE 115-a, transmit power, path loss, and / or other information relevant to calculating the link budget to maintain the link margin. UE 115-b may determine the antenna element configuration (e.g., antenna array size) based on the calculated threshold antenna array gain. In some cases, the determined antenna element configuration may be based on a desired beam direction. Alternatively, UE 115-a may perform a similar calculation at its end of the link and may send an indication of the antenna element configuration as part of array indication message 220 for UE 115-b to operate to maintain link margin.

[0103] Figure 3 An example of a device 300 that supports antenna array reconfiguration at both ends of a mmW link according to aspects of the present disclosure is shown. In some examples, the device 300 can implement aspects of the wireless communication system 100 and the wireless communication system 200. The device 300 can be an example of a base station 105 (such as base station 105-a or base station 105-b) or a UE 115 (such as UE 115-a or UE 115-b), as described with reference to FIG. Figure 2 Device 300 may communicate with another device via a communication link such as a sidelink, a backhaul link, or an access link.

[0104] Device 300 may include one or more antenna modules 305 (e.g., antenna modules 305-a, 305-b, and 305-c), each of which may be configured with an analog beamformer 310 and a digital beamformer 315. For example, antenna module 305-a may include analog beamformer 310-a and digital beamformer 315-a; antenna module 305-b may include analog beamformer 310-b and digital beamformer 315-b; and antenna module 305-c may include analog beamformer 310-c and digital beamformer 315-c. One or more antenna modules 305 may be controlled by multiple radio frequency integrated circuits (RFICs) 320, and each RFIC 320 may operate multiple antenna elements 325.

[0105] The analog beamformer 310 and the digital beamformer 315 may perform operations (e.g., beamforming operations) for the antenna module 305, such that the antenna module 305 may be configured to transmit or receive signals according to the operations of the analog beamformer 310 and the digital beamformer 315. For example, the analog beamformer 310 and the digital beamformer 315 may use a reference Figure 1 The depicted antenna module 305 effectively operates transmit and / or receive beams for communication. In some cases, the device 300 may determine to operate a plurality of selected antenna elements 325-a, and the analog beamformer 310 and the digital beamformer 315 may configure the antenna module 305 using the antenna element configuration to enable the device 300 to transmit and / or receive using the plurality of selected antenna elements 325-a.

[0106] As described, each antenna module 305 can include a set of antenna elements 325, and multiple RFICs 320 can operate the set of antenna elements 325. In some cases, the set of antenna elements 325 for each antenna module 305 can be based on the frequency range in which the antenna module 305 is capable of communicating. For example, higher frequency transmissions with shorter wavelengths can support closer spacing of antenna elements 325 than lower frequency transmissions with longer wavelengths. Therefore, if a higher frequency band is implemented for wireless communication, the device 300 can implement a greater number of antenna elements 325, where narrower spacing between antenna elements 325 is achieved through beamforming at the higher frequencies. In some cases, the size of the antenna modules 305 can remain similar, enabling the device 300 to pack a greater number of antenna elements 325 onto the antenna modules 305 than the antenna modules 305 support for the lower frequencies.

[0107] In some examples, the space occupied by the antenna elements 325 (e.g., including the gaps between the antenna elements 325) can be based on (e.g., can be proportional to) the wavelength of the transmission. For example, the wavelength of transmission at 120 GHz can be four (4) times smaller than the wavelength of transmission at 30 GHz. Similarly, for the same antenna module 305 aperture size, 4 times as many antenna elements 325 can be installed in each dimension of the antenna module 305 for transmission at 120 GHz compared to transmission at 30 GHz. As such, a 4×1 antenna array for transmission at 30 GHz can occupy the same space as a 16×4 antenna array for transmission at 120 GHz. In some examples described herein, the antenna module 305 can be configured with multiple antenna elements 325 that can operate simultaneously or additionally on multiple frequencies (e.g., carriers) using multiple antenna feeds for different frequency ranges (e.g., frequency bands) using a flexible antenna array (e.g., a co-located antenna array).

[0108] The antenna array may be physically configured on the antenna module 305 at a relatively low cost, but the RFIC 320 may consume power to operate the antenna array (e.g., the plurality of antenna elements 325). In some cases, particularly when a large number of antenna elements 325 are configured on the antenna module 305, powering the RFIC 320 to operate the large number of antenna elements 325 may be expensive (e.g., may consume a significant amount of power). The RFIC 320 may be a mixer, an up / down converter, a power amplifier, a low noise amplifier, a phase shifter, an automatic gain control, or any combination of these or other similar components in the device 300 that may support the operation of the antenna module 305 or one or more antenna elements 325.

[0109] like Figure 3 As shown, three (3) antenna modules 305 can each include four RFICs 320, each of which can operate sixteen (16) antenna elements 325 (e.g., each RFIC 320 can operate a 4×4 antenna array). As such, sixty-four (64) antenna elements 325 can be included on the antenna module 305. However, Figure 3The number of antenna modules 305, RFICs 320, and antenna elements 325 shown in the figures are illustrative examples and are not meant to limit the present disclosure to the configuration shown. As such, the techniques described herein can be applied to a device 300 having any number of antenna modules 305, which can include any number of RFICs 320 and antenna elements 325, and the RFICs 320 can operate any number of antenna elements 325 (e.g., the RFIC 320 can operate 4 antenna elements, 16 antenna elements, or any other number of antenna elements based on the capabilities of the RFIC 320). Furthermore, as the number of antenna elements 325 of an antenna module 305 increases, the number of RFICs 320 used to operate the antenna elements 325 can increase accordingly.

[0110] In some cases, the device 300 can operate multiple antenna elements 325 by powering (e.g., turning on) one or more RFICs 320. After powering the one or more RFICs 320, the device 300 can operate multiple antenna elements 325 that can be controlled by the one or more RFICs 320. In some examples, it may be impractical for the device 300 to power all RFICs 320 (e.g., based on various conditions at the device 300). For example, powering all RFICs 320 with which the device 300 is configured may result in significant power overhead.

[0111] Additionally, the device 300 can turn on a subset of the RFICs 320 to improve its beamforming capabilities. For example, by turning on a subset of all RFICs 320, and therefore by using a subset of all antenna elements 325 of the antenna module 305 (e.g., using selected antenna elements 325-a), the device 300 can generate a wider beam (e.g., allowing the device 300 to send messages to all wider angular spread points in the cluster of partner devices). Additionally or alternatively, by determining which RFICs 320 to turn on, the device 300 can have more degrees of freedom in arranging, placing, and selecting its antenna array configuration. Thus, in addition to saving power usage, using a subset of antenna elements 325 can also enable the device 300 to transmit and / or receive with enhanced beamforming because the device 300 has more degrees of freedom available in its antenna element configuration.

[0112] Additionally, the device 300 may determine to operate the plurality of selected antenna elements 325-a based on conditions identified at the device 300. For example, the device 300 may determine to operate the plurality of selected antenna elements 325-a based on power availability, thermal constraints, interference constraints, power amplifier ratings, PDE constraints, mmW component ratings, beamwidth constraints, or angular spread estimates. The conditions may apply to the device 300 or a partner device (e.g., another device 300 communicating with the device 300), and the device 300 and / or the partner device may recognize that any number of conditions may apply in combination.

[0113] In some examples, device 300 may determine that device 300 has limited power availability. Device 300 may choose to operate multiple RFICs 320 and shut down—or otherwise not operate—the remaining RFICs 320, effectively conserving power at device 300. For example, Figure 3 As shown, the device can operate RFICs 320-b, 320-f, and 320-j corresponding to the selected antenna element 325-a and can save power by avoiding operating RFICs 320-a, 320-c, 320-d, 320-e, 320-g, 320-h, 320-i, 320-k, and 320-1. In some cases, the device 300 can select an antenna element 325 for communication across multiple RFICs 320 of a particular antenna module 305 and can operate multiple RFICs 320 of the antenna module 305 simultaneously. Alternatively, the device 300 can choose not to operate any antenna element 325 of a particular antenna module 305 and can avoid powering any corresponding RFIC 320 for the antenna module 305.

[0114] Thus, the device 300 can generate beams based on the number of RFICs 320 being powered by the device 300 (e.g., by using the analog beamformer 310 and the digital beamformer 315). Similarly, the device 300 can perform operations and functions associated with selecting or modifying the antenna element configuration of the antenna module 305 (e.g., increasing or decreasing the number of selected antenna elements 325-a) based on any other conditions identified by the device 300. The device 300 can determine to select any number and configuration of antenna elements 325 or determine to configure any type of antenna array based on a plurality of conditions that may affect the antenna element configuration of the device 300 (e.g., the device 300 can use a 1×4, 2×4, or any other size array of the selected antenna elements 325-a). The device 300 can reduce communication power overhead by not operating a plurality of unselected antenna elements 325-b.

[0115] like Figure 2As described in , in some cases, device 300 may determine to operate multiple selected antenna elements 325-a so that device 300 may reduce its antenna array size (e.g., its antenna array gain), which may adversely affect the link margin between device 300 and the partner device. In this case, device 300 may send a message to the partner device, such as reference Figure 2 An array indication message 220 is depicted to indicate the number of selected antenna elements 325 - a that the device 300 is operating.

[0116] Based on receiving the message, the partner device may determine to modify its antenna array configuration. In some examples, the partner device may initially operate multiple selected antenna elements 325-a and may determine to modify the number of operations of the selected antenna elements 325-a to maintain the link margin between the device 300 and the partner device (e.g., based on the number of selected antenna elements 325-a for the device 300). In a similar manner, the device 300 may receive a message indicating that the partner device has selected a subset of antenna elements. In such an example, the device 300 may determine to operate multiple selected antenna elements 325-a based on receiving the message so as to maintain the link margin between the partner device and the device 300 (or so that the change in the link margin is reduced or mitigated). For example, the device 300 may determine to operate multiple selected antenna elements 325-a based on receiving the message so that the link margin change is less than a threshold amount.

[0117] Figure 4 An example of a process flow 400 for supporting antenna array reconfiguration at both ends of a mmW link according to aspects of the present disclosure is shown. In some examples, the process flow 400 can implement aspects of wireless communication systems 100 and 200. The process flow 400 can include UE 115-c and UE 115d, which can be reference Figures 1 to 3 Examples of corresponding devices described herein. UE 115-c and UE 115-d may implement one or more techniques for implementing antenna array reconfiguration using array indication messages. Alternative examples below may be implemented in which some steps are performed in a different order than described or not performed at all. In some cases, the steps may include additional features not described below, or other steps may be added.

[0118] At 405, the UE 115-c may select a first subset of antenna elements. For example, the UE 115-c may select a subset of the selected antenna elements 325-a of the antenna module 305, as described with reference to FIG. Figure 3As described. In some cases, UE 115-c may select a subset of antenna elements based on a link budget threshold. The link budget threshold may be a threshold based on maintaining a previous link budget (e.g., a link budget between UE 115-c and UE 115-d before UE 115-c selected the first subset of antenna elements), a link margin, a threshold radiated power (e.g., EIRP), or a threshold received power (e.g., a threshold below which a transmission may not be successfully received). In some other cases, UE 115-c may select a subset of antenna elements based on identifying a trigger condition applicable to UE 115-c and / or UE 115-d.

[0119] At 410, UE 115-c may send a message to UE 115-d indicating the first subset of antenna elements selected by UE 115-c. The message may be sent over a communication link between UE 115-c and UE 115-d and may be a reference to Figure 2 Array indication message 220 described above. In some examples, the message may be a request message that may request UE 115-d to modify its antenna element configuration (e.g., select a second subset of antenna elements). In other examples, the message may be an indication message that may indicate to UE 115-d the antenna element configuration for use by UE 115d. In yet another example, the message may be a capability message for UE 115-c. The capability message may indicate that UE 115-c is capable of communicating using a plurality of antenna elements corresponding to the selected first subset of antenna elements. In this manner, UE 115-c may dynamically change the antenna element capability indication based on the set (e.g., subset) of antenna elements selected by UE 115-c for communication.

[0120] In some cases, the message sent by UE 115-c at 410 may be sent once at the beginning of establishing communication between UE 115-c and UE 115-d (e.g., the message may be sent statically). In other cases, the message may be sent from UE 115-c to UE 115-d periodically or aperiodically based on changing conditions at UE 115-c and / or UE 115-d (e.g., the message may be sent dynamically).

[0121] At 415, UE 115-d may determine to select the second subset of antenna elements based on the message. In examples where the message sent at 410 is a request message, UE 115-d may determine to modify its antenna array configuration based on receiving the message and identifying whether one or more conditions (e.g., power availability, etc.) at UE 115-d constrain its antenna element selection at 415. Alternatively, in some examples where the message sent at 410 is an indication message, UE 115-d may automatically select the second subset of antenna elements (e.g., UE 115-d may not have the option to decline selection of the second subset of antenna elements).

[0122] In some cases, UE 115-d may send an acknowledgment message to UE 115-c based on selecting the second subset of antenna elements at 420. In some cases, UE 115-d may send the acknowledgment message when the message sent at 410 is a request message.

[0123] At 425, UE 115-c and UE 115-d may communicate over the communication link between UE 115-c and UE 115-d using their respective selected subsets of antenna elements. In some cases, the communication between UE 115-c and UE 115-d may efficiently use available resources and / or may efficiently generate directional beams at each end of the communication link (e.g., at both UE 115-c and UE 115-d) based on the collaborative process for selecting antenna elements (e.g., based on the messaging at 410). The techniques described herein may enable two communicating devices to communicate more efficiently by dynamically configuring their antenna element configurations based on conditions applicable to one or both of the two communicating devices and mutual coordination of the communication link between the two devices.

[0124] Figure 5 A block diagram 500 is shown of a device 505 that supports antenna array reconfiguration at both ends of a mmW link in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure. The device 505 can be an example of aspects of a UE 115 or a base station 105 as described herein. The device 505 can include a receiver 510, a communication manager 515, and a transmitter 520. The device 505 can also include a processor. Each of these components can communicate with each other (e.g., via one or more buses).

[0125] The receiver 510 may receive information such as packets, user data, or control information associated with various information channels (e.g., control channels, data channels, and information related to antenna array reconfiguration at both ends of the mmW link). The information may be passed to other components of the device 505. The receiver 510 may be a reference Figure 8 and Figure 9Examples of aspects of the depicted transceiver 820 or 920. The receiver 510 may utilize a single antenna or a collection of antennas (eg, a collection of antenna elements).

[0126] The communication manager 515 may be implemented at the first device. The communication manager 515 may select a subset of antenna elements from the set of antenna elements of the antenna module for a communication link with the second device, send a message indicating the selected subset of antenna elements to the second device, and communicate with the second device over the communication link using the selected subset of antenna elements and based on the message.

[0127] Additionally or alternatively, the communication manager 515 may receive a message from the second device indicating a first subset of antenna elements selected by the second device for the communication link, select a second subset of antenna elements from the set of antenna elements of the antenna module for the communication link with the second device based on the message, and communicate with the second device over the communication link using the selected second subset of antenna elements.

[0128] The actions performed by the communication manager 515 as described herein can be implemented to achieve one or more potential advantages. One implementation can allow a device to send an indication of antenna element reconfiguration at a device to another device based on one or more conditions that can be applied at either or both ends of a communication link between the devices. This implementation can be used to enable communication devices to collaborate on their operating antenna element configurations, which can result in more efficient communication based on operating multiple antenna elements based on conditions at both ends of the communication link. Additionally, this can allow communication devices to more efficiently use available resources at each end of the communication link, thereby allowing both devices to save power and extend battery life. For example, a first device can reduce the number of operating antenna elements based on the amount of available power remaining at the first device to save power and battery. The first device can send a message indicating a selected subset of antenna elements, and the second device that receives the message indicating the selected subset of antenna elements can adjust its antenna array configuration accordingly to maintain reliable communication over the communication link.

[0129] Based on the device configuring its antenna element configuration according to the conditions at the device, when the constraints are applied, the device can use a reduced number of antenna elements. Therefore, the processor of the device can perform a reduced number of calculations and reduce computational complexity by performing processing operations on a reduced number of antenna elements, RFICs, or both. By performing processing operations on a reduced number of antenna elements, RFICs, or both, the processor can save processing time and use less power, thereby achieving greater power allocation for other components of the device. Additionally or alternatively, if the first device receives a message indicating a first subset of antenna elements selected by the second device for the communication link and selects a second subset of antenna elements based on the message, the device can maintain the link margin and mitigate communication failures caused by power savings at one end of the communication link. This reconfiguration of the antenna arrays at both ends of the link can support reliable transmission, reduce the number of retransmissions on the channel, and correspondingly reduce processing overhead and signaling overhead (e.g., for processing retransmissions).

[0130] The communication manager 515 can be an example of aspects of the communication manager 810 or 910 as described herein. The communication manager 515 or its subcomponents can be implemented by hardware, code (e.g., software or firmware) executed by a processor, or any combination thereof. If implemented in code executed by a processor, the functions of the communication manager 515 or its subcomponents can be performed by a general-purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field-programmable gate array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof designed to perform the functions described in the present disclosure.

[0131] The communication manager 515 or its subcomponents can be physically located in different locations, including distributed such that portions of the functionality are implemented by one or more physical components at different physical locations. In some examples, the communication manager 515 or its subcomponents can be separate and distinct components in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure. In some examples, the communication manager 515 or its subcomponents can be combined with one or more other hardware components in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure, including but not limited to input / output (I / O) components, a transceiver, a network server, another computing device, one or more other components described in the present disclosure, or a combination thereof.

[0132] The transmitter 520 may transmit signals generated by other components of the device 505. In some examples, the transmitter 520 may be co-located with the receiver 510 in a transceiver module. For example, the transmitter 520 may be a reference Figure 8 and Figure 9Examples of aspects of the depicted transceiver 820 or 920. The transmitter 520 may utilize a single antenna or a collection of antennas (eg, a collection of antenna elements).

[0133] Figure 6 A block diagram 600 of a device 605 supporting antenna array reconfiguration at both ends of an mmW link according to aspects of the present disclosure is shown. The device 605 can be an example of aspects of the device 505, UE 115, or base station 105 as described herein. The device 605 can include a receiver 610, a communication manager 615, and a transmitter 640. The device 605 can also include a processor. Each of these components can communicate with each other (e.g., via one or more buses).

[0134] The receiver 610 may receive information such as packets, user data, or control information associated with various information channels (e.g., control channels, data channels, and information related to antenna array reconfiguration at both ends of the mmW link). The information may be passed to other components of the device 605. The receiver 610 may be a reference Figure 8 and Figure 9 Examples of aspects of the depicted transceiver 820 or 920. The receiver 610 may utilize a single antenna or a group of antennas.

[0135] The communication manager 615 can be an example of aspects of the communication manager 515 as described herein. The communication manager 615 can include an antenna selection component 620, an indication component 625, a communication component 630, and an indication receiving component 635. The communication manager 615 can be an example of aspects of the communication manager 810 or 910 as described herein. In some cases, one or more of these components can be connected to components of the receiver 610, the transmitter 640, or a transceiver. For example, the indication component 625 can be a component of the transmitter 640 or a transceiver, the indication receiving component 635 can be a component of the receiver 610 or a transceiver, and the communication component 630 can be a component of the receiver 610, the transmitter 640, or a transceiver. The communication manager 615 can be implemented at a first device (e.g., device 605).

[0136] In some cases, antenna selection component 620 can select a subset of antenna elements from the set of antenna elements of the antenna module for a communication link with the second device. Instruction component 625 can send a message to the second device indicating the selected subset of antenna elements. Communication component 630 can communicate with the second device over the communication link using the selected subset of antenna elements and based on the message.

[0137] Additionally or alternatively, the indication receiving component 635 can receive a message from the second device indicating a first subset of antenna elements selected by the second device for the communication link. The antenna selecting component 620 can select a second subset of antenna elements from the set of antenna elements of the antenna module for the communication link with the second device based on the message. The communication component 630 can communicate with the second device over the communication link using the selected second subset of antenna elements.

[0138] The transmitter 640 can transmit signals generated by other components of the device 605. In some examples, the transmitter 640 can be co-located with the receiver 610 in a transceiver module. For example, the transmitter 640 can be a reference Figure 8 and Figure 9 Examples of aspects of the depicted transceiver 820 or 920. The transmitter 640 may utilize a single antenna or a group of antennas.

[0139] Figure 7 A block diagram 700 of a communication manager 705 supporting antenna array reconfiguration at both ends of an mmW link in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure is shown. The communication manager 705 can be an example of aspects of the communication manager 515, the communication manager 615, the communication manager 810, or the communication manager 910 as described herein. The communication manager 705 can include an antenna selection component 710, an indication component 715, a communication component 720, a request component 725, a capability component 730, a trigger component 735, an RFIC operation component 740, an indication receiving component 745, a request receiving component 750, a capability receiving component 755, a transmit power controller 760, or any combination of these or other components for antenna array reconfiguration and communication. Each of these modules can communicate with each other directly or indirectly (e.g., via one or more buses). The communication manager 705 can be implemented at a first device, such as a base station 105 or a UE 115.

[0140] In some implementations, antenna selection component 710 can select, from a set of antenna elements of an antenna module, a subset of antenna elements in the set of antenna elements for a communication link with a second device. In some examples, selecting the subset of antenna elements can involve antenna selection component 710 selecting the subset of antenna elements based on a link budget threshold for the communication link. In some cases, the first device and the second device are UEs 115 and the communication link is a sidelink or relay communication link. In some other cases, the first device and the second device are base stations 105 and the communication link is a backhaul link or a relay communication link.

[0141] Indication component 715 can send a message to the second device indicating the selected subset of antenna elements. Communication component 720 can communicate with the second device via a communication link using the selected subset of antenna elements and based on the message. In some examples, communicating with the second device via the communication link involves communication component 720 receiving one or more messages from the second device via the communication link using the selected subset of antenna elements. In some cases, the carrier frequency used for the communication link is greater than 52.6 GHz.

[0142] In some cases, sending the message can involve requesting component 725 sending a request message requesting the second device to modify the configuration of the antenna elements at the second device based on the subset of antenna elements selected at the first device. In some examples, requesting component 725 can receive an acknowledgment message from the second device in response to the request message, indicating that the second device modified the configuration of the antenna elements at the second device based on the subset of antenna elements selected at the first device. In some cases, communicating with the second device over the communication link using the selected subset of antenna elements is based on receiving the acknowledgment message. In some cases, the request message indicates a requested number of antenna elements for the second device to use for the communication link.

[0143] In some other cases, sending the message can involve the capabilities component 730 sending a capabilities message for the first device, wherein the capabilities message indicates that the first device is capable of operating the selected subset of antenna elements. In some examples, the capabilities component 730 can dynamically select the antenna element capabilities of the first device for the capabilities message based on the selection.

[0144] The trigger component 735 can determine to select a subset of antenna elements based on: power availability at the first device, power availability at the second device, thermal constraints at the first device, thermal constraints at the second device, interference constraints at the first device, interference constraints at the second device, power amplifier ratings at the first device, power amplifier ratings at the second device, exposure constraints at the first device (e.g., maximum allowable exposure constraints, such as PDE constraints), exposure constraints at the second device (e.g., maximum allowable exposure constraints, such as PDE constraints), mmW component ratings at the first device, mmW component ratings at the second device, beamwidth constraints of beams used with the subset of antenna elements at the first device, beamwidth constraints of beams used with the second subset of antenna elements at the second device, angular spread estimates of one or more primary clusters at the first device, angular spread estimates of one or more primary clusters at the second device, or a combination thereof.

[0145] In some examples, the set of antenna elements is controlled by a set of RFICs for the antenna module.In some such examples, selecting the subset of antenna elements involves RFIC operating component 740 operating a subset of RFICs in the set of RFICs to control the selected subset of antenna elements.

[0146] In some other implementations, the indication receiving component 745 may receive a message from the second device indicating a first subset of antenna elements selected by the second device for the communication link. The antenna selecting component 710 may select, from the set of antenna elements of the antenna module, a second subset of antenna elements in the set of antenna elements for the communication link with the second device based on the message. In some examples, selecting the second subset of antenna elements may involve the antenna selecting component 710 selecting the second subset of antenna elements based on a link budget threshold for the communication link and the first subset of antenna elements. In some cases, the first and second devices are UEs 115 and the communication link is a sidelink or relay communication link. In some other cases, the first and second devices are base stations 105 and the communication link is a backhaul link or relay communication link.

[0147] The communication component 720 can communicate with the second device via the communication link using the second subset of the selected antenna elements. In some examples, communicating with the second device via the communication link involves the communication component 720 sending one or more messages to the second device via the communication link using the second subset of the selected antenna elements. In some cases, the carrier frequency used for the communication link is greater than 52.6 GHz.

[0148] In some examples, communication component 720 can communicate with a second device via a communication link using a first number of antenna elements. Indication receiving component 745 can determine that the second device has reduced the number of operating antenna elements for the communication link based on the indicated first subset of antenna elements. In some examples, antenna selecting component 710 can select a second number of antenna elements for the communication link that is greater than the first number of antenna elements for a second subset of antenna elements based on the second device reducing the number of operating antenna elements for the communication link.

[0149] In some other examples, communication component 720 can communicate with a second device via a communication link using a first number of antenna elements. Indication receiving component 745 can determine that the second device has increased the number of operating antenna elements for the communication link based on the indicated first subset of antenna elements. In some examples, antenna selecting component 710 can select a second number of antenna elements for the communication link that is less than the first number of antenna elements for a second subset of antenna elements based on the second device increasing the number of operating antenna elements for the communication link.

[0150] In some cases, receiving the message can involve request receiving component 750 receiving a request message requesting the first device to modify the configuration of antenna elements at the first device based on the first subset of antenna elements, wherein the second subset of antenna elements is selected based on the request message. In some examples, request receiving component 750 can send a confirmation message to the second device in response to the request message, the confirmation message indicating that the first device modified the configuration of antenna elements at the first device based on the selection of the second subset of antenna elements. In some examples, the request message indicates a requested number of antenna elements for the first device to use for the communication link, and the selected second subset of antenna elements includes the requested number of antenna elements.

[0151] In some other cases, receiving the message can involve capability receiving component 755 receiving a capability message for the second device, where the capability message indicates that the second device is capable of operating the first subset of antenna elements.

[0152] The transmit power controller 760 can modify the transmit power for the communication link based on the first subset of antenna elements and the selected second subset of antenna elements. In some examples, the set of antenna elements is controlled by a set of RFICs for the antenna module. In some such examples, selecting the second subset of antenna elements involves the RFIC operating component 740 operating a subset of RFICs in the set of RFICs to control the selected second subset of antenna elements.

[0153] Figure 8 A schematic diagram of a system 800 including a device 805 that supports antenna array reconfiguration at both ends of a mmW link according to aspects of the present disclosure is shown. Device 805 may be an example of, or include components of, device 505, device 605, or UE 115 as described herein. Device 805 may include components for two-way voice and data communications, including components for sending and receiving communications, including a communications manager 810, a transceiver 820, an antenna 825, a memory 830, a processor 840, and an I / O controller 850. These components may communicate electronically via one or more buses (e.g., bus 855). Device 805 may be an example of a first device.

[0154] In some implementations, the communication manager 810 may select a subset of antenna elements from the set of antenna elements of the antenna module for a communication link with the second device, send a message to the second device indicating the selected subset of antenna elements, and communicate with the second device over the communication link using the selected subset of antenna elements and based on the message. In some other implementations, the communication manager 810 may receive a message from the second device indicating a first subset of antenna elements selected by the second device for the communication link, select a second subset of antenna elements from the set of antenna elements of the antenna module for a communication link with the second device based on the message, and communicate with the second device over the communication link using the second subset of antenna elements.

[0155] The transceiver 820 can communicate bidirectionally via one or more antennas, wired or wireless links, as described above. For example, the transceiver 820 can represent a wireless transceiver and can communicate bidirectionally with another wireless transceiver. The transceiver 820 can also include a modem to modulate packets and provide the modulated packets to the antenna for transmission, as well as demodulate packets received from the antenna.

[0156] In some cases, a wireless device may include a single antenna 825. However, in some cases, a device may have more than one antenna 825, which may be capable of sending or receiving multiple wireless transmissions simultaneously.

[0157] The memory 830 may include random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), or a combination thereof. The memory 830 may store computer-readable code 835, which includes instructions that, when executed by a processor (e.g., processor 840), cause the device to perform various functions described herein. In some cases, the memory 830 may include a basic I / O system (BIOS), etc., which may control basic hardware or software operations, such as interaction with peripheral components or devices.

[0158] The processor 840 may include an intelligent hardware device (e.g., a general-purpose processor, a DSP, a central processing unit (CPU), a microcontroller, an ASIC, an FPGA, a programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic components, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof). In some cases, the processor 840 may be configured to operate the memory array using a memory controller. In other cases, the memory controller may be integrated into the processor 840. The processor 840 may be configured to execute computer-readable instructions stored in a memory (e.g., memory 830) to cause the device 805 to perform various functions (e.g., functions or tasks that support antenna array reconfiguration at both ends of the mmW link).

[0159] I / O controller 850 can manage input and output signals for device 805. I / O controller 850 can also manage peripheral devices that are not integrated into device 805. In some cases, I / O controller 850 can represent a physical connection or port to an external peripheral device. In some cases, I / O controller 850 can utilize a computer such as MS MS OS , or other known operating systems. In other cases, I / O controller 850 may represent or interact with a modem, keyboard, mouse, touch screen, or similar device. In some cases, I / O controller 850 may be implemented as part of a processor. In some cases, a user may interact with device 805 via I / O controller 850 or via hardware components controlled by I / O controller 850.

[0160] The code 835 may include instructions for implementing various aspects of the present disclosure, including instructions for supporting wireless communications. The code 835 may be stored in a non-transitory computer-readable medium, such as system memory or other types of memory. In some cases, the code 835 may not be directly executable by the processor 840, but may cause a computer (e.g., when compiled and executed) to perform the functions described herein.

[0161] Figure 9 A schematic diagram of a system 900 including a device 905 that supports antenna array reconfiguration at both ends of a mmW link according to various aspects of the present disclosure is shown. Device 905 can be an example of or include components of device 505, device 605, or base station 105 as described herein. Device 905 may include components for two-way voice and data communication, including components for sending and receiving communications, including a communication manager 910, a network communication manager 915, a transceiver 920, an antenna 925, a memory 930, a processor 940, and an inter-station communication manager 945. These components can communicate electronically via one or more buses (e.g., bus 955). Device 905 can be an example of a first device.

[0162] In some implementations, the communication manager 810 may select a subset of antenna elements from the set of antenna elements of the antenna module for a communication link with the second device, send a message to the second device indicating the selected subset of antenna elements, and communicate with the second device over the communication link using the selected subset of antenna elements and based on the message. In some other implementations, the communication manager 910 may receive a message from the second device indicating a first subset of antenna elements selected by the second device for the communication link, select a second subset of antenna elements from the set of antenna elements of the antenna module for a communication link with the second device based on the message, and communicate with the second device over the communication link using the second subset of antenna elements selected.

[0163] The network communications manager 915 may manage communications with the core network 130 (eg, via one or more wired backhaul links). For example, the network communications manager 915 may manage the delivery of data communications for client devices (eg, one or more UEs 115).

[0164] The transceiver 920 can communicate bidirectionally via one or more antennas, wired or wireless links, as described above. For example, the transceiver 920 can represent a wireless transceiver and can communicate bidirectionally with another wireless transceiver. The transceiver 920 can also include a modem for modulating packets and providing the modulated packets to the antenna for transmission, and demodulating packets received from the antenna.

[0165] In some cases, a wireless device may include a single antenna 925. However, in some cases, a device may have more than one antenna 925, which may be capable of sending or receiving multiple wireless transmissions simultaneously.

[0166] The memory 930 may include RAM, ROM, or a combination thereof. The memory 930 may store computer-readable code 935, which includes instructions that, when executed by a processor (e.g., processor 940), cause the device to perform various functions described herein. In some cases, the memory 930 may include BIOS, etc., which may control basic hardware or software operations, such as interaction with peripheral components or devices.

[0167] The processor 940 may include an intelligent hardware device (e.g., a general-purpose processor, a DSP, a CPU, a microcontroller, an ASIC, an FPGA, a programmable logic device, a discrete gate or transistor logic component, a discrete hardware component, or any combination thereof). In some cases, the processor 940 may be configured to operate the memory array using a memory controller. In other cases, the memory controller may be integrated into the processor 940. The processor 940 may be configured to execute computer-readable instructions stored in a memory (e.g., memory 930) to cause the device 905 to perform various functions (e.g., functions or tasks that support antenna array reconfiguration at both ends of the mmW link).

[0168] The inter-site communication manager 945 can manage communications with other base stations 105 and can include a controller or scheduler for controlling communications with UE 115 in coordination with other base stations 105. For example, the inter-site communication manager 945 can coordinate the scheduling of transmissions to UE 115 for various interference mitigation techniques such as beamforming or joint transmission. In some examples, the inter-site communication manager 945 can provide an X2 interface within an LTE / LTE-A wireless communication network technology to provide communications between base stations 105.

[0169] The code 935 may include instructions for implementing various aspects of the present disclosure, including instructions for supporting wireless communications. The code 935 may be stored in a non-transitory computer-readable medium, such as system memory or other types of memory. In some cases, the code 935 may not be directly executable by the processor 940, but may cause the computer (e.g., when compiled and executed) to perform the functions described herein.

[0170] Figure 10 A flow chart illustrating a method 1000 for reconfiguring antenna arrays at both ends of a mmW link in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure is shown. The operations of the method 1000 may be implemented by a UE 115, a base station 105, or components of a UE 115 or a base station 105 as described herein. For example, the operations of the method 1000 may be implemented by a UE 115, a base station 105, or components of a UE 115 or a base station 105 as described herein. Figures 5 to 9 In some examples, the UE or base station may execute a set of instructions to control the functional elements of the UE or base station to perform the functions described below. Additionally or alternatively, the UE or base station may use dedicated hardware to perform various aspects of the functions described below.

[0171] At 1005, the UE or base station (e.g., the first device) may select a subset of antenna elements from the set of antenna elements of the antenna module for a communication link with the second device. The operations of 1005 may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 1005 may be performed as described with reference to Figures 5 to 9 The antenna selection component described is performed.

[0172] At 1010, the UE or base station may send a message to the second device indicating the selected subset of antenna elements. The operations of 1010 may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 1010 may be described with reference to Figures 5 to 9 The described instructions are executed by the component.

[0173] At 1015, the UE or base station may communicate with the second device over the communication link using the selected subset of antenna elements and based on the message. The operations of 1015 may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 1015 may be performed as described with reference to Figures 5 to 9 The described communication components are executed.

[0174] Figure 11 A flow chart illustrating a method 1100 for reconfiguring antenna arrays at both ends of a mmW link in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure is shown. The operations of the method 1100 may be implemented by a UE 115, a base station 105, or components of a UE 115 or a base station 105 as described herein. For example, the operations of the method 1100 may be implemented by a UE 115, a base station 105, or components of a UE 115 or a base station 105 as described herein. Figures 5 to 9 In some examples, the UE or base station may execute a set of instructions to control the functional elements of the UE or base station to perform the functions described below. Additionally or alternatively, the UE or base station may use dedicated hardware to perform various aspects of the functions described below.

[0175] At 1105, the UE or base station (e.g., the first device) may select a subset of the set of antenna elements from the set of antenna elements of the antenna module for a communication link with the second device. The operations of 1105 may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 1105 may be performed as described with reference to Figures 5 to 9 The antenna selection component described is performed.

[0176] At 1110, the UE or base station may send a request message for the second device to modify the antenna element configuration at the second device based on the subset of antenna elements selected at the first device. The operations of 1110 may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 1110 may be performed as described with reference to Figures 5 to 9 The described request component executes.

[0177] At 1115, the UE or base station may receive a confirmation message from the second device in response to the request message, the confirmation message indicating that the second device has modified the antenna element configuration at the second device based on the subset of antenna elements selected at the first device. The operations of 1115 may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 1115 may be performed as described with reference to Figures 5 to 9 The described request component executes.

[0178] At 1120, the UE or base station may communicate with the second device over the communication link using the selected subset of antenna elements and based on the request message. The operations of 1120 may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 1120 may be as described with reference to Figures 5 to 9 The described communication components are executed.

[0179] Figure 12 A flow chart illustrating a method 1200 for supporting antenna array reconfiguration at both ends of a mmW link according to aspects of the present disclosure is shown. The operations of the method 1200 may be implemented by a UE 115, a base station 105, or components of a UE 115 or a base station 105 as described herein. For example, the operations of the method 1200 may be implemented by a UE 115, a base station 105, or components of a UE 115 or a base station 105 as described herein. Figures 5 to 9 The communication manager described herein performs. In some examples, the UE or base station may execute a set of instructions to control the functional elements of the UE or base station to perform the functions described below. Additionally or alternatively, the UE or base station may use dedicated hardware to perform various aspects of the functions described below.

[0180] At 1205, the UE or base station (e.g., the first device) may select a subset of antenna elements from the set of antenna elements of the antenna module for a communication link with the second device. The operations of 1205 may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 1205 may be performed as described with reference to Figures 5 to 9 The antenna selection component described performs

[0181] At 1210, the UE or base station may dynamically select the antenna element capabilities of the first device for the capability message based on the selection. The operations of 1210 may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 1210 may be as described with reference to Figures 5 to 9 The described capability components are executed.

[0182] At 1215, the UE or base station may send a capability message to the first device, wherein the capability message indicates that the first device is capable of operating the selected subset of antenna elements. The operations of 1215 may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 1215 may be performed as described in reference to Figures 5 to 9 The described capability components are executed.

[0183] At 1220, the UE or base station may communicate with the second device over the communication link using the selected subset of antenna elements and based on the capability message. The operations of 1220 may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 1220 may be as described with reference to Figures 5 to 9 The described communication components are executed.

[0184] Figure 13 A flow chart illustrating a method 1300 for supporting antenna array reconfiguration at both ends of a mmW link according to aspects of the present disclosure is shown. The operations of the method 1300 may be implemented by a UE 115, a base station 105, or components of a UE 115 or a base station 105 as described herein. For example, the operations of the method 1300 may be implemented by a UE 115, a base station 105, or components of a UE 115 or a base station 105 as described herein. Figures 5 to 9 The communication manager described herein performs. In some examples, the UE or base station may execute a set of instructions to control the functional elements of the UE or base station to perform the functions described below. Additionally or alternatively, the UE or base station may use dedicated hardware to perform various aspects of the functions described below.

[0185] At 1305, a UE or base station (e.g., a first device) may receive a message from a second device indicating a first subset of antenna elements selected by the second device for a communication link. The operations of 1305 may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 1305 may be performed as described with reference to Figures 5 to 9 The described instructions are executed by the receiving component.

[0186] At 1310, the UE or base station may select, from the set of antenna elements of the antenna module, a second subset of antenna elements in the set of antenna elements for a communication link with the second device based on the message. The operations of 1310 may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 1310 may be performed as described with reference to Figures 5 to 9 The antenna selection component described performs

[0187] At 1315, the UE or base station may communicate with the second device via the communication link using the second subset of the selected antenna elements. The operations of 1315 may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 1315 may be performed as described with reference to Figures 5 to 9 The described communication components are executed.

[0188] It should be noted that the methods described herein describe possible implementations, and that the operations and steps may be rearranged or otherwise modified, and that other implementations are possible. Furthermore, aspects from two or more methods may be combined.

[0189] Although aspects of LTE, LTE-A, LTE-A Pro, or NR systems may be described for example purposes, and LTE, LTE-A, LTE-A Pro, or NR terminology may be used throughout much of the description, the techniques described herein are applicable beyond LTE, LTE-A, LTE-A Pro, or NR networks. For example, the techniques described may be applicable to various other wireless communication systems, such as Ultra Mobile Broadband (UMB), Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 (Wi-Fi), IEEE 802.16 (WiMAX), IEEE 802.20, Flash-OFDM, and other systems and radio technologies not explicitly mentioned herein.

[0190] The information and signals described herein may be represented using any of a variety of different techniques and methods. For example, data, instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, symbols, and chips mentioned throughout the description may be represented by voltages, currents, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or particles, optical fields or particles, or any combination thereof.

[0191] The various illustrative blocks and components described in conjunction with the disclosure herein may be implemented or executed using a general purpose processor, a DSP, an ASIC, a CPU, an FPGA or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof designed to perform the functions described herein. A general purpose processor may be a microprocessor, but in the alternative, the processor may be any processor, controller, microcontroller, or state machine. A processor may also be implemented as a combination of computing devices (e.g., a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, a plurality of microprocessors, a combination of one or more microprocessors and a DSP core, or any other such configuration).

[0192] The functions described herein may be implemented using hardware, software executed by a processor, firmware, or any combination thereof. If implemented using software executed by a processor, the functions may be stored on or transmitted via a computer-readable medium as one or more instructions or codes. Other examples and implementations are within the scope of this disclosure and the appended claims. For example, due to the nature of software, the functions described herein may be implemented using software executed by a processor, hardware, firmware, hardwiring, or a combination of any of these. Features that implement the functions may also be physically located at various locations, including being distributed so that portions of the functions are implemented at different physical locations.

[0193] Computer-readable medium includes both non-transient computer storage medium and communication medium, and communication medium includes any medium that promotes the transmission of computer program from one place to another.Non-transient storage medium can be any available medium that can be accessed by general-purpose computer or special-purpose computer.By way of example and not limitation, non-transient computer-readable medium can include RAM, ROM, electrically erasable programmable ROM (EEPROM), flash memory, compact disc (CD) ROM or other optical disc storage, disk storage or other magnetic storage device or can be used for carrying or storing desired program code unit and any other non-transient medium that can be accessed by general-purpose or special-purpose computer or general or special-purpose processor in the form of instruction or data structure.In addition, any connection is suitably referred to as computer-readable medium.For example, if software is to be sent from website, server or other remote source using coaxial cable, optical fiber cable, twisted pair, digital subscriber line (DSL) or wireless technology such as infrared, radio and microwave, then coaxial cable, optical fiber cable, twisted pair, DSL or wireless technology such as infrared, radio and microwave are included in the definition of computer-readable medium. As used herein, disk and disc include CD, laser disc, optical disc, digital versatile disc (DVD), floppy disk and Blu-ray disc, wherein disks usually reproduce data magnetically, while discs reproduce data optically with lasers. Combinations of the above are also included within the scope of computer-readable media.

[0194] As used herein (including in the claims), "or" as used in a list of items (e.g., a list of items ending with a phrase such as "at least one of" or "one or more of") indicates an inclusive list, so that, for example, a list of at least one of A, B, or C means A or B or C or AB or AC or BC or ABC (i.e., A and B and C). Furthermore, as used herein, the phrase "based on" should not be interpreted as a reference to a closed set of conditions. For example, an example step described as "based on condition A" can be based at least in part on both condition A and condition B without departing from the scope of this disclosure. In other words, as used herein, the phrase "based on" should be interpreted in the same manner as the phrase "based at least in part on."

[0195] In the accompanying drawings, similar components or features may have the same reference number. In addition, various components of the same type may be distinguished by following the reference number with a dash and a second reference number to distinguish between similar components. If only the first reference number is used in the specification, the description applies to any one of the similar components having the same first reference number, regardless of the second reference number or other subsequent reference numbers.

[0196] The descriptions set forth herein in conjunction with the accompanying drawings describe example configurations and do not represent all examples that can be implemented or within the scope of the claims. The term "example" as used herein means "serving as an example, instance, or illustration," rather than "preferred" or "having advantages over other examples." The detailed description includes specific details for the purpose of providing an understanding of the described techniques. However, these techniques can be implemented without these specific details. In some cases, known structures and devices are shown in block diagram form to avoid obscuring the concepts of the described examples.

[0197] The description herein is provided to enable one of ordinary skill in the art to implement or use the present disclosure. Various modifications to the present disclosure will be readily apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art, and the overall principles defined herein may be applied to other variations without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. Therefore, the present disclosure is not limited to the examples and designs described herein, but is intended to be used in the widest possible manner consistent with the principles and novel features disclosed herein.

Claims

1. A method for wireless communication at a first device, comprising: selecting, from a plurality of antenna elements of an antenna module, a subset of antenna elements of the plurality of antenna elements for use in a communication link with a second device, the subset of antenna elements comprising a number of antenna elements capable of operating or currently operating with the first device; sending a message indicating the number of antenna elements in the selected subset of antenna elements to the second device, wherein the message is for the second device to adjust the number of antenna elements operated at the second device based at least in part on the number of antenna elements in the selected subset of antenna elements at the first device; as well as Communicating with the second device over the communication link using the selected subset of antenna elements and based at least in part on the message.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein Selecting the subset of antenna elements includes: The subset of antenna elements is selected based at least in part on a link budget threshold for the communication link.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein The message is a request message.

4. The method according to claim 3, further comprising: A confirmation message is received from the second device in response to the request message, the confirmation message indicating that the second device has adjusted a configuration of antenna elements at the second device based at least in part on the subset of antenna elements selected at the first device.

5. The method according to claim 4, wherein Communicating with the second device over the communication link using the selected subset of antenna elements is based at least in part on receiving the confirmation message.

6. The method according to claim 3, wherein: The request message indicates a requested number of antenna elements for the second device to use for the communication link.

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein Sending the message includes: A capabilities message is sent to the first device, wherein the capabilities message indicates that the first device is capable of operating the selected subset of antenna elements.

8. The method according to claim 7, further comprising: Antenna element capabilities of the first device are dynamically selected for the capabilities message based at least in part on the selection.

9. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: The selection of the subset of antenna elements is determined at least in part based on: power availability at the first device, power availability at the second device, thermal constraints at the first device, thermal constraints at the second device, interference constraints at the first device, interference constraints at the second device, power amplifier ratings at the first device, power amplifier ratings at the second device, exposure constraints at the first device, exposure constraints at the second device, millimeter wave component ratings at the first device, millimeter wave component ratings at the second device, beamwidth constraints of beams used with the subset of antenna elements at the first device, beamwidth constraints of beams used with the second subset of antenna elements at the second device, angular spread estimates of one or more primary clusters at the first device, angular spread estimates of one or more primary clusters at the second device, or a combination thereof.

10. The method according to claim 1, wherein The plurality of antenna elements are controlled by a plurality of radio frequency integrated circuits for the antenna module, and selecting a subset of the antenna elements comprises: A subset of the plurality of radio frequency integrated circuits is operated to control the selected subset of antenna elements.

11. The method according to claim 1, wherein Communicating with the second device through the communication link includes: One or more messages are received from the second device over the communication link using the selected subset of antenna elements.

12. The method according to claim 1, wherein A carrier frequency used for the communication link is greater than 52.6 gigahertz (GHz).

13. The method of claim 1, wherein: The first device and the second device include user equipment (UE); and The communication link comprises a side link or a relay communication link.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein: The first device and the second device include base stations; and The communication link includes a backhaul link or a relay communication link.

15. A method for wireless communication at a first device, comprising: receiving a message from a second device indicating a first subset of antenna elements selected by the second device for a communication link, the selected first subset of antenna elements comprising a number of antenna elements operated by the second device, and wherein the message is for the first device to adjust a number of antenna elements operated at the first device based at least in part on the number of antenna elements operated by the second device; selecting, from a plurality of antenna elements of an antenna module, a second subset of antenna elements of the plurality of antenna elements for the communication link with the second device based at least in part on the message; and Communicating with the second device over the communication link using the selected second subset of antenna elements.

16. The method according to claim 15, wherein Selecting the second subset of antenna elements includes: A second subset of the antenna elements is selected based at least in part on a link budget threshold for the communication link and the first subset of antenna elements.

17. The method according to claim 15, wherein: The message is a request message, wherein the second subset of antenna elements is selected based at least in part on the request message.

18. The method according to claim 17, further comprising: In response to the request message, a confirmation message is sent to the second device, the confirmation message indicating that the first device adjusted the antenna element configuration at the first device based at least in part on selecting the second subset of antenna elements.

19. The method of claim 17, wherein: The request message indicates a requested number of antenna elements for use by the first device for the communication link; and The selected second subset of antenna elements includes the requested number of antenna elements.

20. The method according to claim 15, wherein Receiving the message includes: A capabilities message is received for the second device, wherein the capabilities message indicates that the second device is capable of operating the first subset of antenna elements.

21. The method of claim 15, further comprising: A transmit power for the communication link is modified based at least in part on the first subset of antenna elements and the selected second subset of antenna elements.

22. The method of claim 15, further comprising: communicating with the second device via the communication link using a first number of antenna elements; determining that the second device has reduced a number of operating antenna elements for the communication link based at least in part on the indicated first subset of antenna elements; as well as A second number of antenna elements greater than the first number of antenna elements is selected for a second subset of the antenna elements for the communication link based at least in part on the second device reducing the number of operating antenna elements for the communication link.

23. The method of claim 15, further comprising: communicating with the second device via the communication link using a first number of antenna elements; determining that the second device has increased a number of operational antenna elements for the communication link based at least in part on the indicated first subset of antenna elements; as well as A second number of antenna elements less than the first number of antenna elements is selected for a second subset of the antenna elements for the communication link based at least in part on the second device increasing the number of operational antenna elements for the communication link.

24. The method according to claim 15, wherein The plurality of antenna elements are controlled by a plurality of radio frequency integrated circuits for the antenna module, and selecting a second subset of the antenna elements comprises: A subset of the plurality of radio frequency integrated circuits is operated to control a selected second subset of antenna elements.

25. The method according to claim 15, wherein Communicating with the second device through the communication link includes: One or more messages are sent to the second device over the communication link using the selected second subset of antenna elements.

26. The method according to claim 15, wherein A carrier frequency used for the communication link is greater than 52.6 gigahertz (GHz).

27. The method of claim 15, wherein: The first device and the second device include user equipment (UE); and The communication link comprises a side link or a relay communication link.

28. The method of claim 15, wherein: The first device and the second device include base stations; and The communication link includes a backhaul link or a relay communication link.

29. An apparatus for wireless communication at a first device, comprising: processor, a memory coupled to the processor; as well as Instructions stored in the memory and executable by the processor to cause the apparatus to: selecting, from a plurality of antenna elements of an antenna module, a subset of antenna elements of the plurality of antenna elements for use in a communication link with a second device, the subset of antenna elements comprising a number of antenna elements capable of operating or currently operating with the first device; sending a message indicating the number of antenna elements in the selected subset of antenna elements to the second device, wherein the message is for the second device to adjust the number of antenna elements operated at the second device based at least in part on the number of antenna elements in the selected subset of antenna elements at the first device; as well as Communicating with the second device over the communication link using the selected subset of antenna elements and based at least in part on the message.

30. An apparatus for wireless communication at a first device, comprising: processor, a memory coupled to the processor; as well as Instructions stored in the memory and executable by the processor to cause the apparatus to: receiving a message from a second device indicating a first subset of antenna elements selected by the second device for a communication link, the selected first subset of antenna elements comprising a number of antenna elements operated by the second device, and wherein the message is for the first device to adjust a number of antenna elements operated at the first device based at least in part on the number of antenna elements operated by the second device; selecting, from a plurality of antenna elements of an antenna module, a second subset of antenna elements of the plurality of antenna elements for the communication link with the second device based at least in part on the message; and Communicating with the second device over the communication link using the selected second subset of antenna elements.

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