User equipment capability and enablement indication for downlink control information (DCI)-based beam and path loss (PL) reference signal (RS) activation

Abstract

Aspects of the disclosure provide apparatuses, methods, processing systems, and computer readable media for enabling downlink control information (DCI)-based beam and path loss (PL) reference signal (RS) activation. An example method generally includes reporting, to a network entity, a capability of a UE to support activation of at least one of a beam switch, a beam activation, or a path loss (PL) reference signal (RS) activation based on downlink control information (DCI); receiving, from the network entity, a DCI that activates at least one of the beam switch, the beam activation, or the PL RS; and performing, in response to the DCI, the beam switch, the beam activation, or the PL RS measurement.

Description

[0001] CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0002] This application claims priority to U.S. Application No. 17 / 114,043, filed December 7, 2020, which claims the benefit of and priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application S / N. 62 / 947,878, entitled “User Equipment Capability and Enablement Indication for Downlink Control Information (DCI) Based Beam and Path Loss (PL) Reference Signal (RS) Activation,” filed December 13, 2019, and assigned to the assignee hereof, the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference herein in their entirety. TECHNICAL FIELD

[0003] Aspects of the present disclosure relate to wireless communications, and more particularly, to techniques for enabling downlink control information (DCI) based beam and path loss (PL) reference signal (RS) activation.

[0004] BACKGROUND

[0005] Wireless communication systems are widely deployed to provide various telecommunication services such as telephony, video, data, messaging, broadcasts, etc. These wireless communication systems can employ multiple-access technologies capable of supporting communication with multiple users by sharing available system resources (e.g., bandwidth, transmit power, etc.). Examples of such multiple-access technologies include 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) Long Term Evolution (LTE) systems, 3GPP LTE-Advanced (LTE-A) systems, code division multiple access (CDMA) systems, time division multiple access (TDMA) systems, frequency division multiple access (FDMA) systems, orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) systems, single-carrier frequency division multiple access (SC-FDMA) systems, and time division synchronous code division multiple access (TD-SCDMA) systems, to name a few.

[0006] These multiple access technologies have been adopted in various telecommunication standards to provide common protocols that enable different wireless devices to communicate on the same radio frequency networks. New radio (e.g., 5G NR) is an example of an emerging telecommunication standard. NR is a set of enhancements to the LTE mobile standard promulgated by 3GPP. NR is designed to better support mobile broadband Internet access by improving spectral efficiency, lowering costs, improving services, making use of new spectrum, and better integrating with other open standards using OFDMA with a cyclic prefix (CP) on the downlink (DL) and on the uplink (UL). To these ends, NR supports beamforming, multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) antenna technology, and carrier aggregation.

[0007] However, as the demand for mobile broadband access continues to increase, there exists a need for further improvements in NR and LTE technology. Preferably, these improvements should be applicable to other multi-access technologies and the telecommunication standards that employ these technologies.

[0008] A control resource set (CORESET) for a system (e.g., an NR and LTE system) can include one or more sets of control resources (e.g., time and frequency resources) configured within a system bandwidth for conveying PDCCH. Within each CORESET, one or more search spaces (e.g., common search space (CSS), UE-specific search space (USS), etc.) can be defined for a given UE.

[0009] SUMMARY

[0010] The systems, methods, and devices of this disclosure each have several innovative aspects, none of which is solely responsible for its desirable attributes.

[0011] One innovative aspect of the subject matter described in this disclosure can be implemented in a method for wireless communication by a user equipment (UE). The method generally includes reporting, to a network entity, a capability of the UE to support activation of at least one of a beam switch, a beam activation, or a path loss (PL) reference signal (RS) activation based on downlink control information (DCI), receiving, from the network entity, DCI that activates at least one of the beam switch, the beam activation, or the PL RS, and performing, in response to the DCI, the beam switch, the beam activation, or a PL RS measurement.

[0012] One innovative aspect of the subject matter described in this disclosure can be implemented in a method for wireless communication by a network entity. The method generally includes receiving, from a user equipment (UE), an indication of a capability of the UE to support activation of at least one of beam switching, beam activation, or path loss (PL) reference signal (RS) activation based on downlink control information (DCI), and transmitting, to the UE, DCI that activates at least one of the beam switching, the beam activation, or the PL RS.

[0013] One innovative aspect of the subject matter described in this disclosure can be implemented in an apparatus for wireless communication by a user equipment (UE). The method generally includes a transmitter configured to transmit, to a network entity, an indication of a capability of the UE to support activation of at least one of beam switching, beam activation, or path loss (PL) reference signal (RS) activation based on downlink control information (DCI), a receiver configured to receive, from the network entity, DCI that activates at least one of the beam switching, the beam activation, or the PL RS, and a processing system configured to perform, in response to the DCI, beam switching, beam activation, or PL RS measurement.

[0014] One innovative aspect of the subject matter described in this disclosure can be implemented in an apparatus for wireless communication by a network entity. The method generally includes a receiver configured to receive, from a user equipment (UE), an indication of a capability of the UE to support activation of at least one of beam switching, beam activation, or path loss (PL) reference signal (RS) activation based on downlink control information (DCI), and a transmitter configured to transmit, to the UE, DCI that activates at least one of the beam switching, the beam activation, or the PL RS.

[0015] One innovative aspect of the subject matter described in this disclosure can be implemented in an apparatus for wireless communication by a user equipment (UE). The method generally includes means for reporting, to a network entity, a capability of the UE to support activation of at least one of beam switching, beam activation, or path loss (PL) reference signal (RS) activation based on downlink control information (DCI), means for receiving, from the network entity, DCI that activates at least one of the beam switching, the beam activation, or the PL RS, and means for performing, in response to the DCI, beam switching, beam activation, or PL RS measurement.

[0016] One innovative aspect of the subject matter described in this disclosure can be implemented in a method for wireless communication by a network entity. The method generally includes receiving, from a user equipment (UE), an indication of a capability of the UE to support activation of at least one of a beam switch, a beam activation, or a path loss (PL) reference signal (RS) activation based on downlink control information (DCI), and transmitting, to the UE, DCI that activates at least one of the beam switch, the beam activation, or the PL RS.

[0017] Aspects of the disclosure provide apparatuses, devices, processors, and computer-readable media for performing the methods described herein.

[0018] To the accomplishment of the foregoing and related aspects, this one or more aspects comprise the features recited in the following claims, and the following description discloses one or more aspects and the like. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0020] The specifics of one or more implementations of the subject matter described in this disclosure are set forth in the accompanying drawings and description below. However, the drawings are not necessarily to scale and, in some instances, certain features can be shown exaggerated in scale or in somewhat schematic form and are intended to provide a general representation of selected aspects. In this regard, the drawings and descriptions are illustrative of certain aspects and are not meant to be restrictive.

[0021] Figure 1 An example wireless communication network in which aspects of the disclosure can be performed is illustrated.

[0022] Figure 2 Block diagrams illustrating an example base station (BS) and an example user equipment (UE) are shown.

[0023] Figure 3 An example of a frame format for a telecommunications system is illustrated in accordance with certain aspects of the disclosure.

[0024] Figure 4 An example operation for wireless communication by a user equipment (UE) is illustrated in accordance with some aspects of the disclosure.

[0025] Figure 5 An example operation for wireless communication by a network entity is illustrated in accordance with some aspects of the disclosure.

[0026] Figure 6 A call flow diagram illustrating messages exchanged between a user equipment (UE) and a network entity for enabling DCI-based beam and / or path loss (PL) reference signal (RS) activation in accordance with some aspects of the disclosure.

[0027] Figure 7 Communication devices that can include various components configured to perform operations for the techniques disclosed herein are illustrated in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

[0028] Figure 8 Communication devices that can include various components configured to perform operations for the techniques disclosed herein are illustrated in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

[0029] To facilitate understanding, like reference numerals have been used, where possible, to designate like elements common to the figures. It is contemplated that elements disclosed in one aspect can be beneficially utilized on other aspects without specific recitation.

[0030] Detailed Description

[0031] Aspects of the present disclosure provide apparatus, methods, processing systems, and computer readable media for enabling downlink control information (DCI)-based beam and path loss (PL) reference signal (RS) activation.

[0032] The following description provides examples of DCI-based beam and PL RS activation and is not intended to limit the scope, applicability, or examples set forth in the claims. Changes in or substitutions for the functions and arrangements of portions of the concepts described can occur without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. Various examples can omit, substitute, or add various procedures or components besides those described. For instance, the methods described can be performed in an order different from that described, and other steps can be added, omitted, or combined. Also, features described with respect to some examples can be combined in some other examples. For example, an apparatus or a method can be implemented using any number of the aspects set forth herein. In addition, the scope of the disclosure is intended to cover such an apparatus or method which is practiced using an additional structure, functionality, or structure and functionality in addition to the various aspects of the disclosure set forth herein. It should be understood that any aspect of the disclosure disclosed herein can be implemented by one or more elements of a claim.

[0033] In general, any number of wireless networks can be deployed in a given geographic area. Each wireless network can support a particular radio access technology (RAT) and can operate on one or more frequencies. A RAT can also be referred to as a radio technology, an air interface, etc. A frequency can also be referred to as a carrier, a subcarrier, a frequency channel, a tone, a subband, etc. Each frequency channel can support a single RAT in a given geographic area in order to avoid interference between wireless networks of different RATs. In some cases, 5G NR RAT networks can be deployed.

[0034] Figure 1 An example wireless communication network 100 in which aspects of the present disclosure can be performed is illustrated. For example, as shown in FIG. 1, base stations 102 can be deployed in a given geographic area to provide wireless communication services to one or more UEs 104. In this example, each base station 102 can provide communication coverage for a respective geographic area 110. For example, base station 102l can provide communication coverage for a geographic area 110a, base station 102b can provide communication coverage for a geographic area 110b, and base station 102c can provide communication coverage for a geographic area 110c. In this example, the geographic areas 110a, 110b, and 110c can be of different sizes. In some examples, the geographic areas 110a, 110b, and 110c can overlap, and different overlapping geographic areas 110 can be supported by the same or different base stations 102.Figure 1 As shown in FIG. 12, the UE 120a can include a DCI beam switch / beam activation / PL RS activation module 122, which can be configured to perform (or cause the UE 120a to perform) the operations 400. Similarly, the base station 110a can include a DCI beam switch / beam activation / PL RS activation module 112, which can be configured to perform (or cause the BS 110a to perform) the operations 500 (e.g., signaling to a UE performing operations 400 an enabling or disabling of DCI-based beam and / or PL RS activation). Figure 4 As shown in FIG. 12, the UE 120a can include a DCI beam switch / beam activation / PL RS activation module 122, which can be configured to perform (or cause the UE 120a to perform) the operations 400. Similarly, the base station 110a can include a DCI beam switch / beam activation / PL RS activation module 112, which can be configured to perform (or cause the BS 110a to perform) the operations 500 (e.g., signaling to a UE performing operations 400 an enabling or disabling of DCI-based beam and / or PL RS activation). Figure 5 As shown in FIG. 12, the UE 120a can include a DCI beam switch / beam activation / PL RS activation module 122, which can be configured to perform (or cause the UE 120a to perform) the operations 400. Similarly, the base station 110a can include a DCI beam switch / beam activation / PL RS activation module 112, which can be configured to perform (or cause the BS 110a to perform) the operations 500 (e.g., signaling to a UE performing operations 400 an enabling or disabling of DCI-based beam and / or PL RS activation).

[0035] NR access (e.g., 5G NR) can support various wireless communication services, such as enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB) targeting wide bandwidth (e.g., 80 MHz or beyond), millimeter wave (mmWave) targeting high carrier frequency (e.g., 25 GHz or beyond), massive machine type communications MTC (mMTC) targeting non-backward compatible MTC techniques, or critical

[0036] As Figure 1 illustrated in FIG. 1, the wireless communication network 100 can include a number of base stations (BSs) 110a-z (each also individually referred to herein as BS 110 or collectively as BSs 110) and other network entities. A BS 110 can provide communication coverage for a particular geographic area, which can be referred to as a “cell” or a “block.” In some examples, a BS 110 can be stationary, associated with a particular location, or mobile, where the particular location of the BS 110 can change over time. In some examples, the BSs 110 can be interconnected to one another and / or to one or more other BSs or network nodes (not shown) in the wireless communication network 100 through various types of backhaul interfaces (e.g., a direct physical connection, a wireless connection, a virtual network, or the like) using any suitable transport network. Figure 1In the example shown in FIG. 1, the BSs 110a, 110b, and 110c can be macro BSs for the macro cells 102a, 102b, and 102c, respectively. The BS 1 lOx can be a pico BS for a pico cell 102x. The BSs 1 lOy and 1 lOz can be femto BSs for the femto cells 102y and 102z, respectively. A BS can support one or multiple cells. The BSs 110 communicate with user equipment (UEs) 120a-y, each also individually referred to as UE 120 or collectively as UEs 120, in the wireless communication network 100. The UEs 120 (e.g., 120x, 120y, etc.) can be dispersed throughout the wireless communication network 100, and each UE 120 can be stationary or mobile.

[0037] The wireless communication network 100 can also include relay stations (e.g., relay station 1 lOr), also referred to as relays or the like, that receive a transmission of data or other information from an upstream station (e.g., a BS 110a or a UE 120r) and send a transmission of the data or other information to a downstream station (e.g., a UE 120 or a BS 110), or that relay transmissions between UEs 120, to facilitate communication between devices.

[0038] A network controller 130 can couple to a set of BSs 110 and provide coordination and control for these BSs 110. The network controller 130 can communicate with the BSs 110 via a backhaul. The BSs 110 can also communicate with one another, e.g., directly or indirectly via a wireless or wireline backhaul.

[0039] Figure 2 A block diagram illustrating an example base station (BS) and an example user equipment (UE) is shown.

[0040] At BS 110, a transmit processor 220 can receive data from a data source 212 and control information from a controller / processor 240. The control information can be for the physical broadcast channel (PBCH), physical control format indicator channel (PCFICH), physical hybrid ARQ indicator channel (PHICH), physical downlink control channel (PDCCH), group common PDCCH (GC PDCCH), etc. The data can be for the physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH), etc. The processor 220 can process (e.g., encode and symbol map) the data and control information to obtain data symbols and control symbols, respectively. The transmit processor 220 can also generate reference symbols, such as for the primary synchronization signal (PSS), secondary synchronization signal (SSS), and cell-specific reference signal (CRS). A transmit (TX) multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) processor 230 can perform spatial processing (e.g., precoding) on the data symbols, the control symbols, or the reference symbols, if applicable, and can provide output symbol streams to the modulators (MODs) 232a-232t. Each modulator 232 can process a respective output symbol stream (e.g., for OFDM, etc.) to obtain an output sample stream. Each modulator can further process (e.g., convert to analog, amplify, filter, and upconvert) the output sample stream to obtain a downlink signal. Downlink signals from modulators 232a-232t can be transmitted via the antennas 234a-234t, respectively.

[0041] At UE 120, the antennas 252a-252r can receive the downlink signals from BS 110 and can provide received signals to the demodulators (DEMODs) 254a-254r, respectively, of the transceivers. Each demodulator 254 can condition (e.g., filter, amplify, downconvert, and digitize) a respective received signal to obtain input samples. Each demodulator can further process the input samples (e.g., for OFDM, etc.) to obtain received symbols. A MIMO detector 256 can obtain received symbols from all the demodulators 254a-254r, perform MIMO detection on the received symbols if applicable, and provide detected symbols. A receive processor 258 can process (e.g., demodulate, deinterleave, and decode) the detected symbols, provide decoded data for UE 120 to a data sink 260, and provide decoded control information to a controller / processor 280.

[0042] On the uplink, at UE 120, a transmit processor 264 can receive and process data from a data source 262, e.g., for the physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH), and control information from controller / processor 280, e.g., for the physical uplink control channel (PUCCH). Transmit processor 264 can also generate reference symbols, e.g., for the sounding reference signal (SRS). The symbols from transmit processor 264 can be precoded by a TX MIMO processor 266 if applicable, further processed by modems 254a-254r (e.g., for SC-FDM, etc.), and transmitted to BS 110. At BS 110, the uplink signals from UE 120 can be received by antennas 234, processed by demodulators 232, detected by a MIMO detector 236 if applicable, and further processed by a receive processor 238 to obtain decoded data and control information sent by UE 120. Receive processor 238 can provide the decoded data to a data sink 239 and the decoded control information to controller / processor 240.

[0043] Memories 242 and 282 can store data and program codes for BS 110 and UE 120, respectively. A scheduler 244 can schedule UEs for data transmission on the downlink or uplink.

[0044] Controller / processor 280 or other processors and modules at UE 120 can perform or direct the execution of processes for the techniques described herein. As Figure 2 shown in FIG. 1, controller / processor 280 of UE 120 has a DCI beam switch / beam activation / PL RS activation module 122, which can be configured to perform operations 400 of Figure 4 FIG. 4, while controller / processor 240 of BS 110 has a DCI beam switch / beam activation / PL RS activation module 112, which can be configured to perform operations 500 of Figure 5 FIG. 5, as discussed in further detail below. Although shown at the controller / processor, other components of the UE or BS can be used to perform the operations described herein.

[0045] Figure 3This is a diagram illustrating an example of frame format 300 for NR. The transmission timeline for each of the downlink and uplink can be divided into units of radio frames. Each radio frame may have a predetermined duration (e.g., 10 ms) and may be divided into 10 subframes with indices 0 to 9, each subframe being 1 ms long. Each subframe may include a variable number of time slots, depending on the subcarrier spacing. Each time slot may include a variable number of symbol periods (e.g., 7 or 14 symbols), depending on the subcarrier spacing. An index may be assigned to the symbol periods in each time slot. A mini-time slot (which may be referred to as a sub-time slot structure) refers to a transmission time interval with a duration smaller than a time slot (e.g., 2, 3, or 4 symbols).

[0046] Each symbol in a time slot can indicate the link direction used for data transmission (e.g., DL, UL, or flexible), and the link direction used for each subframe can be dynamically switched. The link direction can be based on the time slot format. Each time slot can include DL / UL data and DL / UL control information.

[0047] In NR, a synchronization signal (SS) block is transmitted. The SS block consists of the PSS, SSS, and two symbols, PBCH. The SS block can be transmitted at fixed time slot positions (such as...). Figure 3 The PSS and SSS are transmitted in symbols 0-3 shown in the diagram. The PSS and SSS can be used by the UE for cell search and acquisition. The PSS provides half-frame timing, and the SS provides CP length and frame timing. The PSS and SSS provide cell identity. The PBCH carries basic system information such as downlink system bandwidth, timing information within the radio frame, SS burst set periodicity, and system frame number. SS blocks can be organized into SS bursts to support beam sweeping. Further system information (such as Residual Minimum System Information (RMSI), System Information Block (SIB), and Other System Information (OSI)) can be transmitted in certain subframes on the Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH). SS blocks can be transmitted up to 64 times, for example, up to 64 different beam directions for mmW. Up to 64 transmissions of an SS block are called an SS burst set. SS blocks in an SS burst set are transmitted in the same frequency region, while SS blocks in different SS burst sets can be transmitted at different frequency locations.

[0048] A control resource set (CORESET) for a system (e.g., an NR and LTE system) can include one or more sets of control resources (e.g., time and frequency resources) configured within a system bandwidth for conveying PDCCH. Within each CORESET, one or more search spaces (e.g., a common search space (CSS), a UE- specific search space (USS), and / or the like) can be defined for a given UE. According to aspects of the present disclosure, a CORESET is a set of time-frequency domain resources defined in units of resource element groups (REGs). Each REG can include a fixed number (e.g., twelve) of tones in one symbol period (e.g., a symbol period of a slot), where one tone in one symbol period is referred to as a resource element (RE). A fixed number of REGs can be included in a control channel element (CCE). A set of CCEs can be used to transmit a new radio PDCCH (NR-PDCCH), where different numbers of CCEs in a set are used to transmit NR-PDCCHs using different aggregation levels. Multiple sets of CCEs can be defined as search spaces for a UE, and thus a node or other base station can transmit a NR-PDCCH to the UE by transmitting the NR-PDCCH in a set of CCEs that is defined as a decoding candidate within a search space for the UE, and the UE can receive the NR-PDCCH by searching in the search space for the UE and decoding the NR-PDCCH transmitted by the node.

[0049] Example methods for enabling downlink control information (DCI)-based beam and path loss (PL) reference signal (RS) activation

[0050] Aspects of the present disclosure provide apparatuses, methods, processing systems, and computer readable media for enabling downlink control information (DCI)-based beam and path loss (PL) reference signal (RS) activation. As will be described in further detail herein, the techniques described herein can allow for reduced latency in applying beam switch, beam activation, or PL RS activation commands.

[0051] The techniques presented herein can be applied in various frequency bands for NR. For example, for higher frequency bands, referred to as FR4 (e.g., 52.6-114.25 GHz), OFDM waveforms with very large subcarrier spacing (960 kHz - 3.84 MHz) are needed to combat severe phase noise. Due to the large subcarrier spacing, the slot length tends to be very short. In lower frequency bands, referred to as FR2 (24.25-52.6 GHz) with 120 kHz SCS, the slot length is 125 μββ, while in FR4 with 960 kHz, the slot length is 15.6 μββ.

[0052] In multi-beam operations (e.g., involving FR1 and FR2 bands), more efficient uplink / downlink beam management can allow for increased intra- and inter-cell mobility and / or a greater number of transmission configuration indicator (TCI) states. For example, these states can include using a common beam for data and control transmission and reception for UL and DL operations, a unified TCI framework for UL and DL beam indication, and enhanced signaling mechanisms to improve latency and efficiency (e.g., dynamic use of control signaling).

[0053] Some features can facilitate UL beam selection for a UE equipped with multiple panels. For example, UL beam selection can be facilitated by UL beam indication based on a unified TCI framework, enabling simultaneous transmission across multiple panels, and enabling fast panel selection. Further, UE-initiated or L1 event-driven beam management can also reduce latency and the probability of beam failure events.

[0054] Additional techniques for multi-TRP deployments can be for both FR1 and FR2 bands. These techniques can use multi-TRP and / or multi-panel operations to improve reliability and robustness of channels other than PDSCH (e.g., PDCCH, PUSCH, and PUCCH). These enhancements can enable inter-cell multi-TRP operations and can allow simultaneous multi-TRP transmission along with multi-panel reception.

[0055] In Release 15 / 16, a medium access control (MAC) control element (CE) can be used for switching beams (e.g., for PDCCH and PUCCH), activating PDSCH beams, and activating PUSCH / SRS PL RS. A PL RS can be a downlink signal transmitted from a network entity (e.g., a gNodeB) to a UE and can be used by the UE to determine a power control parameter for uplink transmission. The use of a MAC-CE can introduce an amount of latency (e.g., a 3 ms activation latency) for a UE to apply a received beam or PL RS activation command. The latency introduced using a MAC-CE can include time needed to process a received signal at a higher level of a network stack (e.g., processing a received signal at a physical layer and subsequently at a MAC layer to decode the MAC-CE content). For example, in some systems, there can be a delay of up to 3 milliseconds between receiving a command in a MAC-CE and applying or executing the command.

[0056] To reduce latency in processing and applying beam switch, beam activation, and PL RS activation commands, higher layers, such as the physical layer, can be used to carry the beam switch, beam activation, and PL RS activation commands. For example, these commands can be included in downlink control information (DCI) or other physical layer signaling. In this case, the beam switch, beam activation, and PL RS activation commands can be recovered by decoding the received commands at the PHY layer without further processing at lower levels of the network stack. However, some UEs can not support DCI-based beam switch, beam activation, and PL RS activation. Thus, for these UEs, the beam switch, beam activation, and PL RS activation commands can still need to be carried in lower layer signaling in the network stack (e.g., in a MAC-CE).

[0057] Figure 4 Example operations 400 for wireless communications by a UE in accordance with some aspects of the present disclosure are illustrated. For example, the operations 400 can be performed by a UE 120a to enable downlink control information (DCI)-based beam and path loss (PL) reference signal (RS) activation. Figure 1

[0058] The operations 400 begin, at block 402, with the UE reporting a capability of the UE to support activation of at least one of a beam switch, a beam activation, or a path loss (PL) reference signal (RS) activation based on downlink control information (DCI) to a network entity. The reporting of the capability to support activation of at least one of the beam switch, the beam activation, or the PL RS activation based on DCI can include an explicit or implicit indication carried in uplink signaling. The explicit indication can be, for example, one or more bits indicating a capability to support DCI-based beam switch, beam activation, and / or PL RS activation. The implicit indication can be, for example, some other indication associated with a UE capability to support DCI-based beam switch, beam activation, and / or PL RS activation. The capability can be a single capability to support DCI-based beam switch, beam activation, and PL RS activation, or can be individual capability indications, as discussed in further detail below.

[0059] At block 404, the UE receives a DCI from the network entity activating at least one of a beam switch, a beam activation, or a PL RS. The DCI activating at least one of the beam switch, the beam activation, or the PL RS is generally based on the reporting by the UE of the capability to support activation of at least one of the beam switch, the beam activation, or the PL RS activation based on downlink control information (DCI).

[0060] At block 406, the UE performs a beam switch, a beam activation, or a PL RS measurement in response to the DCI.​

[0061] Figure 5 Example operations 500 for wireless communications by a network entity according to some aspects of the present disclosure are illustrated. The operations 500 can be performed, for example, by a gNodeB 110 to enable downlink control information (DCI)-based beam and path loss (PL) reference signal (RS) activation. Figure 1

[0062] The operations 500 can begin, at block 502, with the network entity receiving, from a user equipment (UE), an indication of a capability of the UE to support activation of at least one of a beam switch, a beam activation, or a path loss (PL) reference signal (RS) activation based on downlink control information (DCI). The indication can be an explicit indication of the UE capability to support one or more activations, or an implicit indication of the UE capability to support one or more activations (e.g., an indication of a UE support mode, where the mode includes support for one or more activations), or other indication.

[0063] At block 504, the network entity transmits, to the UE, a DCI that activates at least one of a beam switch, a beam activation, or a PL RS. The DCI that activates at least one of the beam switch, the beam activation, or the PL RS can include one or more indications to activate the beam switch, the beam activation, and / or the PL RS based on the received indication of the UE capability.

[0064] A UE can report various capabilities to support DCI-based beam activation. The UE can report one or more of a capability to support DCI-based activation of PDCCH TCI states, DCI-based activation of PDSCH and / or CSI-RS TCI states, DCI-based activation of PUCCH and / or SRS spatial relations, or DCI-based activation of UL TCI states for PUCCH, PUSCH, PRACH, and / or SRS. The UL TCI states generally include or are otherwise associated with a source reference signal that indicates an uplink transmit beam for a target uplink reference signal or channel. The source reference signal can include, for example, an SRS, an SSB, a CSI-RS, or other appropriate reference signal. The UE can also or instead report a capability to support DCI-based activation of PL RS for PUCCH, SRS, and / or PUSCH.

[0065] ​In some embodiments, the UE can report its support for DCI-based beam activation, beam switching, and PL RS switching based on a number of capabilities supported by the UE. The UE can support one capability for all DCI-based activation. In this case, the UE can report a single indication of capability, where a first value indicates that the UE supports beam switching, beam activation, and PL RS activation, and a second value indicates that the UE does not support any of beam switching, beam activation, or PL RS activation. In another example, the UE can support different capabilities for DCI-based beam activation and DCI-based PL RS activation. In this case, the UE can report its capability to support DCI-based beam activation independently of reporting its capability to support DCI-based PL RS activation. In yet another example, the UE can support individual capabilities for each of the DCI-based activation discussed above. In this case, the UE can report its capability to support DCI-based beam switching, DCI-based beam activation, and DCI-based PL RS activation individually.

[0066] In some embodiments, the network entity can indicate to the UE the activation of the corresponding activation via radio resource control (RRC) signaling, MAC-CE, or DCI signaling. The indication can be based on a configuration of an RRC parameter, where a first value or configuration of the RRC parameter indicates activation of DCI-based beam switching, beam activation, and / or PL RS activation, and a second value or configuration of the RRC parameter indicates deactivation of DCI-based beam switching, beam activation, and / or PL RS activation. After receiving the activation indication from the network entity, the UE can be ready to receive the corresponding new DCI format. If existing DCI formats are reused, the UE can be ready to reinterpret the reserved bits in these existing DCI formats or assume the presence of new configurable fields.

[0067] Figure 6 is a call flow diagram illustrating an example of activating DCI-based beam switching activation, beam activation, and / or PL RS activation based on UE signaling. As illustrated, the UE 602 transmits UE capability signaling 610 to the cell 604. The UE capability signaling 610 generally includes information identifying the UE capability for DCI-based beam switching activation, DCI-based beam activation, and / or DCI-based PL RS activation. The information carried in the UE capability signaling 610 can be a single indicator indicating that the UE supports beam switching, beam activation, and PL RS activation, or the UE does not support any of beam switching, beam activation, or PL RS activation; a first indicator associated with supporting DCI-based beam activation and a second indicator associated with supporting DCI-based PL RS activation; or an individual capability report of supporting DCI-based beam switching, DCI-based beam activation, and DCI-based PL RS activation.

[0068] Cell 604 receives UE capability signaling 610 (indicating that the UE supports at least one of DCI-based beam handover, DCI-based beam activation, or DCI-based PL RS activation), and in response, transmits a DCI to cell 604. DCI 612 typically indicates to UE 602 the activation of DCI-based beam handover, DCI-based beam activation, and / or DCI-based PL RS activation. Subsequently, at block 614, the UE performs beam handover, beam activation, and / or PL RS measurements based on the DCI-based beam handover activation, DCI-based beam activation, and / or DCI-based PL RS activation notified in DCI 612. UE 602 and cell 604 then communicate 616 based on the beam handover, beam activation, and / or PL RS measurements performed at block 614.

[0069] Figure 7 The explanation may include operations that can be configured to perform the techniques disclosed herein (such as...). Figure 4 The communication device 700 comprises various components (e.g., corresponding to device plus functional components) of the operation described herein. The communication device 700 includes a processing system 702 coupled to a transceiver 708 (e.g., a transmitter and / or receiver). The transceiver 708 is configured to transmit and receive signals (such as the various signals described herein) for the communication device 700 via an antenna 710. The processing system 702 may be configured to perform processing functions for the communication device 700, including processing signals received and / or to be transmitted by the communication device 700.

[0070] Processing system 702 includes a processor 704 coupled to a computer-readable medium / memory 712 via a bus 706. In some aspects, the computer-readable medium / memory 712 is configured to store data that, when executed by the processor 704, causes the processor 704 to perform... Figure 4The operations illustrated in FIG. 10, or instructions to perform the various techniques discussed herein for enabling downlink control information (DCI)-based beam and path loss (PL) reference signal (RS) activation, can be performed by the wireless communication device 1000, or portions thereof. In certain aspects, the computer- readable medium / memory 1012 stores instructions 1014 (e.g., computer-executable code) that, when executed by the processor 1004, cause the processor 1004 to perform

[0071] Figure 8 The communications device 800 is illustrated showing various components (e.g., corresponding to means-plus-function components) configured to perform operations for the techniques disclosed herein, such as Figure 5 The communications device 800 is illustrated showing various components (e.g., corresponding to means-plus-function components) configured to perform operations for the techniques disclosed herein, such as

[0072] The processing system 802 includes a processor 804 coupled to a computer- readable medium / memory 812 via a bus 806. In certain aspects, the computer-readable medium / memory 812 is configured to store instructions 814 (e.g., computer-executable code) that, when executed by the processor 804, cause the processor 804 to perform Figure 5The operations described or illustrated herein or in connection with the description of the various techniques for enabling downlink control information (DCI)-based beam and path loss (PL) reference signal (RS) activation discussed herein can be implemented as instructions (e.g., computer-executable instructions) stored in a computer-readable medium / memory 812. In some aspects, the computer-readable medium / memory 812 stores instructions 814 for receiving, from a user equipment (UE), an indication of a capability of the UE to support activation of at least one of a beam switch, a beam activation, or a path loss (PL) reference signal (RS) activation based on downlink control information (DCI); and instructions 816 for transmitting, to the UE, DCI that activates at least one of the beam switch, the beam activation, or the PL RS, in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. In some aspects, the processor 804 has circuitry configured to implement the instructions stored in the computer-readable medium / memory 812. The processor 804 includes circuitry 818 for receiving, from a user equipment (UE), an indication of a capability of the UE to support activation of at least one of a beam switch, a beam activation, or a path loss (PL) reference signal (RS) activation based on downlink control information (DCI); and circuitry 820 for transmitting, to the UE, DCI that activates at least one of the beam switch, the beam activation, or the PL RS, in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

[0073] Example Embodiments

[0074] Embodiment 1: A method for wireless communication by a user equipment (UE), comprising: reporting, to a network entity, a capability of the UE to support activation of at least one of a beam switch, a beam activation, or a path loss (PL) reference signal (RS) activation based on downlink control information (DCI); receiving, from the network entity, DCI that activates at least one of the beam switch, the beam activation, or the PL RS; and performing, in response to the DCI, a beam switch, a beam activation, or a PL RS measurement.

[0075] Embodiment 2: The method of embodiment 1, wherein reporting the capability of the UE comprises indicating a capability for activation of physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) transmission configuration information (TCI) states based on DCI.

[0076] Embodiment 3: The method of embodiment 1, wherein reporting the capability of the UE comprises indicating a capability for activation of physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) or channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) TCI states based on DCI.

[0077] Embodiment 4: The method of embodiment 1, wherein reporting the capability of the UE comprises indicating a capability for activation of spatial relations of one or more of a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) or a sounding reference signal (SRS) based on DCI.

[0078] Example 5: The method of example 1, wherein reporting the capability of the UE comprises indicating a capability to activate UL TCI states for one or more of a PUCCH, a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH), a physical random access channel (PRACH), or an SRS based on DCI.

[0079] Example 6: The method of example 1, wherein reporting the capability of the UE comprises indicating a capability to activate PL RS for one or more of a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH), a sounding reference signal (SRS), or a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) based on DCI.

[0080] Example 7: The method of example 1, wherein the capability of the UE to support activation of at least one of beam switching, beam activation, or PL RS activation based on DCI comprises a single capability for any DCI based activation.

[0081] Example 8: The method of example 1, wherein the capability of the UE to support activation of at least one of beam switching, beam activation, or PL RS activation based on DCI comprises a first capability associated with DCI based beam activation and a second capability associated with DCI based PL RS activation.

[0082] Example 9: The method of example 1, wherein the capability of the UE to support activation of at least one of beam switching, beam activation, or PL RS activation based on DCI comprises a capability associated with each DCI based beam or PL RS activation.

[0083] Example 10: The method of any of examples 1-9, further comprising receiving an indication from a network entity to enable activation of at least one of beam switching, beam activation, or PL RS activation based on DCI via one or more of radio resource control (RRC) signaling, medium access control (MAC) control element (CE) signaling, or DCI signaling.

[0084] Example 11: The method of example 10, wherein the indication is based on configuration of a RRC parameter.

[0085] Example 12: The method of example 10 or 11, further comprising receiving signaling associated with activation of at least one of beam switching, beam activation, or PL RS activation based on DCI in one or more DCI formats based on reception of the indication to enable.

[0086] Example 13: A method as in example 10 or 11, further comprising: based on reception of the indication to enable, receiving signaling in one or more pre-existing DCI formats, and one or more of: reinterpreting reserved bits, or assuming presence of new configurable fields in received signaling.

[0087] Example 14: A method for wireless communications by a network entity, comprising: receiving, from a user equipment (UE), an indication of a capability of the UE to support activation, based on downlink control information (DCI), of at least one of beam switching, beam activation, or path loss (PL) reference signal (RS) activation; and transmitting, to the UE, DCI that activates at least one of beam switching, beam activation, or PL RS.

[0088] Example 15: The method of example 14, wherein the indication of the capability of the UE comprises an indication of a capability to activate, based on DCI, a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) transmission configuration information (TCI) state.

[0089] Example 16: The method of example 14, wherein the indication of the capability of the UE comprises an indication of a capability to activate, based on DCI, a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) or channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) TCI state.

[0090] Example 17: The method of example 14, wherein the indication of the capability of the UE comprises an indication of a capability to activate, based on DCI, a spatial relation of one or more of a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) or sounding reference signal (SRS).

[0091] Example 18: The method of example 14, wherein the indication of the capability of the UE comprises an indication of a capability to support activation, based on DCI, of a UL TCI state of one or more of a PUCCH, a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH), a physical random access channel (PRACH), or a SRS.

[0092] Example 19: The method of example 14, wherein the indication of the capability of the UE comprises an indication of a capability to activate, based on DCI, a PL RS of one or more of a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH), a sounding reference signal (SRS), or a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH).

[0093] Example 20: The method of example 14, wherein the indication of the capability of the UE comprises an indication of a single capability for any DCI-based activation.

[0094] Example 21: The method of Example 14, wherein the indication of the capability of the UE comprises an indication of: a first capability associated with DCI-based beam activation, and a second capability associated with DCI-based PL RS activation.

[0095] Example 22: The method of Example 14, wherein the indication of the capability of the UE comprises an indication of a capability associated with each DCI-based beam or PL RS activation.

[0096] Example 23: The method of any of Examples 14 to 22, further comprising transmitting, to the UE, an enablement indication of DCI-based activation of at least one of beam switching, beam activation, or PL RS activation via one or more of radio resource control (RRC) signaling, medium access control (MAC) control element (CE) signaling, or DCI signaling.

[0097] Example 24: The method of Example 23, wherein the indication is based on configuration of a RRC parameter.

[0098] Example 25: The method of Example 23 or 24, further comprising: transmitting, after transmission of the enablement indication, signaling associated with DCI-based activation of at least one of beam switching, beam activation, or PL RS activation in one or more DCI formats.

[0099] Example 26: The method of Example 23 or 24, further comprising: transmitting, after transmission of the enablement indication, signaling in one or more pre-existing DCI formats, wherein one or more reserved bits are to be re-interpreted or presence of one or more new configurable fields is to be assumed.

[0100] Example 27: An apparatus for wireless communication by a user equipment (UE), comprising: a processor; and a memory having instructions, the instructions, when executed by the processor, performing the operations of any of Examples 1 to 13.

[0101] Example 28: An apparatus for wireless communication by a network entity, comprising: a processor; and a memory having instructions, the instructions, when executed by the processor, performing the operations of any of Examples 14 to 26.

[0102] Example 29: An apparatus for wireless communication by a user equipment (UE), comprising: means capable of performing the operations of any of Examples 1 to 13.

[0103] Example 30: An apparatus for wireless communication by a network entity, comprising: means capable of performing the operations of any of Examples 14 to 26.

[0104] Example 31: A computer-readable medium having instructions stored thereon, the instructions, when executed by a processor, perform the operations of any of Examples 1-13.

[0105] Example 32: A computer-readable medium having instructions stored thereon, the instructions, when executed by a processor, perform the operations of any of Examples 14-26.

[0106] Additional Considerations

[0107] The techniques described herein can be used for various wireless communication technologies, such as NR (e.g., 5G NR), 3GPP Long Term Evolution (LTE), LTE-Advanced (LTE-A), code division multiple access (CDMA), time division multiple access (TDMA), frequency division multiple access (FDMA), orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA), single-carrier frequency division multiple access (SC-FDMA), time division synchronous code division multiple access (TD-SCDMA), and other networks. The terms “network” and “system” are often used interchangeably. A CDMA network can implement a radio technology such as Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (UTRA), cdma2000, and so on. UTRA includes Wideband CDMA (WCDMA) and other variants of CDMA. cdma2000 covers IS-2000, IS-95 and IS-856 standards. A TDMA network can implement a radio technology such as Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM). An OFDMA network can implement a radio technology such as NR (e.g., 5G RA), Evolved UTRA (E-UTRA), Ultra Mobile Broadband (UMB), IEEE 802.11 (Wi-Fi), IEEE 802.16 (WiMAX), IEEE 802.20, Flash- OFDMA, and so on. UTRA and E-UTRA are part of Universal Mobile Telecommunication System (UMTS). LTE and LTE-A are releases of UMTS that use E-UTRA. UTRA, E-UTRA, UMTS, LTE, LTE-A and GSM are described in documents from an organization named “3rd Generation Partnership Project” (3GPP). cdma2000 and UMB are described in documents from an organization named “3rd Generation Partnership Project 2” (3GPP2). NR is an emerging wireless communications technology.

[0108] The techniques described herein can be used for the wireless networks and radio technologies mentioned above as well as other wireless networks and radio technologies. For clarity, while aspects can be described herein using terminology commonly associated with 3G, 4G, or 5G wireless technologies, aspects of the present disclosure can be applied in other generation-based communication systems.

[0109] In 3GPP, the term "cell" can refer to a coverage area of a Node B (NB) or a NB subsystem serving the coverage area, depending on the context in which the term is used. In NR systems, the term “cell” and BS, next generation NodeB (gNB or gNodeB), access point (AP), Distributed Unit (DU), carrier, or Transmission Reception Point (TRP) can be used interchangeably. A BS can provide communication coverage for a macro cell, a pico cell, a femto cell, or other types of cell. A macro cell can cover a relatively large geographic area (e.g., several kilometers in radius) and can allow unrestricted access by UEs with service subscriptions. A pico cell can cover a relatively small geographic area (e.g., a city neighborhood or a college campus) and can allow unrestricted access by UEs with service subscriptions. A femto cell can cover a relatively small geographic area (e.g., a home) and can allow restricted access by UEs with service subscriptions, e.g., UEs in an closed subscriber group (CSG) or UEs with an association to the femto cell. A BS for a macro cell can be referred to as a macro BS. A BS for a pico cell can be referred to as a pico BS. A BS for a femto cell can be referred to as a femto BS or a home BS.

[0110] A UE can also be known as a mobile station, a terminal, an access terminal, a subscriber unit, a station, a Customer Premises Equipment (CPE), a cellular phone, a smart phone, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a wireless modem, a wireless communication device, a handheld device, a laptop computer, a cordless phone, a wireless local loop (WLL) station, a tablet computer, a camera, a gaming device, a netbook, a smartbook, an ultrabook, an electric appliance, a medical device or medical equipment, a biometric sensor / device, a wearable device such as a smart watch, smart clothing, smart glasses, a smart wristband, smart jewelry (e.g., a smart ring, a smart bracelet, etc.), an entertainment device (e.g., a music device, a video device, a satellite radio, etc.), a vehicular component or sensor, a smart meter / sensor, industrial manufacturing equipment, a global positioning system device, or any other suitable device that is configured to communicate via a wireless or wired medium. Some UEs can be considered machine-type communication (MTC) devices or evolved MTC (eMTC) devices. MTC and eMTC UEs include, for example, robots, drones, remote devices, sensors, meters, monitors, location tags, etc., that can communicate with a BS, another device (e.g., remote device), or some other entity. A wireless node can provide, for example, connectivity for or to a network (e.g., a wide area network such as the Internet or a cellular network) via a wired or wireless communication link. Some UEs can be considered Internet-of-Things (IoT) devices, which can be Narrowband IoT (NB-IoT) devices.

[0111] Some wireless networks (e.g., LTE) utilize orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) on the downlink and single-carrier frequency division multiplexing (SC-FDM) on the uplink. OFDM and SC-FDM partition the system bandwidth into multiple (K) orthogonal subcarriers, which are also commonly referred to as tones, bins, etc. Each subcarrier can be modulated with data. In general, modulation symbols are sent in the frequency domain with OFDM and in the time domain with SC-FDM. The spacing of adjacent subcarriers can be fixed, and the total number of subcarriers (K) can be dependent on the system bandwidth. For example, the spacing of the subcarriers can be 15 kHz and the total number of subcarriers (K) can be 1200 for a system bandwidth of 20 megahertz (MHz). Thus, the nominal Fast Fourier Transfer (FFT) size can be equal to 128. The system bandwidth can also be partitioned into sub-bands. For example, a sub-band can cover 1.08 MHz (e.g., 6 resource blocks (RBs)), and there can be 1, 2, 4, 8, or 16 sub-bands for a system bandwidth of 1.25, 2.5, 5, 10, or 20 MHz, respectively. In LTE, the basic transmission time interval (TTI) or packet duration is the 1 ms subframe.

[0112] NR can utilize OFDM with a CP on the uplink and downlink and include support for half-duplex operation using TDD. In NR, a subframe is still 1 ms, but the basic TTI is referred to as a slot. A subframe contains a variable number of slots (e.g., 1, 2, 4, 8, 16... slots) depending on the subcarrier spacing. A NR RB is 12 consecutive frequency subcarriers. NR can support a base subcarrier spacing of 15 KHz and other subcarrier spacings can be defined with respect to the base subcarrier spacing such as, for example, 30 kHz, 60 kHz, 120 kHz, 240 kHz, etc. The symbol and slot lengths scale with the subcarrier spacing. The CP length also depends on the subcarrier spacing. Beamforming can be supported and beam direction can be dynamically configured. MIMO transmissions with precoding can also be supported. In some examples, MIMO configurations in the DL can support up to 8 transmit antennas (multi-layer DL transmissions with up to 8 streams) and up to 2 streams per UE. In some examples, multi-layer transmissions with up to 2 streams per UE can be supported. Aggregation of multiple cells can be supported with up to 8 serving cells.

[0113] In some examples, access to the air interface can be scheduled. A scheduling entity (e.g., a BS) allocates resources for communication among some or all of the devices and equipment within its serving area or cell. The scheduling entity can be responsible for scheduling, assigning, reconfiguring and releasing resources for one or more subordinate entities. That is, for scheduled communication, subordinate entities utilize resources allocated by the scheduling entity. A base station is not the only component that can function as a scheduling entity. In some examples, a UE can function as a scheduling entity and can schedule resources for one or more subordinate entities (e.g., one or more other UEs), and other UEs can utilize resources scheduled by the UE. In some examples, a UE can function as a scheduling entity in a peer-to-peer (P2P) network or in a mesh network. In a mesh networking example, UEs can communicate directly with one another in addition to communicating with a scheduling entity.

[0114] As used herein, the term “determining” encompasses one or more of the following: calculation, computation, processing, deriving, investigating, looking up (e.g., looking up in a table, a database or another data structure), assumption and the like. Also, “determining” can include receiving (e.g., receiving information), accessing (e.g., accessing data in a memory) and the like. Also, “determining” can include resolving, selecting, choosing, establishing and the like.

[0115] As used herein, “or” is used in its inclusive sense unless explicitly indicated otherwise. For example, “a or b” can include a, b, or both a and b. As used herein, a phrase referring to “at least one of’ a list of items refers to any combination of those items, including single members. For example, “at least one of a, b, or c” is intended to cover a, b, c, a-b, a-c, b-c, and a-b-c.

[0116] The various illustrative components, logic, blocks, modules, circuits, operations and algorithm processes described in connection with the implementations disclosed herein can be implemented as electronic hardware, firmware, software, or combinations thereof, including the structures disclosed in this specification and the structural equivalents thereof. The interchangeability of hardware, firmware and software has been described generally, in terms of their functionality, and accordingly there has been described various illustrative components, blocks, modules, circuits, and processes in terms of their functionality. Whether such functionality is implemented in hardware, firmware or software depends on the particular application and design constraints imposed on the overall system.

[0117] Various modifications to the implementations described in this disclosure can be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art, and the generic principles defined herein can be applied to other implementations without departing from the spirit or scope of the disclosure. Thus, the claims are not intended to be limited to the implementations shown herein, but should be given the full scope consistent with the disclosure, the principles and novel features disclosed herein, and their equivalents.

[0118] Additionally, various features described in this specification in the context of separate implementations can also be implemented in combination in a single implementation. Conversely, various features described in the context of a single implementation can also be implemented separately or in any suitable subcombination. As such, although features can be described above as acting in particular combinations and even initially claimed that way, one or more features from a claimed combination can in some cases be excised from the combination and the claimed combination can be directed to a subcombination or parts of the subcombination.

[0119] Similarly, while operations are depicted in the drawings in a particular order, this should not be understood as requiring such order, nor that all illustrated operations be performed, to achieve desirable results. Further, the drawings can schematically depict one more example processes in the form of a flowchart or flow diagram. However, other operations that are not depicted can be incorporated in the example processes that are schematically illustrated. For example, one or more additional operations can be performed before, after, simultaneously with, or between any illustrated operation. In some circumstances, multitasking and parallel processing can be advantageous. Moreover, the separation of various system components in the implementations described above should not be understood as requiring such separation in all implementations, and it should be understood that the described program components and systems can generally be integrated in a single software product or packaged into multiple software products.

Claims

1. A method for wireless communication by a user equipment (UE), comprising: reporting, to a network entity, a capability of the UE to support activation of at least one of beam switching, beam activation, or path loss (PL) reference signal (RS) activation based on downlink control information (DCI); receiving, from the network entity, a DCI that activates at least one of the beam switching, the beam activation, or the PL RS; and performing, in response to the DCI, the beam switching, the beam activation, or the PL RS measurement.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein reporting the capability of the UE comprises indicating a capability for activation of physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) transmission configuration information (TCI) state based on DCI.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein reporting the capability of the UE comprises indicating a capability for activation of physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) or channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) TCI state based on DCI.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein reporting the capability of the UE comprises indicating a capability for activation of spatial relation of one or more of physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) or sounding reference signal (SRS) based on DCI.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein reporting the capability of the UE comprises indicating a capability for activation of UL TCI state of one or more of PUCCH, physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH), physical random access channel (PRACH), or SRS based on DCI.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein reporting the capability of the UE comprises indicating a capability for activation of PL RS of one or more of physical uplink control channel (PUCCH), sounding reference signal (SRS), or physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) based on DCI.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the capability of the UE to support activation of at least one of beam switching, beam activation, or PL RS activation based on DCI comprises a single capability for any DCI-based activation.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the capability of the UE to support activation of at least one of beam switching, beam activation, or PL RS activation based on DCI comprises: a first capability associated with DCI-based beam activation, and a second capability associated with DCI-based PL RS activation.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the capability of the UE to support activation of at least one of beam switching, beam activation, or PL RS activation based on DCI comprises a capability associated with each DCI-based beam or PL RS activation.

10. The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving, from the network entity, an indication of enablement of activation of at least one of beam switching, beam activation, or PL RS activation based on DCI via one or more of radio resource control (RRC) signaling, medium access control (MAC) control element (CE) signaling, or DCI signaling.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the indication of enablement is based on configuration of an RRC parameter.

12. The method of claim 10, further comprising: based on reception of the indication of enablement, receiving signaling associated with the activation of at least one of beam switching, beam activation, or PL RS activation based on DCI in one or more DCI formats.

13. The method of claim 10, further comprising: based on reception of the indication of enablement: receiving signaling in one or more pre-existing DCI formats, and one or more of reinterpreting reserved bits or assuming presence of new configurable fields in received signaling.

14. A method for wireless communications by a network entity, comprising: receiving an indication of a capability of a user equipment (UE) to support activation of at least one of beam switching, beam activation, or path loss (PL) reference signal (RS) activation based on downlink control information (DCI); and transmitting DCI that activates at least one of the beam switching, beam activation, or PL RS.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the indication of the capability of the UE comprises an indication of a capability to support activation of physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) transmission configuration information (TCI) state based on DCI.

16. The method of claim 14, wherein the indication of the capability of the UE comprises an indication of a capability to support activation of physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) or channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) TCI state based on DCI.

17. The method of claim 14, wherein the indication of the capability of the UE comprises an indication of a capability to support activation of spatial relations for one or more of physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) or sounding reference signal (SRS) based on DCI.

18. The method of claim 14, wherein the indication of the capability of the UE comprises an indication of a capability to support activation of UL TCI state for one or more of PUCCH, physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH), physical random access channel (PRACH), or SRS based on DCI.

19. The method of claim 14, wherein the indication of the capability of the UE comprises an indication of a capability to support activation of PL RS for one or more of physical uplink control channel (PUCCH), sounding reference signal (SRS), or physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) based on DCI.

20. The method of claim 14, wherein the indication of the capability of the UE comprises an indication of a single capability for any DCI-based activation.

21. The method of claim 14, wherein the indication of the capability of the UE comprises an indication of: a first capability associated with DCI-based beam activation, and a second capability associated with DCI-based PL RS activation.

22. The method of claim 14, wherein the indication of the capability of the UE comprises an indication of a capability associated with each DCI-based beam or PL RS activation.

23. The method of claim 14, further comprising transmitting, via one or more of radio resource control (RRC) signaling, medium access control (MAC) control element (CE) signaling, or DCI signaling, an enablement indication of activation of at least one of beam switching, beam activation, or PL RS activation based on DCI.

24. The method of claim 23, wherein the enablement indication is based on configuration of a RRC parameter.

25. The method of claim 23, further comprising: transmitting, after transmission of the enablement indication, signaling associated with the activation of at least one of beam switching, beam activation, or PL RS activation based on DCI in one or more DCI formats.

26. The method of claim 23, further comprising: transmitting, after transmission of the enablement indication, signaling in one or more pre-existing DCI formats, wherein one or more of a bit to be re-interpreted or presence of one or more new configurable fields to be assumed is made.

27. An apparatus for wireless communication by a user equipment (UE), comprising: a transmitter configured to report, to a network entity, a capability of the UE to support activation of at least one of beam switching, beam activation, or path loss (PL) reference signal (RS) activation based on downlink control information (DCI); a receiver configured to receive, from the network entity, a DCI activating at least one of the beam switching, beam activation, or PL RS, and a processing system configured to perform the beam switching, beam activation, or PL RS measurement in response to the DCI.

28. The apparatus of claim 27, wherein the receiver is further configured to receive, from the network entity via one or more of radio resource control (RRC) signaling, medium access control (MAC) control element (CE) signaling, or DCI signaling, an enablement indication of activation of at least one of beam switching, beam activation, or PL RS activation based on DCI.

29. The apparatus of claim 28, wherein the receiver is further configured to receive, based on reception of the enablement indication, signaling associated with the activation of at least one of beam switching, beam activation, or PL RS activation based on DCI in one or more DCI formats.

30. An apparatus for wireless communication by a network entity, comprising: a receiver configured to receive an indication of a capability of a user equipment (UE) to support activation of at least one of a beam switch, a beam activation, or a path loss (PL) reference signal (RS) activation based on a downlink control information (DCI); and a transmitter configured to transmit a DCI that activates at least one of the beam switch, the beam activation, or the PL RS.

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