Solving ambiguity of search space set linking for physical downlink control channel repetition

Abstract

Methods, systems, and devices for communication management are described. In one example, a method for wireless communication at a user equipment (UE) is described. The method can include receiving a configuration of a first search space (SS) set and a second SS set, and identifying a link between the first SS set and the second SS set for physical downlink control channel repetition. The method can also include identifying one or more monitoring occasions in the first SS set or the second SS set to monitor for downlink control information based at least in part on an overlap rule associated with the link between the first SS set and the second SS set for physical downlink control channel repetition. The method can include monitoring the identified one or more monitoring occasions in at least the first SS set or the second SS set for the downlink control information.

Description

[0001] Cross-referencing

[0002] This patent application claims priority to U.S. Patent Application No. 17 / 567,989, filed January 4, 2022, entitled “RESOLVING AMBIGUITIES FOR SEARCH SPACE SET LINKING FOR PHYSICAL DOWNLINK CONTROL CHANNEL REPETITION”, and U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63 / 137,034, filed January 13, 2021, entitled “RESOLVING AMBIGUITIES FOR SEARCH SPACE SET LINKING FOR PHYSICAL DOWNLINK CONTROL CHANNEL REPETITION”, each of which has been assigned to the assignee of this application, and the entire contents of each of these applications are expressly incorporated herein by reference. Technical Field

[0003] In summary, the following description pertains to wireless communication, including resolving ambiguities in the search space set links for repeated physical downlink control channels. Background Technology

[0004] Wireless communication systems are widely deployed to provide various types of communication content, such as voice, video, packet data, messaging, broadcasting, and so on. These systems can support communication 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 (e.g., Long Term Evolution (LTE) systems, LTE-A Advanced (LTE-A) systems, or LTE-A Pro systems) and fifth-generation (5G) systems (which may be called New Radio (NR) systems). These systems can employ technologies 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 Extended 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 communication from multiple communication devices (or user equipment (UE)).

[0005] In some NR systems, two search space sets associated with the same control resource set (CORESET) can overlap, meaning that they have overlapping resource blocks, use the same scrambling, and have the same transmission configuration indicator (TCI) state. If a monitoring occasion of a first search space set overlaps with a monitoring occasion of a second search space set, a first physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) candidate in the first search space set can have exactly the same control channel elements (CCEs) (e.g., the same resources) as a second PDCCH candidate in the second search space set. When this occurs, if the corresponding downlink control information (DCI) formats of the first and second PDCCH candidates have the same size, the PDCCH candidate in the second search space set can not be counted for monitoring for blind decoding. The two PDCCH candidates are treated as one PDCCH candidate, even though they are in different search space sets. These and other cases can result in ambiguities for a communication system. SUMMARY

[0006] The described techniques relate to improved methods, systems, devices, and apparatuses that support resolving ambiguities for search space set linking for physical downlink control channel repetition. Generally, the described techniques provide various techniques to resolve PDCCH ambiguities. The ambiguities can relate to two or more monitoring occasions linked together, where the search space sets have the same CORESET, a third monitoring occasion of a third search space set is linked to one of the search space sets, whether a UE can skip decoding of DCI from a linked monitoring occasion if DCI from other linked monitoring occasions has already been decoded, whether a third monitoring occasion of a search space set can be linked with two separate monitoring occasions of two other search space sets, and whether two monitoring occasions of a single search space set can be linked to a monitoring occasion of another search space set. The techniques described herein provide several solutions for these potential ambiguities.

[0007] A method for wireless communication at a UE is described. The method can include receiving a configuration of a first search space set and a second search space set and identifying a link between the first search space set and the second search space set for PDCCH repetition. The method can also include identifying one or more monitoring occasions in the first search space set or the second search space set to monitor for DCI based on an overlap rule associated with the link between the first search space set and the second search space set for PDCCH repetition. The method can also include monitoring the identified one or more monitoring occasions in at least the first search space set or the second search space set for the DCI.

[0008] An apparatus for wireless communication at a UE is described. The apparatus can include a processor, memory in electronic communication with the processor, and instructions stored in the memory. The instructions can be executable by the processor to cause the apparatus to receive a configuration of a first search space set and a second search space set and identify a link between the first search space set and the second search space set for PDCCH repetition. The instructions can also be executable by the processor to cause the apparatus to identify one or more monitoring occasions in the first search space set or the second search space set to monitor for DCI based on an overlap rule associated with the link between the first search space set and the second search space set for PDCCH repetition. The instructions can also be executable by the processor to cause the apparatus to monitor the identified one or more monitoring occasions in at least the first search space set or the second search space set for the DCI.

[0009] Another apparatus for wireless communication at a UE is described. The apparatus can include means for receiving a configuration of a first search space set and a second search space set and means for identifying a link between the first search space set and the second search space set for PDCCH repetition. The apparatus can also include means for identifying one or more monitoring occasions in the first search space set or the second search space set to monitor for DCI based on an overlap rule associated with the link between the first search space set and the second search space set for PDCCH repetition and means for monitoring the identified one or more monitoring occasions in at least the first search space set or the second search space set for the DCI.

[0010] A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing code for wireless communication at a UE is described. The code can include instructions executable by a processor to receive a configuration of a first search space set and a second search space set and identify a link between the first search space set and the second search space set for PDCCH repetition. The code can also include instructions executable by the processor to identify one or more monitoring occasions in the first search space set or the second search space set to monitor for DCI based on an overlap rule associated with the link between the first search space set and the second search space set for PDCCH repetition and monitor the identified one or more monitoring occasions in at least the first search space set or the second search space set for the DCI.

[0011] Some examples of the method, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable medium described herein can further include operations, features, means, or instructions for determining that the monitoring occasion of the first search space set does not overlap with the monitoring occasion of the second search space set based on the overlap rule.

[0012] Some examples of the method, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable medium described herein can further include operations, features, means, or instructions for determining that the first search space set and the second search space set can be associated with a CORESET.

[0013] Some examples of the method, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable medium described herein can further include operations, features, means, or instructions for determining that there are no other search space sets linked with the first search space set or the second search space set.

[0014] Some examples of the method, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable medium described herein can further include operations, features, means, or instructions for identifying a third search space set having a same monitoring occasion as the first search space set and monitoring the identified one or more monitoring occasions for the first search space set, the second search space set, and the third search space set based on the overlap rule.

[0015] In some examples of the method, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable medium described herein, the overlap rule specifies monitoring the identified one or more monitoring occasions independently for the first search space set, the second search space set, and the third search space set.

[0016] Some examples of the method, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable medium described herein can further include operations, features, means, or instructions for determining that the first search space set can be associated with a first CORESET and the third search space set can be associated with a second CORESET different from the first CORESET, where the overlap rule specifies monitoring the DCI in the first search space set and monitoring a second DCI in the third search space set.

[0017] Some examples of the method, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable medium described herein can further include operations, features, means, or instructions for determining that the first search space set can have a first size of a downlink control format and the third search space set can have a second size of a downlink control format different from the first size, where the overlap rule specifies monitoring the DCI in the first search space set and monitoring a second DCI in the third search space set.

[0018] Some examples of the method, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable medium described herein can further include operations, features, means, or instructions for identifying a link between the third search space set and a fourth search space set for PDCCH repetition, and identifying that a monitoring occasion in the second search space set overlaps with a monitoring occasion in the fourth search space set, where the overlap rule specifies monitoring for the DCI in the first search space set and monitoring for a second DCI in the third search space set.

[0019] In some examples of the method, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable medium described herein, the first search space set and the third search space set can have a same CORESET and a same downlink control format size.

[0020] In some examples of the method, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable medium described herein, the third search space set can not be linked with a fourth search space set.

[0021] In some examples of the method, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable medium described herein, the overlap rule indicates that DCI in the third search space set is processed based on an assumption that the third search space set can be linked with the second search space set.

[0022] Some examples of the method, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable medium described herein can further include operations, features, means, or instructions for linking the third search space set with the second search space set, where the overlap rule indicates that the monitoring occasion of the second search space set is treated as linked with the monitoring occasion of the third search space set.

[0023] Some examples of the method, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable medium described herein can further include operations, features, means, or instructions for dropping a monitoring occasion of the third search space set, where the overlap rule determines to monitor a monitoring occasion of the first search space set.

[0024] Some examples of the method, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable medium described herein can further include operations, features, means, or instructions for dropping a monitoring occasion of the first search space set, where the overlap rule determines to monitor a monitoring occasion of the third search space set.

[0025] Some examples of the method, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable medium described herein can further include operations, features, means, or instructions for comparing a first index of the first search space set to a second index of the third search space set, and dropping a monitoring occasion of the first search space set or the third search space set based on the comparison, where the overlap rule determines to monitor the search space set based on the comparison.

[0026] Some examples of the method, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable medium described herein can further include operations, features, means, or instructions for dropping a PDCCH candidate of a monitoring occasion of the first search space set or a PDCCH candidate of a monitoring occasion of the third search space set, where the overlap rule determines to monitor the PDCCH candidate of the monitoring occasion of the first search space set or the monitoring occasion of the third search space set that can be retained.

[0027] Some examples of the method, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable medium described herein can further include operations, features, means, or instructions for determining that a monitoring occasion of the first search space set overlaps with a monitoring occasion of the second search space set, and monitoring for the DCI in the first search space set, where the overlap rule indicates to treat the monitoring occasion of the second search space set as not linked with the monitoring occasion of the first search space set.

[0028] Some examples of the method, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable medium described herein can further include operations, features, means, or instructions for determining that a monitoring occasion of the first search space set overlaps with a monitoring occasion of the second search space set, where the overlap rule determines to ignore the overlapping monitoring occasions.

[0029] Some examples of the method, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable medium described herein can further include operations, features, means, or instructions for monitoring for the DCI in at least the first search space set or the second search space set further include skipping monitoring of the monitoring occasion of the first search space set and the monitoring occasion of the second search space set according to the overlap rule.

[0030] Some examples of the method, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable medium described herein can further include operations, features, means, or instructions for dropping a PDCCH candidate of a monitoring occasion of the first search space set.

[0031] Some examples of the method, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable medium described herein can further include operations, features, means, or instructions for determining that the first PDCCH candidate and the second PDCCH candidate can have a same DCI payload, a same downlink control format size, and a same radio network temporary identifier, and where monitoring the identified one or more monitoring occasions further includes monitoring the first PDCCH candidate in the first search space set and the second PDCCH candidate in the second search space set based on the determination.

[0032] Some examples of the method, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable medium described herein can further include operations, features, means, or instructions for receiving a configuration of a radio resource control parameter, where the overlap rule can be based on the radio resource control parameter.

[0033] Some examples of the method, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable medium described herein can further include operations, features, means, or instructions for determining that a third search space set can be linked with the first search space set, detecting the DCI in the one or more monitoring occasions, and determining scheduling information according to the overlap rule.

[0034] In some examples of the method, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable medium described herein, the overlap rule can be based on a last symbol of a PDCCH candidate of the search space set that occurs last in time or has a higher index among the first search space set, the second search space set, or the third search space set.

[0035] In some examples of the method, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable medium described herein, the overlap rule can be further based on the DCI associated with the first search space set.

[0036] In some examples of the method, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable medium described herein, the overlap rule skips monitoring of a second monitoring occasion of the first search space set that can be linked with a first monitoring occasion of the second search space set.

[0037] Some examples of the method, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable medium described herein can further include operations, features, means, or instructions for determining, based at least in part on a first monitoring occasion of the first search space set being linked with the first monitoring occasion of the second search space set, that a second monitoring occasion of the first search space set is not linked with a first monitoring occasion of the second search space set.

[0038] Some examples of the method, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable medium described herein can further include operations, features, means, or instructions for determining that a first monitoring occasion and a second monitoring occasion of the first search space set can be linked with a monitoring occasion of the second search space set, detecting the DCI in the one or more monitoring occasions, and determining scheduling information according to the overlap rule, where the overlap rule can be based on a last symbol of a PDCCH candidate for the first monitoring occasion of the first search space set, the monitoring occasion of the second search space set, or the second monitoring occasion of the first search space set that occurs last in time.

[0039] In some examples of the method, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer- readable medium described herein, the overlap rule can be further based on detecting the DCI in the monitoring occasion of the second search space set. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0040] Figure 1 According to aspects of the present disclosure, an example of a wireless communication system is shown in which the wireless communication system supports resolving ambiguities of search space set linking for physical downlink control channel repetition.

[0041] Figure 2 According to aspects of the present disclosure, an example of a diagram that supports resolving ambiguities of search space set linking for physical downlink control channel repetition is shown.

[0042] Figures 3 to 8 According to aspects of the present disclosure, an example block diagram of a device that supports resolving ambiguities of search space set linking for physical downlink control channel repetition is shown.

[0043] Figure 9 And Figure 10 According to aspects of the present disclosure, a block diagram of a device that supports resolving ambiguities of search space set linking for physical downlink control channel repetition is shown.

[0044] Figure 11 According to aspects of the present disclosure, a block diagram of a communications manager that supports resolving ambiguities of search space set linking for physical downlink control channel repetition is shown.

[0045] Figure 12 According to aspects of the present disclosure, a diagram of a system including a device that supports resolving ambiguities of search space set linking for physical downlink control channel repetition is shown.

[0046] Figure 13According to aspects of the present disclosure, a flow diagram is shown for a method of delineating ambiguities supporting resolving search space set linking for PDCCH repetition. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0047] The described techniques relate to improved methods, systems, devices, and apparatuses that support resolving ambiguities for search space set linking for PDCCH repetition. For example, PDCCH repetition can be used to increase reliability. The network can transmit a repeated PDCCH using two different beams to achieve redundancy. If one beam is blocked or the aggregation level is too small, the UE is able to decode the DCI from the other beam. However, some of the scheduling information in the DCI can not only come from the payload of the DCI, but can depend on which PDCCH candidate is decoded. Thus, it can be important for the network and the UE to know which DCI the UE decoded. However, PDCCH repetition can cause some ambiguities to arise.

[0048] DCI for PDCCH repetition detected in two linked search space sets can be interpreted differently compared to DCI detected in unlinked search space sets. When a UE is configured for PDCCH repetition, the UE can only be able to decode one of the repetitions or both when soft combined. If the DCI is decoded, the network does not know which DCI the UE decoded (which single DCI was decoded or both were decoded when soft combined). Because the scheduling information determined by the UE from the DCI can also depend on the time or resources the DCI was detected, it is desirable to be able to resolve the ambiguities. Different overlap rules are proposed to resolve these ambiguities.

[0049] Generally, the described techniques provide various ways to resolve PDCCH ambiguities. A first ambiguity can involve two or more monitoring occasions linked together, at which time the search space sets have the same CORESET. To resolve this ambiguity, the UE can give an error if the monitoring occasions overlap, or the UE can not monitor the overlapping monitoring occasions.

[0050] A second ambiguity can involve a third monitoring occasion of a third search space set linked with one of the first and second search space sets. In some examples, the UE can not expect the third search space set to overlap with the first search space set unless certain conditions are applied. These conditions can include that the third search space set and the first search space set are associated with different CORESETs, if the third search space set and the first search space set have different control information format sizes, or if the third search space set is linked with a fourth search space set. Or, if these conditions are not met, the UE can assume that the third search space set is linked with the second search space set, ignore the monitoring occasion of the third search space set, or ignore the monitoring occasion of the first search space set. In some examples, which monitoring occasion the UE ignores can be based on the index of the search space set. These examples can also be at the PDCCH candidate level or determined based on the PDCCH candidate level.

[0051] A third ambiguity can arise when the UE decodes DCI according to linked monitoring occasions. If a first DCI from other linked monitoring occasions has already been decoded, the techniques described herein enable the UE to skip decoding a second DCI from a linked monitoring occasion. Skipping decoding the second DCI can result in power savings at the UE. Having different DCIs can be evaluated by having different DCI payloads, where different DCI payloads include different DCI format sizes, different DCI formats, or different radio network temporary identifiers.

[0052] A fourth ambiguity involves whether a third monitoring occasion of a third search space set can be linked with two separate monitoring occasions of the other two search space sets. In some examples, the UE does not expect there to be a third search space set linked with the first search space set. Other techniques enable the UE to consider DCI in the third monitoring occasion linked to the first search space set. Which DCI the UE can use for scheduling information can be determined according to a last symbol rule or an index rule.

[0053] A fifth ambiguity involves whether two monitoring occasions of a single search space set can be linked to a monitoring occasion of another search space set. Some techniques describe that the UE does not expect a second monitoring occasion of the first search space set to be linked with a monitoring occasion of the second search space set. Alternative techniques describe that if the second monitoring occasion of the first search space set is also linked with a monitoring occasion of the second search space set, then DCI detected in any monitoring occasion can be interpreted according to a rule that considers all three monitoring occasions. Which DCI to use can be determined according to a last symbol rule or an index rule. These examples can also apply at the PDCCH candidate level.

[0054] Aspects of the disclosure are first described in the context of a wireless communications system. Aspects of the disclosure are further illustrated by and described in connection with flow and block diagrams. Aspects of the disclosure are further illustrated and described in connection with apparatus diagrams, system diagrams, and flow diagrams related to resolving ambiguities for search space set linking of physical downlink control channel repetition.

[0055] Figure 1 According to aspects of the present disclosure, an example of a wireless communications system 100 that supports resolving ambiguities for search space set linking of physical downlink control channel repetition is shown. The wireless communications system 100 can include one or more base stations 105, one or more UEs 115, and a core network 130. In some examples, the wireless communications system 100 can be a Long Term Evolution (LTE) network, an LTE- Advanced (LTE-A) network, an LTE-A Pro network, or a New Radio (NR) network. In some examples, the wireless communications system 100 can support enhanced broadband communications, ultra-reliable (e.g., mission critical) communications, low latency communications, communications with low-cost and low-complexity devices, or any combination thereof.

[0056] The base stations 105 can be dispersed throughout the geographic area 100 and can be

[0057] The UEs 115 can be dispersed throughout the geographic areas 110 of the wireless communications system 100, and each UE 115 can be stationary, or mobile, or both at different times. The UEs 115 can be devices in different forms that have Figure 1 Some example UEs 115 are illustrated in FIG. 1. The UEs 115 described herein can be able to communicate with various types of devices, such as other UEs 115, base stations 105, or network equipment (e.g., core network nodes, relay devices, integrated access and backhaul (IAB) nodes, or other network equipment), as shown in FIG. 1. Figure 1

[0058] ​The base stations 105 can communicate with the core network 130, or with one another, or both. For example, the base stations 105 can interface with the core network 130 through one or more backhaul links 120 (e.g., via an SI, N2, N3, or other interface). The base stations 105 can communicate with one another over the backhaul links 120 (e.g., via an X2, Xn, or other interface) either directly (e.g., directly between base stations 105), or indirectly (e.g., through core network 130), or both, 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 can include or perform the functionality of a base transceiver station, a radio base station, an access point, a radio transceiver, a NodeB, an eNodeB (eNB), a next-generation NodeB or giga-nodeB (either of which can be referred to as a gNB), a Home NodeB, a Home eNodeB, or other suitable terminology.

[0060] The UEs 115 can include or can be referred to as mobile devices, wireless devices, remote devices, handheld devices, or subscriber devices, or some other suitable terminology, where the “device” can also be referred to as a unit, a station, a terminal, or a client, among other examples. The UEs 115 can also include or can be referred to as personal electronic devices such as a cellular phone, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a tablet computer, a laptop computer, or a personal computer. In some examples, the UEs 115 can 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 communications (MTC) device, among other examples, which can be implemented in various objects such as appliances, or vehicles, meters, or various

[0061] The UEs 115 described herein can be able to communicate with various types of devices, such as other UEs 115 and base stations 105, as well as network equipment including core network nodes and access points Figure 1 as shown in FIG. 1.

[0062] The UEs 115 and the base stations 105 can wirelessly communicate with one another via one or more communication links 125 over one or more carriers. The term “carrier” can refer to a set of radio frequency spectrum resources (e.g., frequency channels) with a defined physical layer structure used for communicating communications signals. For example, a carrier used for a communication link 125 can include a portion of an operating band (e.g., a bandwidth part (BWP)) that is conformant with a 5G / NR radio access technology (RAT) standard. Each physical layer channel can carry acquisition signaling (e.g., synchronization signals, system information), control signaling (e.g., user data or control signals for operations coordination), or user data. The wireless communications system 100 can support vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communications, including vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V), vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I), vehicle-to-network (V2N), and vehicle-to-pedestrian (V2P) communications. Vehicle-to-vehicle communications can include communications between vehicles, including motorcycles, bicycles, scooters, and other vehicles. Vehicle-to-infrastructure communications can include communications between vehicles and infrastructure, including roadside units (RSUs), traffic light controllers, traffic sign controllers, and other infrastructure. Vehicle-to-network communications can include communications between vehicles and a network, including a core network, a public safety answering point (PSAP), and other network infrastructure. Vehicle-to-pedestrian communications can include communications between vehicles and pedestrians, including communications between vehicles and one or more devices carried by a pedestrian, such as a smartphone, a wearable device, and other devices. The wireless communications system 100 can also support communications between UEs 115 and other devices, such as consumer electronics devices, appliances, and other electronic devices capable of wireless communication.

[0063] In some examples (e.g., in carrier aggregation configurations), a carrier can also have acquisition signaling or control signaling to coordinate operations for other carriers. A carrier can be associated with a frequency channel (e.g., an evolved universal mobile telecommunication system terrestrial radio access (E-UTRA) absolute radio frequency channel number (EARFCN)) and can be positioned according to a channel raster for discovery by UEs 115. Carriers can operate in a standalone mode, where a UE 115 can initially acquire connectivity to a base station 105 via the carrier, or the carrier can operate in non-standalone mode, where a different carrier (e.g., of the same or a different radio access technology) is used for initial acquisition and connectivity.

[0064] The communication links 125 shown in wireless communications system 100 can include uplink transmissions from a UE 115 to a base station 105, or downlink transmissions from a base station 105 to a UE 115. Carriers can carry downlink or uplink communications (e.g., in an FDD mode) or can be configured to carry downlink and uplink communications (e.g., in a TDD mode).

[0065] A carrier can be associated with a specific bandwidth of the radio spectrum, and in some instances, the carrier bandwidth can be referred to as the carrier or the “system bandwidth” of the wireless communication system 100. For example, the carrier bandwidth can be one of several defined bandwidths of a carrier for a particular radio access technology (e.g., 1.4, 3, 5, 10, 15, 20, 40, or 80 MHz). Devices of the wireless communication system 100 (e.g., base station 105, UE 115, or both) can have a hardware configuration that supports communication on a specific carrier bandwidth, or can be configured to support communication on one of a set of carrier bandwidths. In some instances, the wireless communication system 100 may include a base station 105 or UE 115 that supports simultaneous communication via carriers associated with multiple carrier bandwidths. In some instances, each servicing UE 115 can be configured to operate on a portion (e.g., a subband, BWP) or all of the carrier bandwidth.

[0066] The signal waveform transmitted via a carrier can consist of multiple subcarriers (e.g., using multicarrier modulation (MCM) techniques such as Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) or Discrete Fourier Transform Extended OFDM (DFT-S-OFDM). In a system employing MCM, a resource element can consist of one symbol period (e.g., the duration of a modulation symbol) and one subcarrier, where the symbol period and subcarrier spacing are inversely proportional. The number of bits carried by each resource element can 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 the UE 115 receives and the higher the order of the modulation scheme, the higher the data rate of the UE 115. Wireless communication resources can refer to radio spectrum resources, temporal resources, and spatial resources (e.g., spatial layers or beams), and the use of multiple spatial layers can further increase the data rate or data integrity used for communication with the UE 115.

[0067] A carrier can support one or more digital schemes, where the digital scheme can include subcarrier spacing (Δf) and a cyclic prefix. A carrier can be divided into one or more BWPs with the same or different digital schemes. In some examples, UE 115 can be configured with multiple BWPs. In some examples, a single BWP of a carrier can be active at a given time, and UE 115 communication can be restricted to one or more active BWPs.

[0068] The time interval used for base station 105 or UE 115 can be expressed as a multiple of the basic time unit (e.g., it can refer to T). s =1 / (Δf) max ·N f (sampling period of ) seconds), where Δf max N can represent the maximum supported subcarrier spacing.f may represent a maximum supported discrete Fourier transform (DFT) size. Time intervals of communications resources can be organized as radio frames, each having a specified duration (e.g., 10 milliseconds (ms)). Each radio frame can be identified by a system frame number (SFN) (e.g., ranging from 0 to 1023).

[0069] Each frame can include a number of consecutive numbered subframes or slots, and each subframe or slot can have the same duration. In some examples, a frame can be partitioned (e.g., in the time domain) into subframes, and each subframe can be further partitioned into a number of slots. Alternatively, each frame can include a variable number of slots, and the number of slots can depend on the subcarrier spacing. Each slot can include a number of symbol periods (e.g., depending on the length of the cyclic prefix prepended to each symbol period). In some wireless communications systems 100, slots can be further partitioned into mini-slots, each f ) containing one or more (e.g., N

[0070] A subframe, a slot, a mini-slot, or a symbol can be the smallest scheduling unit (e.g., in the time domain) of the wireless communications system 100 and can 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) can be variable. Additionally or alternatively, the smallest scheduling unit of the wireless communications system 100 can be dynamically selected (e.g., in bursts of shortened TTIs (sTTIs)).

[0071] Physical channels can be multiplexed on a carrier according to various techniques. A physical control channel and a physical data channel can be multiplexed on a downlink carrier, for example, using one or more of time division multiplexing (TDM) techniques, frequency division multiplexing (FDM) techniques, or hybrid TDM-FDM techniques. A control region (e.g., a control resource set (CORESET)) for a physical control channel can be defined by multiple symbol periods and can extend across the system bandwidth or a subset of the system bandwidth of a carrier. One or more control regions (e.g., CORESETs) can be configured for a set of UEs 115. For example, one or more of the UEs 115 can monitor or search control regions for control information according to one or more search space sets, and each search space set can include one or more control channel candidates having one or more aggregation levels arranged in a cascaded manner. An aggregation level for a control channel candidate can refer to a number of CCEs associated with encoded information for a control information format having a given payload size. Search space sets can include common search space sets configured for sending control information to multiple UEs 115 and UE-specific search space sets configured for sending control information to a specific UE 115.

[0072] In some examples, a base station 105 can be movable and therefore provide communication coverage for a moving geographic coverage area 110. In some examples, different geographic coverage areas 110 associated with different technologies can overlap, but 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 communications system 100 can include, for example, a heterogeneous network in which different types of the base stations 105 provide coverage for various geographic coverage areas 110 using the same or different radio access technologies.

[0073] Some UEs 115 can be configured to employ operating modes that reduce power consumption, such as a half-duplex communication mode that supports one -way communication (e.g., transmission or reception, but not both simultaneously). In some examples, half-duplex communication can be performed at a reduced peak rate. Other power saving techniques for UEs 115 include entering a power saving deep sleep mode when not engaging in active communications, operating over a limited bandwidth (e.g., according to a narrowband protocol type), or a combination of these techniques. For example, some UEs 115 can be configured to operate using a narrowband protocol type that is associated with a specified portion or range (e.g., set of subcarriers or resource blocks (RBs)) within a carrier, within a guardband of a carrier, or outside of a carrier.

[0074] The wireless communications system 100 can be configured to support ultra-reliable communications or low-latency communications, or various combinations thereof. For example, the wireless communications system 100 can be configured to support ultra-reliable low-latency communications (URLLC) or mission critical communications. UEs 115 can be designed to support ultra-reliable, low-latency, or mission critical functions (e.g., mission critical function). Ultra-reliable communications can include private communication or group communication, and can be supported through 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 the 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 herein.

[0075] In some examples, a UE 115 can also be able to communicate directly with other UEs 115 using 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 communications can be within the geographic coverage area 110 of a base station 105. Other UEs 115 in such a group can be outside the geographic coverage area 110 of a base station 105 or be otherwise unable to receive transmissions from a base station 105. In some examples, groups of the UEs 115 communicating via D2D communications can utilize a one-to-many (1 :M) system in which each UE 115 transmits to every other UE 115 in the group. In some examples, a base station 105 facilitates the scheduling of resources for D2D communications. In other cases, D2D communications are carried out between the UEs 115 without the involvement of a base station 105.

[0076] The core network 130 can provide user authentication, access authorization, tracking, Internet Protocol (IP) connectivity, and other access, routing, or mobility functions. The core network 130 can be an evolved packet core (EPC) or 5G core (5GC), which can include at least one control plane entity that manages access and mobility (e.g., a mobility management entity (MME), an access and mobility management function (AMF)) and at least one user plane entity that routes packets or interconnects to external networks, such as a serving gateway (S-GW), a Packet Data Network (PDN) gateway (P-GW), or a user plane function (UPF). The control plane entity can 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 can be transferred through the user plane entity, which can provide IP address allocation as well as other functions. The user plane entity can be connected to the IP services 150 of the one or more network operators. The IP services 150 can include access to the Internet, Intranet(s), an IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS), or a Packet-Switched Streaming Service.

[0077] Some of the network devices, such as a base station 105, can include subcomponents such as an access network entity 140, which can be an example of an access node controller (ANC). Each access network entity 140 can communicate with the UEs 115 through one or more other access network transmission entities 145, which can be referred to as radio head, a smart radio head, or a transmission / reception point (TRP). Each access network transmission entity 145 can include one or more antenna panels. In some configurations, various functions of each access network entity 140 or base station 105 can be distributed across various network devices (e.g., radio heads and ANCs) or consolidated into a single network device (e.g., a base station 105).

[0078] The wireless communications system 100 can operate using one or more frequency bands, typically in the range of 300 megahertz (MHz) to 300 gigahertz (GHz). Generally, the region from 300 MHz to 3 GHz is known as the ultra-high frequency (UHF) region or decimeter band, since the wavelengths range from approximately one decimeter to one meter in length. UHF waves can be blocked or redirected by buildings and environmental features. However, the waves can penetrate structures sufficiently for a macro cell to provide service to UEs 115 located indoors. Transmission of UHF waves can be associated with smaller antennas and shorter range (e.g., less than 100 kilometers) compared to transmission using the smaller frequencies and longer waves of the high frequency (HF) or very high frequency (VHF) portion of the spectrum below 300 MHz.

[0079] Wireless communications system 100 can utilize both licensed and unlicensed radio frequency spectrum bands. For example, wireless communications 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 unlicensed radio frequency spectrum bands, devices such as base stations 105 and UEs 115 can perform carrier sensing to ascertain whether the band is available for transmission. In some examples, operations in unlicensed bands can be based on a carrier aggregation configuration in conjunction with component carriers operating in a licensed band (e.g., LAA). Operations in unlicensed spectrum can include downlink transmissions, uplink transmissions, P2P transmissions, or other examples.

[0080] Base stations 105 or UEs 115 can be equipped with multiple antennas, which can be used to employ techniques such as transmit diversity, receive diversity, multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) communications, or beamforming. Base stations 105 or UEs 115 can use a set of one or more antenna arrays or antenna panels to communicate with UEs 115 over a set of frequency bands. For example, one or more base station antenna arrays can be co-located at an antenna assembly (e.g., an antenna tower). In some examples, antenna arrays associated with a base station 105 can be located in different geographic locations. A base station 105 can have an antenna array with a set of multiple rows and multiple columns of antenna ports that the base station 105 can use for beamforming. Similarly, a UE 115 can have one or more antenna arrays that can support various MIMO or beamforming operations. Additionally, or alternatively, antenna panels can support radio frequency beamforming for signals transmitted via antenna ports.

[0081] Beamforming, which can 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 shape or steer the beam over the space. Beamforming can be achieved by combining the signals transmitted or received by antennas of an array of antennas. The signals transmitted or received by each antenna of the array of antennas can be adjusted (e.g., amplified, phased, or otherwise modulated) to highlight certain orientations. The adjustments can include amplifying the power of a signal transmitted or received by one or more antennas of the array, blocking, or nulling the power of a signal transmitted or received by one or more antennas of the array, or a combination thereof. The adjustments can be made to emphasize (or de-emphasize) one or more orientations of the array of antennas. The adjustments can be associated with one or more orientations, and the orientations can be associated with orientations of the array of antennas that align with directions (e.g., angles) relative to the antenna array or some other orientation.

[0082] The UEs 115 and the base stations 105 can support retransmissions of data to increase the likelihood that data is received successfully. HARQ feedback is one technique used to increase the likelihood that data is received correctly at a receiving device. HARQ can include a combination of error correction (e.g., using a cyclic redundancy check (CRC)), forward error correction (FEC), and retransmission (e.g., automatic repeat request (ARQ)). HARQ can improve throughput at the MAC layer in poor radio conditions (e.g., low signal-to-noise conditions). In some examples, a device can support same-slot HARQ feedback, where the device can provide HARQ feedback in a specific slot for data received in a previous symbol in the slot. In other cases, the device can provide HARQ feedback in a subsequent slot, or according to some other time interval.

[0083] The UE 115 can include a communications manager 160. The communications manager 160 can receive a configuration of a first search space set and a second search space set. The communications manager 160 can identify a link between the first search space set and the second search space set for physical downlink control channel repetition. The communications manager 160 can also identify one or more monitoring occasions in the first search space set or the second search space set to monitor for downlink control information based at least in part on an overlap rule associated with the link between the first search space set and the second search space set for physical downlink control channel repetition. The communications manager 160 can also monitor the identified one or more monitoring occasions in at least the first search space set or the second search space set for the downlink control information.

[0084] The communications manager 160 can resolve ambiguities at the UE 115 regarding PDCCH repetition. The communications manager 160 can improve reliability of communications, reduce complexity, reduce retransmissions, reduce latency, improve throughput, and improve power savings at the UE 115.

[0085] Figure 2 According to aspects of the present disclosure, an example of a diagram 200 that supports resolving ambiguities of search space set linking for physical downlink control channel repetition is shown. The diagram 200 can implement aspects of, or can be implemented by aspects of, the wireless communication system 100, among other examples. The diagram 200 can include a UE 115-a and a base station 105-a. The UE 115-a can be an example of aspects of a UE 115 as described herein. The base station 105-a can be an example of aspects of a base station 105 as described herein.

[0086] At 205, UE 115-a can be configured with two or more search space sets. In some examples, base station 105-a can configure UE 115-a with search space sets. In other examples, UE 115-a configures itself with search space sets according to a specification. When configuring PDCCH, UE 115-a can have up to three or five CORESETs in a given bandwidth part of a component carrier. A CORESET can be used to configure PDCCH. Properties of a CORESET can include a TCI state of the PDCCH, a number of resource blocks in the frequency domain, and a number of symbols in the time domain. Other properties of a CORESET can include a CCE-to-resource element group (REG) mapping type, a precoding granularity, and a scrambling identifier (ID). These parameters can be used for PDCCH demodulation reference signal (DMRS) or encoding bits of DCI content. In some examples, the CCE-to-REG mapping type can be the same as a REG bundling for narrowband channel estimation or wideband precoding in the entire CORESET.

[0087] Once a CORESET is configured, one or more search space sets can also be configured for monitoring PDCCH. In some examples, UE 115-a can be configured with up to ten search space sets in a given BWP. As part of the search space set configuration, each search space set can be associated with a given CORESET that can be identified. The number of symbols can be the only time domain behavior in the CORESET, but which slots and symbols can be used for PDCCH can be part of the search space set configuration.

[0088] A search space set can be configured for a time domain, a monitoring occasion of PDCCH, and a periodicity (e.g., a number of slots) and an offset to determine which slots to monitor. The periodicity (denoted as k s slots) and the offset (denoted as o s slots) can be configured using a parameter monitoringSlotPeriodicityAndOffset in slots. For example, if the periodicity is five slots (k s = 5 slots), there can be one search space per period (e.g., there is a search space in at least one of the five slots).

[0089] A search space set can also be configured with a parameter duration (denoted as T s s s). If the parameter duration is 2, the search space set is present in two slots out of each period of five slots.

[0090] ​In each slot where a search space set exists, the PDCCH monitoring pattern within a slot can be indicated by a parameter MonitoringSymbolsWithinSlot. The PDCCH monitoring pattern can be a fourteen symbol bitmap, and each 1 in the bitmap (e.g., 010000100000, etc.) can indicate the first symbol of the CORESET for that monitoring occasion. If there are 3 ones in the bitmap, then there are 3 monitoring occasions in the slot, and the position of the ones indicates the first symbol of the CORESET for that monitoring occasion. For example, assuming a search space set has 3 symbols, there are 3 monitoring occasions in each slot where the PDCCH of the search space set is monitored.

[0091] The type of search space set can be UE-specific or common search space set type. The configuration at 205 can also configure which DCI formats UE 115-a is to monitor.

[0092] At 205, PDCCH candidates can also be configured as part of the search space set configuration. For example, multiple PDCCH candidates can be configured for each aggregation level.

[0093] For PDCCH repetition, each repetition can be a PDCCH candidate. Two PDCCH candidates can be linked together for possible repetition of the same DCI. The two candidate PDCCHs should have the same aggregation level (e.g., same number of CCEs), and the DCI payloads of the two candidate PDCCH transmissions are the same. Thus, UE 115-a can perform soft combining using the two PDCCH candidates (e.g., two PDCCH repetitions) in order to decode the DCI. In some examples, two PDCCH candidates in different search space sets (e.g., associated with different CORESETs) can be linked together for PDCCH repetition.

[0094] For example, UE 115-a can use different search space sets configured to be linked together for repetition. For example, a search space set with index 2 can be linked with a search space set with index 4. Each search space set has different monitoring occasions (e.g., within a slot or across slots). For PDCCH repetition and monitoring occasions, the monitoring occasions of the first search space set can be associated or linked with the monitoring occasions of the second search space set. The techniques described herein provide a mechanism (e.g., based on rules or based on configuration) such that UE 115-a can resolve the ambiguity caused by PDCCH repetition.

[0095] To link two PDCCH candidates that can occur within a first monitoring occasion of a first search space set and a second monitoring occasion of a second search space set, one or more of several methods for linking can be used. For example, two PDCCH candidates with the same candidate index on both search space sets can be linked. In another example, two PDCCH candidates with the same starting CCE can be linked. In other examples, the linking can be explicitly provided as a radio resource control (RRC) configuration. The RRC configuration can identify which candidate in the first search space set is linked with which candidate in the second search space set, which can be configured to the UE 115-a. For example, a candidate index in one search space set can be linked with another candidate index in the second search space set.

[0096] In some examples, DCI detected in two linked search space sets for PDCCH repetition can be interpreted differently than DCI detected in unlinked search space sets. When the UE 115-a is configured for PDCCH repetition, the UE 115-a can decode only one of the repetitions (e.g., the first or the second) or can decode both with soft combining. If the DCI is decoded, the network does not know which scenario occurred. That is, the base station 105-a can not know which DCI the UE 115-a decoded or whether the UE 115-a used soft combining. However, information that the UE 115-a determines as a result of PDCCH format detection depends not only on the DCI payload, but also on the time or resources at which the DCI is detected. For example, the last or first symbol of the DCI of reference can impact the scheduling information, which can cause some ambiguity. Conversely, if the scheduling information is directly in the DCI payload, there would be no ambiguity because once one of the instances of DCI is decoded, the UE 115-a would have all the information. However, because some of the rules described above do not depend on the DCI payload, but rather on the resources in terms of time and frequency of the DCI, there can be some ambiguity (because the base station 105-a does not know which resources were used). That is, the base station 105-a would not know whether the UE 115-a decoded the first DCI repetition, the second DCI repetition, or the DCI with soft combining.

[0097] How UE 115-a determines the scheduling information can depend on the time and resources of the detection of the DCI as some examples are described below. For example, the slot offset of a scheduled physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH), physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH), channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS), or sounding reference signal (SRS) can be applied to a reference, where the reference can be the slot in which the scheduling DCI is detected. The slot offset can be indicated in the DCI itself, but the reference time at which the counting starts at the offset will start from the slot in which the DCI is detected.

[0098] Another example of how the scheduling information can depend on the time and resources of the detection of the DCI can include that the physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) resources for HARQ acknowledgement (ACK) can depend on the starting CCE of the detected PDCCH and the number of CCEs of the CORESET in which the PDCCH is detected.

[0099] Another example of how the scheduling information can depend on the time and resources of the detection of the DCI involves UE 115-a determining whether it should receive the scheduled PDSCH based on a default beam or based on a beam indicated in the DCI. To make this determination, UE 115-a can compare the scheduling offset between the end of the DCI and the start of the PDCCH and a threshold. The threshold can be a UE capability threshold in terms of beam switching capability. If the scheduling offset is less than the threshold, then UE 115-a can apply the default beam. If it is larger, then UE 115-a can use the indicated beam.

[0100] In another example, UE 115-a can rate match the scheduled PDSCH around the resources of the scheduling DCI in case of resource overlap. In some examples, when scheduling a PDSCH, the PDSCH can be rate matched around the resources of the DCI scheduling the PDSCH if the DCI resources of the scheduling DCI overlap with the PDSCH resources.

[0101] Because the scheduling information can be based in part on the resources used as shown above, to avoid ambiguity between the UE 115-a and the base station 105-a in case of PDCCH repetition, some rules or configurations can be helpful regardless of which or both of the two linked candidates the UE 115-a actually decodes. For cases where the time of the detected DCI is the reference (e.g., the first symbol or the last symbol), the first symbol or the last symbol of the earlier or later PDCCH candidate should be used. Some rules can define that the first symbol or the last symbol of the earlier PDCCH candidate should be used. Other rules can define that the first symbol or the last symbol of the later PDCCH candidate should be used. For other cases (e.g., rate matching), both candidates can be considered (e.g., PDSCH can be rate matched around both linked PDCCH candidates). In addition, for example, for the starting CCE and the number of CCEs used for PUCCH resource determination, some other rules can be based at least in part on the index of the first or second search space set (e.g., consider the candidate in the search space set with the higher or lower index to determine some scheduling information). In addition to the DCI payload information, there can be other rules that define additional or alternative information to determine the scheduling information.

[0102] Regardless of which rules are used, the DCI detected in the two linked search space sets can be interpreted differently when PDCCH repetition is used compared to DCI without PDCCH repetition. When the DCI is transmitted through PDCCH repetition, when the corresponding PUCCH resource set has a size larger than 8, there can be several alternatives for PUCCH resource determination for HARQ-ACK. First, the UE 115-a can ensure the same starting CCE index in both CORESETs (which can be based at least in part on the linking option) and the same number of CCEs (based at least in part on the CORESET configuration limit). In another example, the starting CCE index and the number of CCEs in the CORESET of one of the linked PDCCH candidates can be applied. In another example, the PUCCH resource can be determined by the UE 115-a based at least in part on the starting CCE index and the number of CCEs in the CORESET of either one of the two linked PDCCH candidates. In other examples, other rules can be used. Once the UE 115-a and the base station 105-a both fix and know one candidate, there is no ambiguity for PDCCH repetition.

[0103] Returning to Figure 2At 205, UE 115-a can be configured for PDCCH repetition. Because there can be ambiguity resulting from PDCCH repetition, UE 115-a can use one or more of several techniques to resolve the ambiguity. These different techniques for resolving the ambiguity can be referred to as overlap rules. These overlap rules can be applied at a monitoring occasion level or at a PDCCH candidate level.

[0104] At 210, UE 115-a can identify a link between a first search space set and a second search space set for PDCCH repetition. The link can associate one or more monitoring occasions of each search space set together.

[0105] At 215, UE 115-a can identify one or more monitoring occasions in the first search space set or the second search space set to monitor for DCI based at least in part on an overlap rule associated with the link between the first search space set and the second search space set for physical downlink control channel repetition. The following is an example of an overlap rule. Figures 3-8 Different overlap rules are contemplated and discussed. At 220, UE 115-a can monitor the identified monitoring occasions in at least the first search space set or the second search space set for DCI.

[0106] For example, if both linked search space sets for UE 115-a are associated with the same CORESET, UE 115-a can give an error if the monitoring occasions overlap, or UE 115-a can not be able to monitor the overlapping monitoring occasions.

[0107] In another example, when a first search space set is linked with a second search space set for PDCCH repetition, UE 115-a can not expect a third search space set to overlap with a monitoring occasion of the first search space set (unless certain conditions apply). These conditions can include that the third search space set and the first search space set are associated with different CORESETs, or have different control information format sizes, or if the third search space set is linked with a fourth search space set. Alternatively, if these conditions are not met, UE 115-a can assume that the third search space set is linked with the second search space set, UE 115-a can ignore the monitoring occasion of the third search space set, or UE 115-a can ignore the monitoring occasion of the first search space set. In some examples, which monitoring occasion UE 115-a ignores can be based at least in part on an index of the search space set. These examples can also be determined at or on a PDCCH candidate level, which is one level within a monitoring occasion.

[0108] In other examples, UE 115-a can have two linked search space sets, decode only one, and skip the next to save power. In this example, UE 115-a can have to assume that the two linked candidates have the same DCI. Having different DCI can be evaluated by having different DCI payloads include different DCI format sizes, different DCI formats, or different radio network temporary identifiers.

[0109] Other examples clarify whether a first search space set can be linked to a second search space set and a third search space set. In one option, UE 115-a does not expect a third search space set to be linked with the first search space set. Or, if the first search space set and the third search space set are linked, then UE 115-a can consider it linked to the first search space set if it detects another DCI. Which DCI to use can be determined according to a last symbol rule or an index rule. In some examples, which DCI to use can also be conditioned on UE 115-a detecting a DCI from the first search space set.

[0110] Another example addresses ambiguity of whether a second monitoring occasion of a first search space set can be linked with a monitoring occasion of a second search space set if a first monitoring occasion of the first search space set and a monitoring occasion of the second search space set are linked. In one option, UE 115-a does not expect the second monitoring occasion of the first search space set to be linked with the monitoring occasion of the second search space set. Or, if the second monitoring occasion of the first search space set is also linked with the monitoring occasion of the second search space set, then the DCI detected in any of the monitoring occasions is interpreted according to a rule that considers all three monitoring occasions. Which DCI to use can be determined according to a last symbol rule or an index rule. In some examples, which DCI to use can also be conditioned on UE 115-a detecting a DCI from the first search space set. These examples can also be applied on a PDCCH candidate level.

[0111] Regardless of which technique UE 115-a uses to resolve PDCCH repetition ambiguity, at 220, UE 115-a can monitor the identified one or more monitoring occasions in at least the first search space set or the second search space set for downlink control information. At 225, base station 105-a can transmit a DCI to UE 115-a, and the monitoring UE 115-a can detect the DCI.

[0112] The techniques described herein can resolve ambiguities for UE 115-a and base station 105-a regarding PDCCH repetition. These techniques can improve reliability of communications, reduce retransmissions, reduce latency, improve throughput, and improve power saving at UEs 115.

[0113] Figure 3 According to aspects of the present disclosure, an example of a block diagram 300 that supports resolving ambiguities of search space set linking for physical downlink control channel repetition is shown. Block diagram 300 can implement aspects of, or can be implemented by aspects of, wireless communication system 100, among other examples. Block diagram 300 shows a slot 305 of 14 symbols.

[0114] Slot 305 can be scheduled to have a first monitoring occasion 310 of a first search space set and a first monitoring occasion 315 of a second search space set. In Figure 3 In the example, first monitoring occasion 310 and first monitoring occasion 315 overlap. Slot 305 can also have a second monitoring occasion 320 of the first search space set and a second monitoring occasion 330 of the second search space set.

[0115] If two search space sets are associated with the same CORESET (e.g., same resource blocks, same scrambling, and same TCI state), and the first monitoring occasion 310 of the first search space set overlaps with the first monitoring occasion 315 of the second search space set, a first PDCCH candidate in the first search space set can have the exact same CCEs as a second PDCCH candidate in the second search space set. In this case, if the corresponding DCI formats for the PDCCH candidates have the same size, the PDCCH candidate in the second search space set (e.g., the search space set with the higher index) is not counted in the monitoring of the blind decoding limit because the UE only has to perform one blind decoding for these CCEs (because they have the same resources, same scrambling, same TCI, same DCI size). This can occur when the search space sets are associated with the same CORESET, and if the CCEs are the same and have the same DCI format. Both DCIs are considered one PDCCH candidate, even though they are in different search space sets. In this example, the two PDCCH candidates can not be used for repetition because the parameters are the same and there is only one blind decoding at the UE. Techniques are provided to resolve this ambiguity.

[0116] In some examples, if a UE is configured with two linked search space sets for PDCCH repetition, and the two search space sets are associated with a same CORESET, the UE can expect that a monitoring occasion of a first search space set does not overlap with a monitoring occasion of a second search space set. If both are associated with the same CORESET, then the monitoring occasions should not overlap. If there is an overlap, the UE can determine that it is an error case according to an overlap rule. The first example of the first monitoring occasions 310 and 315 overlapping would thus be an error case. In contrast, the monitoring occasions 320 and 330 do not overlap, so the UE can process them (e.g., they can have different CORESETs).

[0117] In some examples, a UE can determine, based at least in part on an overlap rule, that a monitoring occasion of a first search space set does not overlap with a monitoring occasion of a second search space set. The UE can determine that the first search space set and the second search space set are associated with a control resource set.

[0118] In some examples, if a UE is configured with two linked search space sets for PDCCH repetition, and the two search space sets are associated with a same CORESET, the UE can assume, according to an overlap rule, that there is no PDCCH repetition in that monitoring occasion. The UE can monitor for PDCCH but ignore the linking between the two search space sets. In another example, the UE can not monitor for PDCCH in that monitoring occasion.

[0119] In some examples, a UE can determine that a first monitoring occasion 310 of a first search space set overlaps with a first monitoring occasion 315 of a second search space set. The UE can monitor for DCI in the first search space set, where an overlap rule indicates that the first monitoring occasion 315 of the second search space set is treated as unlinked with the first monitoring occasion 310 of the first search space set. In other examples, the overlap rule configures or indicates that the UE ignores the overlapping first monitoring occasions 310 and 315. In some examples, the UE can monitor for DCI in at least the first search space set or the second search space set, and the UE can skip monitoring for the first monitoring occasion 310 of the first search space set and the first monitoring occasion 315 of the second search space set according to the overlap rule.

[0120] Figure 4 According to aspects of the present disclosure, an example of a block diagram 400 is shown that supports resolving ambiguity of search space set linking for physical downlink control channel repetition. The block diagram 400 can implement aspects of, or can be implemented by aspects of, the wireless communication system 100, among other examples. The block diagram 400 shows a slot 405 of 14 symbols.

[0121] The slot 405 can be scheduled with a first monitoring occasion 410 of a first search space set, a second monitoring occasion 415 of a second search space set, and a third monitoring occasion 420 of a third search space set. In Figure 4 In the example, the first monitoring occasion 410 and the third monitoring occasion 420 overlap. The first search space set and the second search space set can be linked for PDCCH repetition.

[0122] If there is a third search space set that has the same monitoring occasion (at least in one instance) as the first search space set, is associated with the same CORESET as the first search space set, and is configured with a DCI format that is the same as the DCI format size configured in the first search space set, the UE can have the following ambiguity: if the UE decodes PDCCH candidates using the set of CCEs in the overlapping monitoring occasion 410 of the first search space set and in the monitoring occasion 420 of the third search space set, if the UE assumes that the decoded DCI belongs to the first search space set, the UE can consider this to be PDCCH repetition. Thus, the UE can use the slot, symbol, or resources of the later PDCCH candidate of the two linked PDCCH candidates as a reference, which can occur in the second search space set in order to determine the scheduling information. As shown in Figure 4 In the example, the first monitoring occasion 410 and the third monitoring occasion 420 overlap. The first search space set and the second search space set can be linked for PDCCH repetition.

[0123] This can occur for certain DCI that need to be monitored more frequently, and thus have a different periodicity than other DCI, which can result in overlapping monitoring occasions. For example, the first search space set can have a periodicity of 1 slot. Another, the third search space set can have DCI that is monitored less frequently, and has a periodicity of 10 slots. In this example, nine out of ten times there is no ambiguity in the slot, because there is no overlapping monitoring occasion in those slots. However, there can be an overlap between the monitoring occasions in one out of every 10 slots. The UE can only do one decoding, and the second decoding will not be counted as a blind decoding. In the example without PDCCH repetition, this does not cause any issues, but it does cause ambiguity for PDCCH repetition.

[0124] In this example, the UE can determine that the first search space set and the second search space set are linked for PDCCH repetition. In some cases, a third search space set can be used that has the same monitoring occasion 420 as the monitoring occasion 410 in at least one instance. If the first search space set and the third search space set are associated with the same CORESET, and if the third search space set is configured with a DCI format that is the same size as the DCI format configured in the first search space set, there can be ambiguity (i.e., the first search space set and the third search space set have the same CORESET and the same DCI size). If the UE decodes a PDCCH candidate using the set of CCEs in the overlapping monitoring occasion, the UE can not know which search space set the DCI belongs to. The UE can not be able to distinguish between the first search space set and the third search space set because they have the same CORESET, the same DCI size, and the same scrambling.

[0125] The UE can decide to interpret the DCI as belonging to one or the other of the first search space set or the third search space set. If the UE assumes that the decoded DCI belongs to the first search space set, the UE considers this to be PDCCH repetition because the first search space set is linked with the second search space set. When the UE considers itself to be using PDCCH repetition, the UE can apply the overlap rule that considers the slots, the starting symbol, or the resources of the later PDCCH candidates linked with the first PDCCH candidate in the first search space set as a reference. For example, the symbols 430 of the second search space set can be used as the reference.

[0126] Alternatively, the UE can assume that the decoded DCI belongs to the third search space set. If the UE assumes that the decoded DCI belongs to the third search space set, the UE can consider this to be no PDCCH repetition because the third search space set is not linked with any other search space set. In this example, the UE can interpret the DCI as having no PDCCH to determine the scheduling information. For example, if the last symbol 425 of the PDCCH is used, the UE uses the last symbol of the DCI.

[0127] The techniques described herein address potential ambiguities. For example, the overlap rule can configure or cause the UE to not expect the third search space set to have a monitoring occasion overlapping with a monitoring occasion of the first search space set unless one of the following occurs. First, the first search space set and the third search space set are associated with different CORESETs. In this case, decoding these DCIs does not count as a single decoding, and the UE can distinguish them. Second, the DCI format monitored in the first search space set has a different size than the DCI format monitored in the third search space set. This can be because if the DCI formats have different sizes, then the UE can perform two different blind decoding events, and thus there is no confusion. Third, the third search space set is also linked with a fourth search space set for PDCCH repetition. Here, the overlapping monitoring occasion of the third search space set (linked with the monitoring occasion of the first search space set) is linked with a monitoring occasion of the fourth search space set, where the monitoring occasion of the fourth search space set overlaps with the monitoring occasion of the second search space set linked with the monitoring occasion of the first search space set. This creates ambiguity, but if the third search space set is linked with the fourth search space set that also overlaps with the second search space set, then there is no ambiguity because the UE will apply the same rule. Regardless of which DCI of the first or third search space set the UE determines it is decoding, the UE can apply the same rule.

[0128] Alternatively, if the above conditions are not satisfied (e.g., the first search space set and the third search space set have the same CORESET, the same DCI size, and the third search space set is not linked with a fourth search space set), then other techniques can be used. For example, the UE can assume that the PDCCH candidate in the third search space set on the same set of CCEs as the PDCCH candidate in the first search space set is also linked with the PDCCH candidate in the second search space set that the first search space set is linked with. In this alternative, the UE can apply the rules corresponding to PDCCH repetition. For example, even without the third search space set being linked for PDCCH repetition, the UE can assume that in the monitoring occasion of the PDCCH candidate with the same CCEs as the first search space set, it is also configured with repetition for the second search space set. In that case, the UE can apply the rules corresponding to PDCCH repetition and avoid ambiguity.

[0129] In another example, the UE can drop the overlapping monitoring occasion of the third search space set and only monitor the monitoring occasion of the first search space set. In this case, the UE can monitor PDCCH repetition and apply the corresponding rules because the UE considers the monitoring occasion of the third search space set to be ignored.

[0130] Alternatively, the UE can drop the overlapping monitoring occasions of the first search space set and only monitor the monitoring occasions of the third search space set. In this case, the rule for PDCCH repetition does not apply. The UE can also ignore the linked monitoring occasions of the second search space set because the linked monitoring occasions of the first search space set are dropped.

[0131] The selection between dropping the monitoring occasions of the first search space set or the third search space set can depend on the search space set indexes of the first and third search space sets. For example, the UE can compare the indexes and drop the monitoring occasions associated with the higher or lower index.

[0132] For any of these examples, the dropping action can be performed at the PDCCH candidate level instead of the monitoring occasion level. Each monitoring occasion can have multiple PDCCH candidates. Instead of dropping the entire monitoring occasion, only the PDCCH candidates can be dropped. In some examples, more than one PDCCH candidate can be dropped. There can be examples where the PDCCH candidates in the overlapping monitoring occasions of the first search space set do not use any of the CCEs of the overlapping monitoring occasions of the third search space set. In such examples, dropping can not be needed. That is, even though the monitoring occasions overlap and the condition is not met, it is possible that the PDCCH candidates do not actually overlap at the PDCCH candidate level.

[0133] In some examples, the UE can identify the third search space set having the same monitoring occasions as the first search space set. The UE can monitor the identified one or more monitoring occasions for the first search space set, the second search space set, and the third search space set based at least in part on the overlap rule.

[0134] In some examples, the overlap rule can cause the UE to independently monitor the identified one or more monitoring occasions for the first search space set, the second search space set, and the third search space set.

[0135] In some examples, the UE can determine that the first search space set is associated with a first control resource set and the third search space set is associated with a second control resource set different from the first control resource set, where the overlap rule provides or causes the UE to monitor for DCI in the first search space set and monitor for second DCI in the third search space set.

[0136] In another example, the UE can determine that the first search space set has a first size of a downlink control format and the third search space set has a second size of the downlink control format different from the first size, where the overlap rule provides to monitor for downlink control information in the first search space set and monitor for second downlink control information in the third search space set.

[0137] In some examples, the UE can identify a link between the third search space set and the fourth search space set for PDCCH repetition. The UE can also identify that a monitoring occasion in the second search space set overlaps with a monitoring occasion in the fourth search space set, where an overlap rule provides that the UE monitors for DCI in the first search space set and monitors for a second DCI in the third search space set.

[0138] In some examples, the first search space set and the third search space set have a same CORESET and a same downlink control format size, and the third search space set is not linked with the fourth search space set. In some examples, the UE can link the third search space set with the second search space set, where an overlap rule indicates that the UE considers monitoring occasions of the second search space set as linked with monitoring occasions of the third search space set. In some examples, the UE can drop a monitoring occasion or a PDCCH candidate of the third search space set, where an overlap rule determines or indicates that the UE monitors a monitoring occasion of the first search space set. In other examples, the UE can drop a monitoring occasion or a PDCCH candidate of the first search space set, where an overlap rule determines to monitor a monitoring occasion of the third search space set.

[0139] In some examples, the UE can compare a first index of the first search space set with a second index of the third search space set, and based at least in part on the comparison, drop a monitoring occasion of the first search space set or the third search space set, where an overlap rule determines or indicates that the UE monitors for a search space set based at least in part on the comparison. In some examples, the UE can drop a PDCCH candidate of a monitoring occasion of the first search space set or the third search space set, where an overlap rule determines or indicates that the UE monitors for a PDCCH candidate of a reserved monitoring occasion of the first search space set or the third search space set. In some examples, the UE can drop a physical downlink control channel candidate of a monitoring occasion of a search space set.

[0140] Another potential source of ambiguity can arise for two linked PDCCH candidates for PDCCH repetition. Generally, the UE can attempt to blindly decode a first PDCCH candidate, a second PDCCH candidate, and a combined PDCCH candidate (by soft combining the two). If the UE decodes the DCI in the first linked PDCCH candidate, the UE can skip decoding the second PDCCH candidate or the combined PDCCH candidate. This can result in power savings or reduced complexity.

[0141] If the UE can assume that different DCI is not expected to be present in both linked PDCCH candidates, the UE can just skip the decoding of the DCI. If the UE cannot assume this, even if the UE decodes the first candidate, the UE can need to continue monitoring and attempt to decode the second PDCCH candidate, which can not be a repetition of the first DCI. In this case, the UE cannot benefit from the power saving of skipping the monitoring and decoding of the second DCI.

[0142] When a first PDCCH candidate in a first search space set is linked with a second PDCCH candidate in a second search space set for PDCCH repetition, the UE can not expect to use the CCEs of the two linked PDCCH candidates to decode different DCI. Different DCI can be defined if one or more of the following conditions apply: the DCI has different DCI payloads including different DCI sizes, the DCI has different formats, or the DCI has different radio network temporary identifiers.

[0143] Whether the UE can expect the above can be a rule or constraint within the network or can be enabled by RRC configuration in the case of PDCCH repetition. For example, the UE can expect the constraint if an RRC parameter is configured. The network can configure this behavior in the case that the network wants to improve power saving. Not enabling this behavior can result in more flexibility for the network but less power saving. The RRC parameter can not be configured in the case that the network uses the two PDCCH candidates to transmit two different DCIs.

[0144] In some examples, the UE can receive a configuration of an RRC parameter, where the overlap rule is based at least in part on the RRC parameter. In some examples, the UE can determine that there are no other search space sets linked with the first search space set or the second search space set. In some examples, the overlap rule can indicate that there is no overlap between the first search space set or the second search space set.

[0145] In some examples, the UE can determine that the first PDCCH candidate and the second PDCCH candidate have a same DCI payload, a same downlink control format size, and a same radio network temporary identifier. In this example, monitoring the identified one or more monitoring occasions can further include monitoring the first PDCCH candidate in the first search space set and the second PDCCH candidate in the second search space set based at least in part on the determination.

[0146] Figure 5Examples of a block diagram 500 that support resolving ambiguities of search space set linking for physical downlink control channel repetition according to aspects of the present disclosure. The block diagram 500 can implement aspects of, or be implemented by aspects of, the wireless communication system 100, among other examples. The block diagram 500 illustrates a slot 505 of 14 symbols.

[0147] If the first search space set and the second search space set are linked for PDCCH repetition, there can be ambiguity around whether the first search space set can also be linked with another third search space set for PDCCH repetition. Techniques are described herein that enable the UE to know whether the detected DCI corresponds to PDCCH repetition with the second search space set or the third search space set. If the overlap rule is based at least in part on the last symbol of the last repetition, the reference will be in the second search space set or the third search space set.

[0148] In one example, when the first search space set is linked with the second search space set for PDCCH repetition, the UE can not expect either search space set to be linked with any other search space set for PDCCH repetition. If there is such a configuration, the UE detects an error case.

[0149] In another example, when the first search space set is linked with the second search space set for PDCCH repetition, the detected DCI in any one or more search space sets (whichever) can be interpreted based at least in part on a rule that considers all three search space sets. For example, the techniques describe a rule that uses the last symbol of the PDCCH candidate that is linked later as a reference, the last symbol of the three search space sets can be used as a reference. In another example, for a rule that considers the search space set with a higher index among the linked search space sets, the rule can be extended such that the search space set with a higher or lower index among the search space sets can be used as a reference.

[0150] The techniques can be conditioned on the UE detecting DCI in a PDCCH candidate in the first search space set (i.e., the search space set used in both of the linked monitoring occasions), or conditioned on the UE detecting DCI in any combination of PDCCH candidates that includes the PDCCH candidate in the first search space set. This means that the rule can be followed when DCI is detected in the first search space set or when DCI is detected after soft combining. In other words, if DCI is detected only in the second search space set without using the first search space set, there is no ambiguity and the rule is not applied.

[0151] In Figure 5In the example of FIG. 5, the monitoring occasion 510 of the first search space set is linked with the monitoring occasion 515 of the second search space set and the monitoring occasion 520 of the third search space set. In terms of time domain resources, the first monitoring occasion in time is the monitoring occasion 510 of the first search space set, then the monitoring occasion 520 of the third search space set is second in time, and then the monitoring occasion 515 of the second search space set is last in time. The overlap rule can be based at least in part on the last symbol 525 in time of the search space sets. The symbol 525 can apply to the third search space set even though the third search space set and the second search space set are not directly linked.

[0152] In some examples, the UE can determine that there are no other search space sets linked with the first search space set or the second search space set. In some examples, the overlap rule indicates that there is no overlap between the first search space set or the second search space set. In other examples, the UE can determine that the third search space set is linked with the first search space set, detect the DCI in one or more monitoring occasions, and determine the scheduling information according to the overlap rule. In some examples, the overlap rule can be based at least in part on the last symbol of the PDCCH candidate of the search space set that appears last in time or has a higher index among the first search space set, the second search space set, or the third search space set. In other examples, the overlap rule can be further based at least in part on the DCI associated with the first search space set.

[0153] Figure 6 According to aspects of the present disclosure, an example of a block diagram 600 is shown that supports resolving ambiguities for search space set linking for PDCCH repetition. The block diagram 600 can implement aspects of, or can be implemented by aspects of, the wireless communication system 100, among other examples. The block diagram 600 shows a slot 605 of 14 symbols.

[0154] Just like in the example of FIG. 5, Figure 5 In the example of FIG. 6, Figure 6 The monitoring occasion 610 of the first search space set is linked with the monitoring occasion 615 of the second search space set and the monitoring occasion 620 of the third search space set. In terms of time domain resources, the first monitoring occasion in time is the monitoring occasion 620 of the third search space set, then the monitoring occasion 610 of the first search space set, and then the monitoring occasion 615 of the second search space set. In this example, the overlap rule can be based at least in part on the symbol 625 of the last search space set in time. The symbol 625 can apply to the third search space set even though the third search space set and the second search space set are not directly linked.

[0155] Figure 7According to aspects of the present disclosure, an example of a block diagram 700 is shown that supports resolving ambiguities for search space set linking for physical downlink control channel repetition. The block diagram 700 can implement aspects of, or be implemented by aspects of, the wireless communication system 100, among other examples. The block diagram 700 shows three slots 730-a, 730-b, and 730-c, each of 14 symbols.

[0156] When the first monitoring occasion of the first search space set is linked with the monitoring occasion of the second search space set for PDCCH repetition, another ambiguity can arise as to whether the second monitoring occasion of the first search space set can be linked with the monitoring occasion of the second search space set. This is similar to the ambiguity discussed with respect to Figure 5 and Figure 6 but in the domain of monitoring occasions rather than search space sets.

[0157] In Figure 7 , the first search space set has a first monitoring occasion 710-a in a first slot 730-a, and a second monitoring occasion 710-b in the same slot, the first slot 730-a. The second search space set has a monitoring occasion 715 in a third slot 730-c, with the second slot 730-b being between the first slot 730-a and the third slot 730-c.

[0158] In one example, when the first monitoring occasion 710-a of the first search space set is linked with the monitoring occasion 715 of the second search space set for PDCCH repetition, the UE can not expect the second monitoring occasion 710-b to be linked with the monitoring occasion 715 of the second search space set. The UE can determine that this is an error case.

[0159] In another example, when the first monitoring occasion 710-a of the first search space set is linked with the monitoring occasion 715 of the second search space set for PDCCH repetition, the DCI detected in any one or more of the monitoring occasions (whichever one) is interpreted based on rules that take into account all three monitoring occasions. For example, the overlap rule can use the last symbol 720 of the last linked PDCCH candidate as a reference, the last symbol 720 being among the three monitoring occasions considered. In some examples, the overlap rule can condition on whether the UE detected the DCI in the PDCCH candidate in the monitoring occasion 715 of the second search space set (the one for both linked), or in any combination of PDCCH candidates including the PDCCH candidate in the monitoring occasion 715 of the second search space set.

[0160] In some examples, the overlap rule can skip or forgo monitoring of the second monitoring occasion 710-b of the first search space set linked with the monitoring occasion 715 of the second search space set. In other examples, the UE can determine that the first monitoring occasion 710-a and the second monitoring occasion 710-b of the first search space set are linked with the monitoring occasion 715 of the second search space set and detect the DCI in the one or more monitoring occasions. In another example, the UE can determine the scheduling information according to the overlap rule, where the overlap rule is based at least in part on a last symbol of a PDCCH candidate occurring in a last monitoring occasion of: the first monitoring occasion 710-a of the first search space set, the monitoring occasion 715 of the second search space set, or the second monitoring occasion 710-b of the first search space set. In some examples, the overlap rule can be further based at least in part on detecting the DCI in the monitoring occasion 715 of the second search space set.

[0161] Figure 8 According to aspects of the present disclosure, an example of a block diagram 800 is shown that supports resolving ambiguity of search space set linking for physical downlink control channel repetition. The block diagram 800 can implement aspects of, or can be implemented by aspects of, the wireless communication system 100, among other examples. The block diagram 800 shows three slots 830-a, 830-b, and 830-c, each of 14 symbols.

[0162] In Figure 8 the first search space set has a first monitoring occasion 810-a in the first slot 830-a and a second monitoring occasion 810-b in the third slot 830-c. The second search space set has a monitoring occasion 815 in the second slot 730-b. Similar to Figure 7 examples, Figure 8 includes the first monitoring occasion 810-a of the first search space set linked with the monitoring occasion 815 of the second search space set, and the second monitoring occasion 810-b that is also linked with the monitoring occasion 815. In terms of time domain resources, the first monitoring occasion is the first monitoring occasion 810-a of the first search space set, then the monitoring occasion 815 of the second search space set, then the second monitoring occasion 810-b of the first search space set. The overlap rule can then be based at least in part on a symbol 820 of the last monitoring occasion in time.

[0163] Figure 9According to aspects of the present disclosure, a block diagram 900 of a device 905 that supports resolving ambiguities of search space set linking for physical downlink control channel repetition is shown. The device 905 can be an example of some aspects of a UE 115 as described herein. The device 905 can include a receiver 910, a transmitter 915, and a communications manager 920. The device 905 can also include a processor. Each of these components can be in communication with one another (e.g., via one or more buses). The communications manager 920 can be an example of a communications manager 160 described herein. Figure 1

[0164] The receiver 910 can provide a means for receiving information such as packets, user data, control information, or any combination thereof associated with various information channels (e.g., control channels, data channels, information channels related to resolving ambiguities of search space set linking for physical downlink control channel repetition). Information can be passed on to other components of the device 905. The receiver 910 can utilize a singular antenna or a set of antennas.

[0165] The transmitter 915 can provide a means for transmitting signals generated by other components of the device 905. For example, the transmitter 915 can transmit information such as packets, user data, control information, or any combination thereof associated with various information channels (e.g., control channels, data channels, information channels related to resolving ambiguities of search space set linking for physical downlink control channel repetition). In some examples, the transmitter 915 can be collocated with the receiver 910 in a transceiver module. The transmitter 915 can utilize a single antenna, or also utilize a set of antennas.

[0166] The communications manager 920, the receiver 910, the transmitter 915, or various combinations thereof or various components thereof can be an example of means for performing various aspects of resolving ambiguities of search space set linking for physical downlink control channel repetition as described herein. For example, the communications manager 920, the receiver 910, the transmitter 915, or various combinations or components thereof can support a method for performing one or more of the functions described herein.

[0167] ​In some examples, the communication manager 920, the receiver 910, the transmitter 915, or various combinations thereof or components thereof, can be implemented in hardware (e.g., within a communication management circuit). The hardware can include a 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 configured as or otherwise supporting a means for performing the functions described in the present disclosure. In some examples, a processor and memory coupled with the processor can be configured to perform one or more of the functions described herein (e.g., by executing instructions stored in memory).

[0168] Additionally or alternatively, in some examples, the communication manager 920, the receiver 910, the transmitter 915, or various combinations thereof or components thereof, can be implemented in code (e.g., as communication management software or firmware) executed by a processor. If implemented in code executed by a processor, the functions of the communication manager 920, the receiver 910, the transmitter 915, or various combinations thereof or components thereof, can be executed by a general-purpose processor, a DSP, a central processing unit (CPU), an ASIC, an FPGA, or any combination of these or other programmable logic devices (e.g., configured as or otherwise supporting a means for performing the functions described in the present disclosure).

[0169] In some examples, the communication manager 920 can be configured to use or otherwise employ the receiver 910, the transmitter 915, or both to perform various operations (e.g., receiving, monitoring, transmitting). For example, the communication manager 920 can receive information from the receiver 910, send information to the transmitter 915, or both integrate with the receiver 910, the transmitter 915, or both to receive information, transmit information, or perform various other operations as described herein.

[0170] The communications manager 920 can support wireless communication at a UE in accordance with examples as disclosed herein. For example, the communications manager 920 can be configured as or otherwise support a means for receiving a configuration of a first search space set and a second search space set. The communications manager 920 can be configured as or otherwise support a means for identifying a link between the first search space set and the second search space set for physical downlink control channel repetition. The communications manager 920 can be configured as or otherwise support a means for identifying one or more monitoring occasions in the first search space set or the second search space set to monitor for DCI based at least in part on an overlap rule associated with the link between the first search space set and the second search space set for PDCCH repetition. The communications manager 920 can be configured as or otherwise support a means for monitoring the identified one or more monitoring occasions in at least the first search space set or the second search space set for downlink control information.

[0171] By including or configuring the communications manager 920 in accordance with examples as described herein, the device 905 (e.g., a processor

[0172] Figure 10 According to aspects of the present disclosure, a block diagram 1000 of a device 1005 that supports resolving ambiguity for search space set linking for physical downlink control channel repetition is shown. The device 1005 can be an example of aspects of a device 905 or a UE 115 as described herein. The device 1005 can include a receiver 1010, a transmitter 1015, and a communications manager 1020. The device 1005 can also include a processor. Each of these components can be in communication with one another (e.g., via one or more buses). Figure 1 The communications manager 1020 can be an example of a communications manager 160 or a communications manager 920. Figure 9 The communications manager 1020 can be an example of a communications manager 160 or a communications manager 920.

[0173] The receiver 1010 can provide a means for receiving information such as packets, user data, control information, or any combination thereof associated with various information channels (e.g., control channels, data channels, information related to resolving ambiguity for search space set linking for physical downlink control channel repetition). Information can be passed on to other components of the device 1005. The receiver 1010 can utilize a single antenna or a set of antennas.

[0174] The transmitter 1015 can provide a means for transmitting signals generated by other components of the device 1005. For example, the transmitter 1015 can transmit information such as packets, user data, control information, or any combination thereof associated with various information channels (e.g., control channels, data channels, information channels related to resolving ambiguities of search space set linking for PDCCH repetition). In some examples, the transmitter 1015 can be collocated with the receiver 1010 in a transceiver module. The transmitter 1015 can utilize a single antenna, or a set of antennas.

[0175] The device 1005, or various components of the device 1005, can be an example of means for performing various aspects of resolving ambiguities of search space set linking for PDCCH repetition as described herein. The communication manager 1020 can include a configuration manager 1025, a search space manager 1030, a PDCCH monitor 1035, or any combination thereof. The communication manager 1020 can be an example of aspects of the communication manager 920 as described herein. In some examples, the communication manager 1020, or various components thereof, can be configured to perform various operations (e.g., receiving, monitoring, transmitting) using or otherwise in cooperation with the receiver 1010, the transmitter 1015, or both. For example, the communication manager 1020 can receive information from the receiver 1010, send information to the transmitter 1015, or be integrated in combination with the receiver 1010, the transmitter 1015, or both, to receive information, transmit information, or perform various other operations as described herein.

[0176] The communication manager 1020 can support wireless communication at a UE in accordance with examples as disclosed herein. For example, the configuration manager 1025 can be configured as or otherwise support a means for receiving a configuration of a first search space set and a second search space set. The search space manager 1030 can be configured as or otherwise support a means for identifying a link between the first search space set and the second search space set for PDCCH repetition. The search space manager 1030 can be configured as or otherwise support a means for identifying one or more monitoring occasions in the first search space set or the second search space set to monitor for DCI based at least in part on an overlap rule associated with the link between the first search space set and the second search space set for PDCCH repetition. The PDCCH monitor 1035 can be configured as or otherwise support a means for monitoring the identified one or more monitoring occasions in at least the first search space set or the second search space set for the DCI.

[0177] Figure 11According to aspects of the present disclosure, a block diagram 1100 of a communications manager 1120 that supports resolving ambiguities of search space set linking for physical downlink control channel repetition is shown. The communications manager 1120 can be an example of aspects of the communications manager 920, communications manager 1020, communications manager 160, or any combination thereof, as described herein. The communications manager 1120, or various components thereof, can be an example of means for performing various aspects of resolving ambiguities of search space set linking for physical downlink control channel repetition as described herein. For example, the communications manager 1120 can include a configuration manager 1125, a search space manager 1130, a PDCCH monitor 1135, a scheduling manager 1140, or any combination thereof. Each of these components can communicate, directly or indirectly, with one another (e.g., via one or more buses).

[0178] The communications manager 1120 can support wireless communication at a UE in accordance with examples as disclosed herein. The configuration manager 1125 can be configured as or otherwise support a means for receiving a configuration of a first search space set and a second search space set. The search space manager 1130 can be configured as or otherwise support a means for identifying a link between the first search space set and the second search space set for physical downlink control channel repetition. In some examples, the search space manager 1130 can be configured as or otherwise support a means for identifying one or more monitoring occasions in the first search space set or the second search space set to monitor for DCI based at least in part on an overlap rule associated with the link between the first search space set and the second search space set for PDCCH repetition. The PDCCH monitor 1135 can be configured as or otherwise support a means for monitoring the identified one or more monitoring occasions in at least the first search space set or the second search space set for the DCI.

[0179] In some examples, the search space manager 1130 can be configured as or otherwise support a means for determining that a monitoring occasion of the first search space set does not overlap with a monitoring occasion of the second search space set based at least in part on the overlap rule. In some examples, the search space manager 1130 can be configured as or otherwise support a means for determining that the first search space set and the second search space set are associated with a CORESET.

[0180] In some examples, the search space manager 1130 can be configured as or otherwise support a means for determining that a monitoring occasion of the first search space set overlaps with a monitoring occasion of the second search space set. In some examples, the PDCCH monitor 1135 can be configured as or otherwise support a means for monitoring for the DCI in the first search space set, where the overlap rule indicates that the monitoring occasion of the second search space set is treated as not linked with the monitoring occasion of the first search space set.

[0181] In some examples, the search space manager 1130 can be configured as or otherwise support a means for determining that a monitoring occasion of the first search space set overlaps with a monitoring occasion of the second search space set, where the overlap rule determines to ignore the overlapping monitoring occasions. In some examples, monitoring for the DCI at least in the first search space set or the second search space set further includes skipping monitoring of the monitoring occasion of the first search space set and the monitoring occasion of the second search space set in accordance with the overlap rule.

[0182] In some examples, the search space manager 1130 can be configured as or otherwise support a means for identifying a third search space set that has a same monitoring occasion as the first search space set. In some examples, the PDCCH monitor 1135 can be configured as or otherwise support a means for monitoring the identified one or more monitoring occasions for the first search space set, the second search space set, and the third search space set based at least in part on the overlap rule. In some examples, the overlap rule provides to monitor the identified one or more monitoring occasions independently for the first search space set, the second search space set, and the third search space set.

[0183] In some examples, the search space manager 1130 can be configured as or otherwise support a means for determining that the first search space set is associated with a first control resource set and the third search space set is associated with a second control resource set different from the first control resource set, where the overlap rule provides to monitor for the DCI in the first search space set and monitor for a second DCI in the third search space set.

[0184] In some examples, the search space manager 1130 can be configured as or otherwise support a means for determining that the first search space set has a first size of a downlink control format and the third search space set has a second size of the downlink control format different from the first size, where the overlap rule provides to monitor for the DCI in the first search space set and monitor for a second DCI in the third search space set.

[0185] In some examples, the search space manager 1130 can be configured as or otherwise support a means for identifying a link between the third search space set and the fourth search space set for PDCCH repetition. In some examples, the search space manager 1130 can be configured as or otherwise support a means for identifying that a monitoring occasion in the second search space set overlaps with a monitoring occasion in the fourth search space set, where the overlap rule provides for monitoring for DCI in the first search space set and monitoring for second DCI in the third search space set.

[0186] In some examples, the first search space set and the third search space set have a same CORESET and a same downlink control format size. In some examples, the third search space set is not linked with the fourth search space set.

[0187] In some examples, the search space manager 1130 can be configured as or otherwise support a means for linking the third search space set with the second search space set, where the overlap rule indicates that a monitoring occasion of the second search space set is considered linked with a monitoring occasion of the third search space set.

[0188] In some examples, the PDCCH monitor 1135 can be configured as or otherwise support a means for dropping a monitoring occasion of the third search space set, where the overlap rule determines to monitor a monitoring occasion of the first search space set. In some examples, the PDCCH monitor 1135 can be configured as or otherwise support a means for dropping a monitoring occasion of the first search space set, where the overlap rule determines to monitor a monitoring occasion of the third search space set.

[0189] In some examples, the search space manager 1130 can be configured as or otherwise support a means for comparing a first index of the first search space set with a second index of the third search space set. In some examples, the PDCCH monitor 1135 can be configured as or otherwise support a means for dropping a monitoring occasion of the first search space set or the third search space set based at least in part on the comparison, where the overlap rule determines to monitor a search space set based at least in part on the comparison.

[0190] In some examples, the PDCCH monitor 1135 can be configured as or otherwise support a means for dropping a PDCCH candidate of a monitoring occasion of the first search space set or a PDCCH candidate of a monitoring occasion of the third search space set, where the overlap rule determines to monitor a PDCCH candidate of a reserved monitoring occasion of the first search space set or the third search space set.

[0191] In some examples, the search space manager 1130 can be configured as or otherwise support a means for determining that the first PDCCH and the second PDCCH candidate have a same DCI payload, a same downlink control format size, and a same radio network temporary identifier. In some examples, the PDCCH monitor 1135 can be configured as or otherwise support a means for monitoring, when monitoring the identified one or more monitoring occasions, further comprising a means for monitoring, based at least in part on the determination, the first PDCCH candidate in the first search space set and the second PDCCH candidate in the second search space set.

[0192] In some examples, the search space manager 1125 can be configured as or otherwise support a means for receiving a configuration of an RRC parameter, where the overlap rule is based at least in part on the RRC parameter. In some examples, the search space manager 1130 can be configured as or otherwise support a means for determining that there are no other search space sets linked with the first search space set or the second search space set.

[0193] In some examples, the search space manager 1130 can be configured as or otherwise support a means for determining that the third search space set is linked with the first search space set. In some examples, the PDCCH monitor 1135 can be configured as or otherwise support a means for detecting the DCI in the one or more monitoring occasions. In some examples, the scheduling manager 1140 can be configured as or otherwise support a means for determining the scheduling information according to the overlap rule.

[0194] In some examples, the overlap rule is based at least in part on a last symbol of a PDCCH candidate of a search space set of the first search space set, the second search space set, or the third search space set that appears last in time or has a higher index. In some examples, the overlap rule is further based at least in part on a DCI associated with the first search space set. In some examples, the overlap rule skips monitoring for a second monitoring occasion of the first search space set linked with a monitoring occasion of the second search space set.

[0195] In some examples, the search space manager 1130 can be configured as or otherwise support a means for determining that the first monitoring occasion and the second monitoring occasion of the first search space set are linked with the monitoring occasion of the second search space set. In some examples, the PDCCH monitor 1135 can be configured as or otherwise support a means for detecting the DCI in the one or more monitoring occasions. In some examples, the scheduling manager 1140 can be configured as or otherwise support a means for determining the scheduling information according to the overlap rule, where the overlap rule is based at least in part on a last symbol of a PDCCH candidate for the first monitoring occasion of the first search space set, the monitoring occasion of the second search space set, or the second monitoring occasion of the first search space set occurring last in time.

[0196] In some examples, the overlap rule is further based at least in part on detecting the DCI in the monitoring occasion of the second search space set.

[0197] Figure 12 According to aspects of the present disclosure, a diagram of a system 1200 including a device 1205 that supports resolving ambiguity of search space set linking for physical downlink control channel repetition is shown. The device 1205 can be an example of or include the components of a device 905, a device 1005, or a UE 115 as described herein. The device 1205 can communicate wirelessly with one or more base stations 105, UEs 115, or any combination thereof, as described herein. The device 1205 can include components for bi-directional voice and data communications including components for transmitting and receiving communications, such as a communications manager 1220, an input / output (I / O) controller 1210, a transceiver 1215, an antenna 1225, memory 1230, code 1235, and a processor 1240. These components can be in electronic communication / via one or more buses (e.g., bus 1245) for inter-component communication.

[0198] The I / O controller 1210 can manage input and output signals for the device 1205. The I / O controller 1210 can also manage peripherals not integrated into the device 1205. In some cases, the I / O controller 1210 can represent a physical connection or port to the The I / O controller 1210 can manage device-to-device communication. The I / O controller 1210 can manage peripherals, such as peripherals 1222, that can communicate data via the I / O controller 1210. In some cases, the I / O controller 1210 can include address and / or data buffers to facilitate the transfer of data between peripherals 1222 and other components of the device 1205. The I / O controller 1210 can represent a modem, a keyboard, a mouse, a touchscreen, or similar device, or interaction with such a device. In some cases, the I / O controller 1210 can be implemented as part of the processor (e.g., processor 1240). In some cases, a user can interact with the device 1205 via the I / O controller 1210 or via hardware components controlled by the I / O controller 1210.

[0199] In some cases, the device 1205 can include a single antenna 1225. However, in some cases the device 1205 can have more than one antenna 1225, which can be capable of concurrently transmitting or receiving multiple wireless transmissions. The transceiver 1215 can communicate bi-directionally, via the one or more antennas 1225, wired, or wireless links as described herein. For example, the transceiver 1215 can represent a wireless transceiver and can communicate bi-directionally with another wireless transceiver. The transceiver 1215 can also include a modem to modulate the packets and to demodulate packets received from one or more antennas 1225, via a wired or wireless link. The transceiver 1215, or the transceiver 1215 and one or more antennas 1225, can be an example of a transmitter 915, a transmitter 1015, a receiver 910, a receiver 1010, or any combination thereof, or component thereof, as described herein.

[0200] The memory 1230 can include random access memory (RAM) and read-only memory (ROM). The memory 1230 can store computer-readable, computer-executable code 1235 including instructions that can be executed by the processor 1240, causing the device 1205 to perform various functions described herein. The code 1235 can be stored in a non-transitory computer-readable medium such as system memory or other type of memory. In some cases, the code 1235 can not be directly executable by the processor 1240 but can cause a computer (e.g., when compiled and executed) to perform functions described herein. In some cases, the memory 1230 can include, among other things, a basic I / O system (BIOS), which can manage basic hardware or software operation such as the interaction with peripheral components or devices.

[0201] The processor 1240 can 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 separate hardware component, or any combination thereof). In some cases, the processor 1240 can be configured to operate a memory array using a memory controller. In some other cases, a memory controller can be integrated into the processor 1240. The processor 1240 can be configured to execute computer-readable instructions stored in a memory (e.g., the memory 1230) to cause the device 1205 to perform various functions (e.g., functions or tasks supporting resolving ambiguity of search space set linking for PDCCH repetition). For example, the device 1205 or a component of the device 1205 can include the processor 1240 and the memory 1230 coupled to the processor 1240, the processor 1240 and the memory 1230 being configured to perform various functions described herein.

[0202] The communications manager 1220 can support wireless communication at a UE in accordance with examples as disclosed herein. For example, the communications manager 1220 can be configured as or otherwise support a means for receiving a configuration of a first search space set and a second search space set. The communications manager 1220 can be configured as or otherwise support a means for identifying a link between the first search space set and the second search space set for PDCCH repetition. The communications manager 1220 can be configured as or otherwise support a means for identifying one or more monitoring occasions in the first search space set or the second search space set to monitor for DCI based at least in part on an overlap rule associated with the link between the first search space set and the second search space set for PDCCH repetition. The communications manager 1220 can be configured as or otherwise support a means for monitoring, for the DCI, the identified one or more monitoring occasions in at least the first search space set or the second search space set.

[0203] By including or configuring the communications manager 1220 in accordance with examples as described herein, the device 1205 can support techniques for resolving ambiguity due to PDCCH repetition, improving power saving, and reducing complexity at a UE.

[0204] In some examples, the communication manager 1220 can be configured to perform various operations (e.g., receiving, monitoring, transmitting) using or otherwise in cooperation with the transceiver 1215, the one or more antennas 1225, or any combinations thereof. Although the communication manager 1220 is illustrated as a separate component, in some examples, one or more functions described with reference to the communication manager 1220 can be supported by or performed by the processor 1240, the memory 1230, the code 1235, or any combination thereof. For example, the code 1235 can include instructions executable by the processor 1240 to cause the device 1205 to perform various aspects of resolving ambiguities of search space set linking for PDCCH repetition as described herein, or the processor 1240 and the memory 1230 can be otherwise configured to support or perform such operations.

[0205] Figure 13 According to aspects of the present disclosure, a flow diagram illustrating a method 1300 is shown for depicting resolving ambiguities of search space set linking for PDCCH repetition. The operations of method 1300 can be implemented by a UE or its components as described herein. For example, the operations of method 1300 can be performed by a UE 115 as described with reference to FIG. 1 through 13. In some examples, a UE can execute a set of instructions to control the functional elements of the UE to perform the described functions. Additionally or alternatively, the UE can perform aspects of the described functions using special-purpose hardware. Figures 1 to 12

[0206] At 1305, the method can include receiving a configuration of a first search space set and a second search space set. The operations of 1305 can be performed according to the examples disclosed herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 1305 can be performed by a configuration manager 1125 as described with reference to FIG. 11 through 13. Figure 11

[0207] At 1310, the method can include identifying a link between the first search space set and the second search space set for PDCCH repetition. The operations of 1310 can be performed according to the examples disclosed herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 1310 can be performed by a search space manager 1130 as described with reference to FIG. 11 through 13. Figure 11

[0208] ​​​At 1315, the method can include identifying one or more monitoring occasions in the first search space set or the second search space set to monitor for DCI based on an overlap rule associated with a link between the first search space set and the second search space set for PDCCH repetition. The operations of 1315 can be performed according to the examples disclosed herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 1315 can be performed by a search space manager 1130 as described with reference to Figure 11

[0209] At 1320, the method can include monitoring the identified one or more monitoring occasions in at least the first search space set or the second search space set for DCI. The operations of 1320 can be performed according to the examples disclosed herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 1320 can be performed by a PDCCH monitor 1135 as described with reference to Figure 11

[0210] The following provides an overview of aspects of the disclosure:

[0211] Aspect 1 : A method for wireless communication at a UE, comprising: receiving a configuration of a first search space set and a second search space set; identifying a link between the first search space set and the second search space set for physical downlink control channel repetition; identifying one or more monitoring occasions in the first search space set or the second search space set to monitor for downlink control information based at least in part on an overlap rule associated with the link between the first search space set and the second search space set for physical downlink control channel repetition; and monitoring the identified one or more monitoring occasions in at least the first search space set or the second search space set for the downlink control information.

[0212] Aspect 2: The method of aspect 1 further comprising determining, based at least in part on the overlap rule, that a monitoring occasion of the first search space set does not overlap with a monitoring occasion of the second search space set.

[0213] Aspect 3: The method of aspect 1 further comprising determining that the first search space set and the second search space set are associated with a control resource set.

[0214] Aspect 4: The method of any of aspects 1-3 further comprising determining that there are no other search space sets linked with the first search space set or the second search space set.

[0215] ​​Aspect 5: The method of any of aspects 1-4, further comprising: identifying a third search space set having a same monitoring occasion as the first search space set; and monitoring the identified one or more monitoring occasions for the first search space set, the second search space set, and the third search space set based at least in part on the overlap rule.

[0216] Aspect 6: The method of aspect 35, wherein the overlap rule provides to monitor the identified one or more monitoring occasions independently for the first search space set, the second search space set, and the third search space set.

[0217] Aspect 7: The method of any of aspects 5-6, further comprising: determining that the first search space set is associated with a first control resource set and the third search space set is associated with a second control resource set different from the first control resource set, wherein the overlap rule provides to monitor the downlink control information in the first search space set and monitor a second downlink control information in the third search space set.

[0218] Aspect 8: The method of any of aspects 5-7, further comprising: determining that the first search space set has a first size of downlink control format and the third search space set has a second size of downlink control format different from the first size, wherein the overlap rule provides to monitor the downlink control information in the first search space set and monitor a second downlink control information in the third search space set.

[0219] Aspect 9: The method of any of aspects 5-8, further comprising: identifying a link between the third search space set and a fourth search space set for physical downlink control channel repetition; and identifying that a monitoring occasion in the second search space set overlaps with a monitoring occasion in the fourth search space set, wherein the overlap rule provides to monitor the downlink control information in the first search space set and monitor a second downlink control information in the third search space set.

[0220] Aspect 10: The method of any of aspects 5-9, wherein the first search space set and the third search space set have a same control resource set and a same size of downlink control format.

[0221] Aspect 11: The method of aspect 10, wherein the third search space set is not linked with a fourth search space set.

[0222] Aspect 12: The method of any of aspects 10 through 11, wherein the overlap rule indicates to process downlink control information in the third search space set based on an assumption that the third search space set is linked with the second search space set.

[0223] Aspect 13: The method of any of aspects 10 through 12, further comprising linking the third search space set with the second search space set, wherein the overlap rule indicates to treat the monitoring occasion of the second search space set as linked with the monitoring occasion of the third search space set.

[0224] Aspect 14: The method of any of aspects 10 through 13, further comprising dropping a monitoring occasion of the third search space set, wherein the overlap rule determines to monitor a monitoring occasion of the first search space set.

[0225] Aspect 15: The method of any of aspects 10 through 14, further comprising dropping a monitoring occasion of the first search space set, wherein the overlap rule determines to monitor a monitoring occasion of the third search space set.

[0226] Aspect 16: The method of any of aspects 10 through 15, further comprising comparing a first index of the first search space set with a second index of the third search space set; and based at least in part on the comparison, dropping a monitoring occasion of the first search space set or the third search space set, wherein the overlap rule determines to monitor the search space set based at least in part on the comparison.

[0227] Aspect 17: The method of any of aspects 10 through 16, further comprising dropping a physical downlink control channel candidate of a monitoring occasion of the first search space set or a monitoring occasion of the third search space set, wherein the overlap rule determines to monitor the physical downlink control channel candidate of the monitoring occasion of the first search space set or the monitoring occasion of the third search space set that is reserved.

[0228] Aspect 18: The method of any of aspects 1 through 17, further comprising determining that a monitoring occasion of the first search space set overlaps with a monitoring occasion of the second search space set; and monitoring for the downlink control information in the first search space set, wherein the overlap rule indicates to treat the monitoring occasion of the second search space set as not linked with the monitoring occasion of the first search space set.

[0229] Aspect 19: The method of any of aspects 1-18, further comprising determining that a monitoring occasion of the first search space set overlaps with a monitoring occasion of the second search space set, wherein the overlap rule determines to ignore the overlapping monitoring occasions.

[0230] Aspect 20: The method of aspect 19, wherein monitoring the downlink control information in at least the first search space set or the second search space set further comprises skipping monitoring of the monitoring occasions of the first search space set and the monitoring occasions of the second search space set in accordance with the overlap rule.

[0231] Aspect 21 : The method of any of aspects 1-20, further comprising dropping a physical downlink control channel candidate of a monitoring occasion of the first search space set.

[0232] Aspect 22: The method of any of aspects 1-21, further comprising determining that a first physical downlink control channel candidate and a second physical downlink control channel candidate have a same downlink control information payload, a same downlink control format size, and a same radio network temporary identifier, wherein monitoring the identified one or more monitoring occasions further comprises monitoring the first physical downlink control channel candidate in the first search space set and the second physical downlink control channel candidate in the second search space set based at least in part on the determination.

[0233] Aspect 23: The method of aspect 22, further comprising receiving a configuration of a radio resource control parameter, wherein the overlap rule is based at least in part on the radio resource control parameter.

[0234] Aspect 24: The method of any of aspects 1-23, further comprising determining that a third search space set is linked with the first search space set, detecting the downlink control information in the one or more monitoring occasions, and determining scheduling information in accordance with the overlap rule.

[0235] Aspect 25: The method of aspect 24, wherein the overlap rule is based at least in part on a last symbol of a physical downlink control channel candidate of the search space set that appears last in time or has a higher index among the first search space set, the second search space set, or the third search space set.

[0236] Aspect 26: The method of any of aspects 24-25, wherein the overlap rule is further based at least in part on the downlink control information associated with the first search space set.

[0237] Aspect 27: The method of any of aspects 1-26, wherein the overlap rule skips monitoring for a second monitoring occasion of the first search space set that is linked with a first monitoring occasion of the second search space set.

[0238] Aspect 28: The method of any of aspects 1-27, further comprising determining, based at least in part on a first monitoring occasion of the first search space set being linked with the first monitoring occasion of the second search space set, that a second monitoring occasion of the first search space set is not linked with a first monitoring occasion of the second search space set.

[0239] Aspect 29: The method of any of aspects 1-28, further comprising determining that a first monitoring occasion and a second monitoring occasion of the first search space set are linked with a monitoring occasion of the second search space set, detecting the downlink control information in the one or more monitoring occasions, and determining scheduling information in accordance with the overlap rule, wherein the overlap rule is based at least in part on a last symbol of a physical downlink control channel candidate that occurs last in time of the first monitoring occasion of the first search space set, the monitoring occasion of the second search space set, or the second monitoring occasion of the first search space set.

[0240] Aspect 30: The method of aspect 29, wherein the overlap rule is further based at least in part on detecting the downlink control information in the monitoring occasion of the second search space set.

[0241] Aspect 31: An apparatus for wireless communication at a UE, comprising a processor; memory coupled with the processor; and instructions stored in the memory and executable by the processor to cause the apparatus to perform the method of any of aspects 1-30.

[0242] Aspect 32: An apparatus for wireless communication at a UE, comprising at least one means for performing the method of any of aspects 1-30.

[0243] Aspect 33: A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing code for wireless communication at a UE, the code comprising instructions executable by a processor to perform the method of any of aspects 1-30.

[0244] It should be noted that the methods described herein describe possible implementations, and that the operations and the steps can be rearranged or otherwise modified and that other implementations are possible. Further, aspects from two or more of the methods can be combined.

[0245] Although aspects of an LTE, LTE-A, LTE-A Pro, or NR system are described for purposes of example, and LTE, LTE-A, LTE-A Pro, or NR terminology is used in much of the description, aspects of the described techniques can be applicable to other communication systems. For example, the described techniques can 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 others, even if such are not explicitly mentioned herein.

[0246] Information and signals described herein can be represented using any of a variety of different technologies and techniques. For example, data, instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, symbols, and chips that can be referenced throughout the description can be represented by voltages, currents, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or particles, optical fields or particles, or any combination thereof.

[0247] A general-purpose processor, a DSP, an ASIC, a CPU, a 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 can be used as the processor. The processor can be a microprocessor, but in the alternative, the processor can be any processor, controller, microcontroller, or state machine. The processor can also be implemented as a combination of computing devices (e.g., a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, multiple microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in conjunction with a DSP core, or any other such configuration).

[0248] The functions described herein can be implemented in hardware, software executed by a processor, firmware, or any combination thereof. If implemented in software executed by a processor, the functions can be stored on or transmitted over as one or more instructions or code on a computer-readable medium. Other examples and implementations are within the scope of the disclosure and appended claims. For example, due to the nature of software, functions described herein can be implemented using software executed by a processor, hardware, firmware, hardwiring, or combinations of any of these. Features implementing functions can also be physically located at various positions, including being distributed such that portions of functions are implemented at different physical locations.

[0249] Computer-readable media includes both non-transitory computer storage media and communication media including any medium that facilitates transfer of a computer program from one place to another. A non-transitory storage medium can be any available medium that can be accessed by a general purpose or special purpose computer. By way of example, and not limitation, non-transitory computer-readable media can comprise RAM, ROM, electrically erasable programmable ROM (EEPROM), flash memory, compact disk (CD) ROM or other optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other non-transitory medium that can be used to carry or store desired program elements in the form of instructions or data structures and that can be accessed by a general-purpose or special-purpose computer, or a general-purpose or special-purpose processor. Also, any connection is properly termed a computer-readable medium. For example, if the software is transmitted from a website, server, or other remote source using a coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, digital subscriber line (DSL), or wireless technologies such as infrared, wireless, and microwave, then the coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, DSL, or wireless technologies such as infrared, wireless, and microwave are included in the definition of computer-readable medium. Disk and disc, as used herein, include CD, laser disc, optical disc, digital versatile disc (DVD), floppy disk and Blu-ray disc where disks usually reproduce data magnetically, while discs reproduce data optically with lasers. Combinations of the above should also be included within the scope of computer-readable media.

[0250] As used herein, including in the claims “or” as used in a list of items (for example, a list of items prefaced by a phrase such as “at least one of’ or “one or more of’) indicates an inclusive list such 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). Also, as used herein, the phrase “based on” shall not be construed as a reference to one closed set of conditions. For example, an exemplary step that is described as “based on condition A” can be based on both a condition A and a condition B without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. In other words, as used herein, the phrase “based on” shall be construed in the same manner as the phrase “based at least in part on.”

[0251] In the drawings, like reference numerals refer to items of the same or similar structure or function. Additionally, the various components of the drawings can be distinguished using dashed lines and second reference numerals that identify the components by their second reference numerals. If only the first reference numeral is used in the specification, the description is applicable to any one of the similar components having the same first reference numeral, regardless of the other subsequent reference numerals.

[0252] The detailed description set forth in this document describes exemplary configurations, but not all possible configurations thereof. As used herein, the term "exemplary" means "serving as an example, instance, or illustration," and not "preferred" or "advantageous over other examples." The detailed description includes specific details for the purpose of providing a thorough understanding of the described techniques. However, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that these techniques can be practiced without these specific details. In some instances, well-known structures and devices are shown in block diagram form in order to avoid obscuring the concepts of the described examples.

[0253] The foregoing description of the present disclosure has been presented for the purposes of illustration and description. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the disclosure to the precise form disclosed. Many modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teaching. It is intended that the scope of the disclosure be limited not with this detailed description, but rather by the claims appended hereto.

Claims

1. An apparatus for wireless communication at a user equipment (UE), comprising: one or more processors; one or more memories coupled with the one or more processors; and instructions stored in the one or more memories and executable by the one or more processors to cause the apparatus to: receive a configuration of a first search space set and a second search space set; identify a link between the first search space set and the second search space set for physical downlink control channel repetition, wherein the link is provided via a radio resource control parameter included in the configuration; determine, based at least in part on the identified link between the first search space set and the second search space set, that there are no other search space sets linked with the first search space set or the second search space set for physical downlink control channel repetition; identify, based at least in part on an overlap rule, one or more monitoring occasions in the first search space set or the second search space set to monitor for downlink control information, the overlap rule being associated with the link between the first search space set and the second search space set for physical downlink control channel repetition and a third search space set; and monitor the identified one or more monitoring occasions in at least the first search space set or the second search space set for the downlink control information.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein, the instructions are further executable by the one or more processors to cause the apparatus to: determine, based at least in part on the overlap rule, that a monitoring occasion of the first search space set does not overlap with a monitoring occasion of the second search space set.

3. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein, the instructions are further executable by the one or more processors to cause the apparatus to: determine that the first search space set and the second search space set are associated with a control resource set.

4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein, the instructions are further executable by the one or more processors to cause the apparatus to: identify the third search space set having a same control channel element as the first search space set; and monitor, based at least in part on the overlap rule, one or more physical downlink control channel candidates for the first search space set, the second search space set, and the third search space set.

5. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein, the overlap rule provides to monitor the identified one or more monitoring occasions independently for the first search space set, the second search space set, and the third search space set.

6. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein, the instructions are further executable by the one or more processors to cause the apparatus to: determine that the first search space set is associated with a first control resource set and the third search space set is associated with a second control resource set different from the first control resource set, wherein the overlap rule provides to monitor the downlink control information in the first search space set and to monitor second downlink control information in the third search space set.

7. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein, the instructions are further executable by the one or more processors to cause the apparatus to: determining that the first search space set has a first size of a downlink control format and the third search space set has a second size of a downlink control format different from the first size, wherein the overlap rule provides for monitoring the downlink control information in the first search space set and monitoring second downlink control information in the third search space set.

8. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein, The instructions can further be executable by the one or more processors to cause the apparatus to: identify a link between the third search space set and a fourth search space set for physical downlink control channel repetition; and identify that a monitoring occasion in the second search space set overlaps with a monitoring occasion in the fourth search space set, wherein the overlap rule provides for monitoring the downlink control information in the first search space set and monitoring second downlink control information in the third search space set.

9. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein: the first search space set and the third search space set have a same control resource set and a same downlink control format size.

10. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein: the third search space set is not linked with a fourth search space set.

11. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein, The instructions can further be executable by the one or more processors to cause the apparatus to: drop at least one physical downlink control channel candidate of the third search space set, wherein the overlap rule determines to monitor at least one physical downlink control channel candidate of the first search space set.

12. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein, The instructions can further be executable by the one or more processors to cause the apparatus to: drop a monitoring occasion of the first search space set, wherein the overlap rule determines to monitor a monitoring occasion of the third search space set.

13. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein, The instructions can further be executable by the one or more processors to cause the apparatus to: compare a first index of the first search space set with a second index of the third search space set; and based at least in part on the comparison, drop a monitoring occasion of the first search space set or the third search space set, wherein the overlap rule determines to monitor a search space set of the first search space set and the third search space set based at least in part on the comparison.

14. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein, The instructions can further be executable by the one or more processors to cause the apparatus to: drop a physical downlink control channel candidate of a monitoring occasion of the first search space set or a physical downlink control channel candidate of a monitoring occasion of the third search space set, wherein the overlap rule determines to monitor the physical downlink control channel candidate of the monitoring occasion of the first search space set or the physical downlink control channel candidate of the monitoring occasion of the third search space set that is reserved.

15. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein, The instructions can further be executable by the one or more processors to cause the apparatus to: determine that a monitoring occasion of the first search space set overlaps with a monitoring occasion of the second search space set; and monitoring the downlink control information in the first search space set, wherein the overlap rule indicates to treat the monitoring occasion of the second search space set as not linked with the monitoring occasion of the first search space set.

16. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein, The instructions can further be executed by the one or more processors to cause the apparatus to: determine that a monitoring occasion of the first search space set overlaps with a monitoring occasion of the second search space set, wherein the overlap rule determines to ignore the overlapping monitoring occasions.

17. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein, monitoring the downlink control information in at least the first search space set or the second search space set further comprises skipping monitoring of the monitoring occasion of the first search space set and the monitoring occasion of the second search space set according to the overlap rule.

18. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein, The instructions can further be executed by the one or more processors to cause the apparatus to: drop a physical downlink control channel candidate of a monitoring occasion of the first search space set.

19. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein, The instructions can further be executed by the one or more processors to cause the apparatus to: determine that a first physical downlink control channel candidate and a second physical downlink control channel candidate have a same downlink control information payload, a same downlink control format size, and a same radio network temporary identifier, wherein monitoring the identified one or more monitoring occasions further comprises monitoring the first physical downlink control channel candidate in the first search space set and the second physical downlink control channel candidate in the second search space set based at least in part on the determination.

20. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein, The instructions can further be executed by the one or more processors to cause the apparatus to: detect the downlink control information in the one or more monitoring occasions; and determine scheduling information according to the overlap rule.

21. The apparatus of claim 20, wherein, The overlap rule is based at least in part on a last symbol of a physical downlink control channel candidate of a search space set that appears last in time or has a higher index in the first search space set or the second search space set.

22. The apparatus of claim 20, wherein, The overlap rule is further based at least in part on the downlink control information associated with the first search space set.

23. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein, The overlap rule skips monitoring of a second monitoring occasion of the first search space set that is linked with a first monitoring occasion of the second search space set.

24. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein, The instructions can further be executed by the one or more processors to cause the apparatus to: determine, based at least in part on a first monitoring occasion of the first search space set being linked with the first monitoring occasion of the second search space set, that a second monitoring occasion of the first search space set is not linked with the first monitoring occasion of the second search space set.

25. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein, The instructions can further be executed by the one or more processors to cause the apparatus to: determine that a first monitoring occasion and a second monitoring occasion of the first search space set are linked with a monitoring occasion of the second search space set; detect the downlink control information in the one or more monitoring occasions; and determining scheduling information in accordance with the overlap rule, wherein the overlap rule is based at least in part on a last symbol of a physical downlink control channel candidate for the first monitoring occasion of the first search space set, the monitoring occasion of the second search space set, or the second monitoring occasion of the first search space set.

26. The apparatus of claim 25, wherein, the overlap rule is further based at least in part on detecting the downlink control information in the monitoring occasion of the second search space set.

27. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein, The instructions can further be executable by the one or more processors to cause the apparatus to: detect the downlink control information in the first search space set or the second search space set; and determine, based at least in part on the overlap rule, that the detected downlink control information has a first downlink control information format, wherein the first downlink control information format is associated with the first search space set and the second search space set, and wherein a second downlink control information format is associated with the third search space set.

28. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein, The instructions can further be executable by the one or more processors to cause the apparatus to: receive radio resource control signaling indicating the linking between the first search space set and the second search space set and the overlap rule.

29. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein, According to the linking, monitoring occasions with a same candidate index across the first search space set and the second search space set are linked for physical downlink control channel repetition.

30. A method for wireless communication at a user equipment (UE), comprising: receiving a configuration of a first search space set and a second search space set; identifying a linking between the first search space set and the second search space set for physical downlink control channel repetition, wherein the linking is provided via a radio resource control parameter included in the configuration; determining, based at least in part on the identified linking between the first search space set and the second search space set, that there are no other search space sets linked with the first search space set or the second search space set for physical downlink control channel repetition; identifying, based at least in part on an overlap rule, one or more monitoring occasions in the first search space set or the second search space set to monitor for downlink control information, the overlap rule being associated with the linking between the first search space set and the second search space set for physical downlink control channel repetition and a third search space set; and monitoring, for the downlink control information, the identified one or more monitoring occasions in at least the first search space set or the second search space set.

31. The method of claim 30, further comprising: determining, based at least in part on the overlap rule, that a monitoring occasion of the first search space set does not overlap with a monitoring occasion of the second search space set.

32. The method of claim 31, further comprising: determining that the first search space set and the second search space set are associated with a control resource set.

33. The method of claim 30, further comprising: identifying the third search space set having a same control channel element as the first search space set; and monitoring one or more physical downlink control channel candidates for the first search space set, the second search space set, and the third search space set based at least in part on the overlap rule.

34. The method of claim 33, wherein, the overlap rule provides to monitor the identified one or more monitoring occasions independently for the first search space set, the second search space set, and the third search space set.

35. The method of claim 33, further comprising: determining that the first search space set is associated with a first control resource set and the third search space set is associated with a second control resource set different from the first control resource set, wherein the overlap rule provides to monitor the downlink control information in the first search space set and a second downlink control information in the third search space set.

36. The method of claim 33, further comprising: determining that the first search space set has a first size of downlink control format and the third search space set has a second size of downlink control format different from the first size, wherein the overlap rule provides to monitor the downlink control information in the first search space set and a second downlink control information in the third search space set.

37. The method of claim 33, further comprising: identifying a link between the third search space set and a fourth search space set for physical downlink control channel repetition; and identifying that a monitoring occasion in the second search space set overlaps with a monitoring occasion in the fourth search space set, wherein the overlap rule provides to monitor the downlink control information in the first search space set and a second downlink control information in the third search space set.

38. The method of claim 33, wherein: the first search space set and the third search space set have a same control resource set and a same size of downlink control format.

39. The method of claim 38, wherein: the third search space set is not linked with a fourth search space set.

40. The method of claim 38, further comprising: dropping at least one physical downlink control channel candidate of the third search space set, wherein the overlap rule determines to monitor at least one physical downlink control channel candidate of the first search space set.

41. The method of claim 38, further comprising: dropping a monitoring occasion of the first search space set, wherein the overlap rule determines to monitor a monitoring occasion of the third search space set.

42. The method of claim 38, further comprising: comparing a first index of the first search space set with a second index of the third search space set; and discard a monitoring occasion of the first search space set or the third search space set based at least in part on the comparison, wherein the overlap rule determines to monitor a search space set of the first search space set and the third search space set based at least in part on the comparison.

43. The method of claim 38, further comprising: discarding a physical downlink control channel candidate of a monitoring occasion of the first search space set or a monitoring occasion of the third search space set, wherein the overlap rule determines to monitor the physical downlink control channel candidate of the monitoring occasion of the first search space set or the monitoring occasion of the third search space set that is reserved.

44. The method of claim 30, further comprising: determining that a monitoring occasion of the first search space set overlaps with a monitoring occasion of the second search space set; and monitoring the downlink control information in the first search space set, wherein the overlap rule indicates to treat the monitoring occasion of the second search space set as unlinked with the monitoring occasion of the first search space set.

45. The method of claim 30, further comprising: determining that a monitoring occasion of the first search space set overlaps with a monitoring occasion of the second search space set, wherein the overlap rule determines to ignore the overlapping monitoring occasions.

46. The method of claim 45, wherein, monitoring the downlink control information in at least the first search space set or the second search space set further comprises skipping monitoring of the monitoring occasion of the first search space set and the monitoring occasion of the second search space set according to the overlap rule.

47. The method of claim 30, further comprising: discarding a physical downlink control channel candidate of a monitoring occasion of the first search space set.

48. The method of claim 30, further comprising: determining that a first physical downlink control channel candidate and a second physical downlink control channel candidate have a same downlink control information payload, a same downlink control format size, and a same radio network temporary identifier, wherein monitoring the identified one or more monitoring occasions further comprises monitoring the first physical downlink control channel candidate in the first search space set and the second physical downlink control channel candidate in the second search space set based at least in part on the determination.

49. The method of claim 30, further comprising: detecting the downlink control information in the one or more monitoring occasions; and determining scheduling information according to the overlap rule.

50. The method of claim 49, wherein, the overlap rule is based at least in part on a last symbol of a physical downlink control channel candidate of the search space set of the first search space set or the second search space set that occurs last in time or has a higher index.

51. The method of claim 49, wherein, the overlap rule is further based at least in part on the downlink control information associated with the first search space set.

52. The method of claim 30, wherein, The overlap rule skips monitoring for a second monitoring occasion of the first search space set that is linked with a first monitoring occasion of the second search space set.

53. The method of claim 30, further comprising: determining, based at least in part on a first monitoring occasion of the first search space set being linked with the first monitoring occasion of the second search space set, that a second monitoring occasion of the first search space set is not linked with a first monitoring occasion of the second search space set.

54. The method of claim 30, further comprising: determining that a first monitoring occasion and a second monitoring occasion of the first search space set are linked with monitoring occasions of the second search space set; detecting the downlink control information in the one or more monitoring occasions; and determining scheduling information according to the overlap rule, wherein the overlap rule is based at least in part on a last symbol of a physical downlink control channel candidate for the first monitoring occasion of the first search space set, the monitoring occasion of the second search space set, or the second monitoring occasion of the first search space set that occurs last in time.

55. The method of claim 54, wherein, The overlap rule is further based at least in part on detecting the downlink control information in the monitoring occasion of the second search space set.

56. The method of claim 33, further comprising: detecting the downlink control information in the first search space set or the second search space set; and determining, based at least in part on the overlap rule, that the detected downlink control information has a first downlink control information format, wherein the first downlink control information format is associated with the first search space set and the second search space set, and wherein a second downlink control information format is associated with the third search space set.

57. The method of claim 30, further comprising: receiving radio resource control signaling indicating the link between the first search space set and the second search space set and the overlap rule.

58. The method of claim 30, wherein, According to the link, monitoring occasions with a same candidate index across the first search space set and the second search space set are linked for physical downlink control channel repetition.

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