Techniques for sidelink feedback channel slot format for micro slot channel access

Abstract

Various aspects of the present disclosure generally relate to wireless communications. In some aspects, a user equipment (UE) can receive an indication of a sidelink slot format, where the sidelink slot format indicates a configuration of sidelink feedback resources. The UE can measure a signal associated with a channel access procedure after a first symbol of a first sidelink slot and before a micro slot of the first sidelink slot, and wherein the sidelink slot format indicates that the first sidelink slot is associated with the sidelink feedback resource. The UE can transmit a sidelink communication based at least in part on the measurement of the signal using a transmit start position of a symbol of the micro slot or a second sidelink slot, where a format of the sidelink feedback resource is based at least in part on the transmit start position. Numerous other aspects are described.

Description

[0001] CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0002] This patent application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63 / 371,199, filed on August 11, 2022, entitled “TECHNIQUES FOR SIDELINK FEEDBACK CHANNEL SLOT FORMAT FOR MINI-SLOT CHANNEL ACCESS,” and U.S. Non-Provisional Patent Application No. 18 / 325,716, filed on May 30, 2023, entitled “TECHNIQUES FOR SIDELINK FEEDBACK CHANNEL SLOTFORMAT FOR MINI-SLOT CHANNEL ACCESS,” which are hereby expressly incorporated herein by reference. Technical Field

[0003] Aspects of the present disclosure relate generally to wireless communications and to techniques and apparatus associated with sidelink feedback channel slot formats for mini-slot channel access. Background Art

[0004] Wireless communication systems are widely deployed to provide a variety of telecommunication services, such as telephony, video, data, messaging, and broadcasting. Typical wireless communication systems may employ multiple access technologies that can support communication with multiple users by sharing available system resources (e.g., bandwidth, transmit power, etc.). Examples of such multiple access technologies include code division multiple access (CDMA) systems, time division multiple access (TDMA) systems, frequency division multiple access (FDMA) systems, orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) systems, single carrier frequency division multiple access (SC-FDMA) systems, time division synchronous code division multiple access (TD-SCDMA) systems, and long term evolution (LTE). LTE / LTE-Advanced is a set of enhancements to the Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) mobile standard promulgated by the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP).

[0005] A wireless network may include one or more network nodes that support communications for wireless communication devices, such as user equipment (UE) or multiple UEs. The UE may communicate with the network node via downlink communications and uplink communications. A "downlink" (or "DL") refers to a communication link from a network node to a UE, and an "uplink" (or "UL") refers to a communication link from a UE to a network node. Some wireless networks may support device-to-device communications, such as via a local link (e.g., a side link (SL), a wireless local area network (WLAN) link, and / or a wireless personal area network (WPAN) link, etc.).

[0006] These multiple access technologies have been adopted in various telecommunication standards to provide a common protocol that enables different UEs to communicate at a city, country, region, or global level. New Radio (NR), which may also be referred to as 5G, is a set of enhancements to the LTE mobile standard promulgated by 3GPP. NR is designed to better support mobile broadband Internet access by using orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) (CP-OFDM) with a cyclic prefix (CP) on the downlink, using CP-OFDM or single carrier frequency division multiplexing (SC-FDM) (also known as discrete Fourier transform spread OFDM (DFT-s-OFDM) on the uplink, and supporting beamforming, multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) antenna technology, and carrier aggregation to improve spectrum efficiency, reduce costs, improve services, utilize new spectrum, and better integrate with other open standards. Summary of the invention

[0007] Some aspects described herein relate to a method of wireless communication performed by a user equipment (UE). The method may include receiving an indication of a sidelink slot format, wherein the sidelink slot format indicates a configuration of a sidelink feedback resource, and wherein the sidelink slot format is associated with a plurality of starting positions for sidelink communications. The method may include measuring a signal associated with a channel access procedure, wherein the measurement of the signal indicates that the UE is permitted to access a sidelink channel, wherein the measurement of the signal occurs after a first symbol of a first sidelink slot and before a mini-slot of the first sidelink slot, and wherein the sidelink slot format indicates that the first sidelink slot is associated with the sidelink feedback resource. The method may include sending a sidelink communication based at least in part on the measurement of the signal using a transmission start position of a symbol of the mini-slot of the first sidelink slot or a second sidelink slot, wherein the format of the sidelink feedback resource is based at least in part on the transmission start position.

[0008] Some aspects described herein relate to a UE for wireless communication. The UE may include one or more memories and one or more processors coupled to the one or more memories. The one or more processors may be configured to receive an indication of a side link slot format, wherein the side link slot format indicates the configuration of a side link feedback resource, and wherein the side link slot format is associated with a plurality of starting positions for side link communication. The one or more processors may be configured to measure a signal associated with a channel access procedure, wherein the measurement of the signal indicates that the UE is permitted to access a side link channel, wherein the measurement of the signal occurs after a first symbol of a first side link slot and before a micro slot of the first side link slot, and wherein the side link slot format indicates that the first side link slot is associated with the side link feedback resource. The one or more processors may be configured to use the transmission start position of the symbol of the micro slot of the first side link slot or the second side link slot, and transmit the side link communication based at least in part on the measurement of the signal, wherein the format of the side link feedback resource is based at least in part on the transmission start position.

[0009] Some aspects described herein relate to a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing an instruction set for wireless communication by a UE. The instruction set, when executed by one or more processors of the UE, may cause the UE to receive an indication of a sidelink slot format, wherein the sidelink slot format indicates a configuration of a sidelink feedback resource, and wherein the sidelink slot format is associated with a plurality of starting positions for sidelink communication. The instruction set, when executed by one or more processors of the UE, may cause the UE to measure a signal associated with a channel access procedure, wherein the measurement of the signal indicates that the UE is permitted to access a sidelink channel, wherein the measurement of the signal occurs after a first symbol of a first sidelink slot and before a mini-slot of the first sidelink slot, and wherein the sidelink slot format indicates that the first sidelink slot is associated with the sidelink feedback resource. The instruction set, when executed by one or more processors of the UE, may cause the UE to send a sidelink communication based at least in part on the measurement of the signal using a transmission start position of a symbol of the micro-slot of the first side link time slot or the second side link time slot, wherein a format of the side link feedback resource is based at least in part on the transmission start position.

[0010] Some aspects described herein relate to a device for wireless communication. The device may include a component for receiving an indication of a side link slot format, wherein the side link slot format indicates a configuration of a side link feedback resource, and wherein the side link slot format is associated with a plurality of starting positions for side link communication. The device may include a component for measuring a signal associated with a channel access procedure, wherein the measurement of the signal indicates that the device is permitted to access a side link channel, wherein the measurement of the signal occurs after a first symbol of a first side link slot and before a mini-slot of the first side link slot, and wherein the side link slot format indicates that the first side link slot is associated with the side link feedback resource. The device may include a component for transmitting a side link communication based at least in part on the measurement of the signal using a transmission start position of a symbol of the mini-slot of the first side link slot or a second side link slot, wherein the format of the side link feedback resource is based at least in part on the transmission start position.

[0011] The various aspects generally include methods, apparatus, systems, computer program products, non-transitory computer-readable media, user equipment, base stations, network entities, network nodes, wireless communication devices and / or processing systems as fully described herein with reference to the drawings and description and as illustrated in the drawings and description.

[0012] The features and technical advantages of examples according to the present disclosure have been outlined quite broadly above so that the following specific embodiments may be better understood. Additional features and advantages will be described below. The disclosed concepts and specific examples may be easily used as a basis for modifying or designing other structures for achieving the same purpose of the present disclosure. Such equivalent constructions do not depart from the scope of the appended claims. When considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, the characteristics of the concepts disclosed herein (both their organization and methods of operation) and the associated advantages will be better understood from the following description. Each of the figures in the accompanying drawings is provided for the purpose of illustration and description, and not as a definition of limitations of the claims. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0013] In order to fully understand the above-mentioned features of the present disclosure, a more specific description of the invention briefly summarized above can be obtained by referring to various aspects (some of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings). However, it should be noted that the accompanying drawings only illustrate certain typical aspects of the present disclosure and are therefore not to be considered as limiting the scope thereof, as the specification may admit other equally effective aspects. The same reference numerals in different drawings may identify the same or similar elements.

[0014] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a wireless network according to the present disclosure.

[0015] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of communication between a network node and a user equipment (UE) in a wireless network according to the present disclosure.

[0016] FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of side link communication according to the present disclosure.

[0017] FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of side link communication and access link communication according to the present disclosure.

[0018] FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of sidelink communications in a shared or unlicensed band according to the present disclosure.

[0019] FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of channel access in a shared or unlicensed band according to the present disclosure.

[0020] 7 is a diagram of an example associated with mini-slot channel access for sidelink communications according to the present disclosure.

[0021] 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of a sidelink slot format including a physical sidelink feedback channel (PSFCH) resource according to the present disclosure.

[0022] 9A-9D are diagrams of examples associated with sidelink feedback channel slot formats for mini-slot channel access according to the present disclosure.

[0023] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example process performed, for example, by a UE according to the present disclosure.

[0024] 11 is a diagram of an example apparatus for wireless communications according to the present disclosure.

[0025] 12 is a diagram of an example apparatus for wireless communications according to the present disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0026] Various aspects of the present disclosure are described more fully below with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, the present disclosure can be embodied in many different forms, and should not be construed as being limited to any specific structure or function presented throughout the present disclosure. Instead, these aspects are provided so that the present disclosure will be thorough and complete, and the protection scope of the present disclosure will be fully conveyed to those skilled in the art. It should be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the scope of the present disclosure is intended to cover any aspect of the present disclosure disclosed herein, whether it is implemented independently or in combination with any other aspect of the present disclosure. For example, any number of aspects set forth herein may be used to implement a device or practice method. In addition, the scope of the present disclosure is intended to cover such devices or methods implemented using other structures, functions, or structures and functions in addition to or different from the various aspects of the disclosure set forth herein. It should be understood that any aspect of the disclosure disclosed herein may be embodied by one or more elements of the present invention.

[0027] Several aspects of telecommunication systems will now be presented with reference to various devices and techniques. These devices and techniques will be described in the following detailed description and illustrated in the accompanying drawings by various blocks, modules, components, circuits, steps, processes, algorithms, etc. (collectively referred to as "elements"). These elements can be implemented using hardware, software, or a combination thereof. Whether these elements are implemented as hardware or software depends on the specific application and the design constraints imposed on the overall system.

[0028] Although various aspects may be described herein using terminology generally associated with 5G or new radio (NR) radio access technology (RAT), various aspects of the present disclosure may be applied to other RATs, such as 3G RAT, 4G RAT, and / or 5G and beyond (e.g., 6G) RATs.

[0029] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a wireless network 100 according to the present disclosure. The wireless network 100 may be a 5G (e.g., NR) network or a 4G (e.g., Long Term Evolution (LTE)) network, or may include elements of a 5G (e.g., NR) network or elements of a 4G (e.g., Long Term Evolution (LTE)) network, etc. The wireless network 100 may include one or more network nodes 110 (shown as network node 110a, network node 110b, network node 110c, and network node 110d), user equipment (UE) 120 or multiple UEs 120 (shown as UE 120a, UE 120b, UE 120c, UE 120d, and UE 120e), or other entities. The network node 110 is an example of a network node communicating with the UE 120. As shown in the figure, the network node 110 may include one or more network nodes. For example, the network node 110 may be a converged network node, which means that the converged network node is configured to utilize a radio protocol stack that is physically or logically integrated within a single RAN node (e.g., within a single device or unit). As another example, the network node 110 may be a disaggregated network node (sometimes referred to as a disaggregated base station), which means that the network node 110 is configured to utilize a protocol stack that is physically or logically distributed between two or more nodes (such as one or more central units (CUs), one or more distributed units (DUs), or one or more radio units (RUs)).

[0030] In some examples, the network node 110 is or includes a network node that communicates with the UE 120 via a radio access link, such as an RU. In some examples, the network node 110 is or includes a network node that communicates with other network nodes 110 via a fronthaul link or a midhaul link, such as a DU. In some examples, the network node 110 is or includes a network node that communicates with other network nodes 110 via a midhaul link or communicates with a core network via a backhaul link, such as a CU. In some examples, the network node 110 (such as an aggregated network node 110 or a decomposed network node 110) may include multiple network nodes, such as one or more RUs, one or more CUs, and / or one or more DUs. For example, the network node 110 may include an NR base station, an LTE base station, a Node B, an eNB (e.g., in 4G), a gNB (e.g., in 5G), an access point, a transmit receive point (TRP), a DU, a RU, a CU, a mobility element of a network, a core network node, a network element, a network equipment, a RAN node, or a combination thereof. In some examples, network nodes 110 may be interconnected to each other or to one or more other network nodes 110 in wireless network 100 via various types of fronthaul, midhaul, and / or backhaul interfaces, such as direct physical connections, air interfaces, or virtual networks, using any suitable transport network.

[0031] In some examples, the network node 110 may provide communication coverage for a particular geographic area. In the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), the term "cell" may refer to a coverage area of ​​the network node 110 or a network node subsystem serving the coverage area, depending on the context in which the term is used. The network node 110 may provide communication coverage for a macro cell, a pico cell, a femto cell, or another type of cell. A macro cell may cover a relatively large geographic area (e.g., a radius of several thousand meters) and may allow unrestricted access by a UE 120 with a service subscription. A pico cell may cover a relatively small geographic area and may allow unrestricted access by a UE 120 with a service subscription. A femto cell may cover a relatively small geographic area (e.g., a residence) and may allow restricted access by a UE 120 associated with the femto cell (e.g., a UE 120 in a closed subscriber group (CSG)). A network node 110 for a macro cell may be referred to as a macro network node. A network node 110 for a pico cell may be referred to as a pico network node. The network node 110 for a femto cell may be referred to as a femto network node or a home network node. In the example shown in FIG. 1 , the network node 110 a may be a macro network node for a macro cell 102 a, the network node 110 b may be a pico network node for a pico cell 102 b, and the network node 110 c may be a femto network node for a femto cell 102 c. The network node may support one or more (e.g., three) cells. In some examples, the cell may not necessarily be stationary, and the geographic area of ​​the cell may move according to the location of the mobile network node 110 (e.g., a mobile network node).

[0032] In some aspects, the term "base station" or "network node" may refer to a converged base station, a decomposed base station, an integrated access and backhaul (IAB) node, a relay node, or one or more components thereof. For example, in some aspects, a "base station" or "network node" may refer to a CU, a DU, a RU, a near real-time (near-RT) RAN intelligent controller (RIC), or a non-real-time (non-RT) RIC, or a combination thereof. In some aspects, the term "base station" or "network node" may refer to a device configured to perform one or more functions (such as those described herein in conjunction with the network node 110). In some aspects, the term "base station" or "network node" may refer to a plurality of devices configured to perform one or more functions. For example, in some distributed systems, each of a number of different devices (which may be located in the same geographic location or in different geographic locations) may be configured to perform at least a portion of a function, or to repeat the execution of at least a portion of the function, and the term "base station" or "network node" may refer to any one or more of these different devices. In some aspects, the term "base station" or "network node" may refer to one or more virtual base stations or one or more virtual base station functions. For example, in some aspects, two or more base station functions may be instantiated on a single device. In some aspects, the term "base station" or "network node" may refer to one of the base station functions but not the other. In this way, a single device may include more than one base station.

[0033] The wireless network 100 may include one or more relay stations. A relay station is a network node that receives transmissions of data from an upstream node (e.g., a network node 110 or a UE 120) and transmits transmissions of data to a downstream node (e.g., a UE 120 or a network node 110). A relay station may be a UE 120 that is capable of relaying transmissions for other UEs 120. In the example shown in FIG. 1 , a network node 110d (e.g., a relay network node) may communicate with a network node 110a (e.g., a macro network node) and a UE 120d to facilitate communication between the network node 110a and the UE 120d. A network node 110 that relays communications may be referred to as a relay station, a relay base station, a relay network node, a relay node, or a relay, etc.

[0034] The wireless network 100 may be a heterogeneous network that includes different types of network nodes 110, such as macro network nodes, pico network nodes, femto network nodes, or relay network nodes. These different types of network nodes 110 may have different transmit power levels, different coverage areas, or different effects on interference in the wireless network 100. For example, a macro network node may have a high transmit power level (e.g., 5 watts to 40 watts), while a pico network node, a femto network node, and a relay network node may have a lower transmit power level (e.g., 0.1 watt to 2 watts).

[0035] The network controller 130 may be coupled to or in communication with a set of network nodes 110 and may provide coordination and control for the network nodes 110. The network controller 130 may communicate with the network nodes 110 via a backhaul communication link or a midhaul communication link. The network nodes 110 may also communicate directly with each other or indirectly via a wireless backhaul communication link or a wired backhaul communication link. In some aspects, the network controller 130 may be or may include a CU or a core network device.

[0036] UE 120 may be dispersed throughout the wireless network 100, and each UE 120 may be stationary or mobile. UE 120 may include, for example, an access terminal, a terminal, a mobile station, or a subscriber unit. UE 120 may be a cellular phone (e.g., a smart phone), a personal digital assistant (PDA), a wireless modem, a wireless communication device, a handheld device, a laptop computer, a cordless phone, a wireless local loop (WLL) station, a tablet device, a camera, a gaming device, a netbook, a smartbook, an ultrabook, a medical device, a biometric device, a wearable device (e.g., a smart watch, smart clothing, smart glasses, a smart wristband, smart jewelry (e.g., a smart ring or a smart bracelet)), an entertainment device (e.g., a music device, a video device, or a satellite radio), an in-vehicle component or sensor, a smart meter / sensor, an industrial manufacturing equipment, a global positioning system device, a UE function of a network node, or any other suitable device configured to communicate via a wireless or wired medium.

[0037] Some UEs 120 may be considered as machine type communication (MTC) or evolved or enhanced machine type communication (eMTC) UEs. MTC UEs or eMTC UEs may include, for example, robots, drones, remote devices, sensors, meters, monitors, or location tags, which may communicate with a network node, another device (e.g., a remote device), or some other entity. Some UEs 120 may be considered as Internet of Things (IoT) devices, or may be implemented as NB-IoT (narrowband IoT) devices. Some UEs 120 may be considered as customer premises equipment. UE 120 may be included inside a housing that houses components of UE 120, such as a processor component or a memory component. In some examples, the processor component and the memory component may be coupled together. For example, a processor component (e.g., one or more processors) and a memory component (e.g., a memory) may be operably coupled, communicatively coupled, electronically coupled, or electrically coupled.

[0038] Generally speaking, any number of wireless networks 100 may be deployed in a given geographic area. Each wireless network 100 may support a specific RAT and may operate on one or more frequencies. RAT may also be referred to as a radio technology or air interface. Frequency may also be referred to as a carrier or frequency channel. Each frequency may support a single RAT in a given geographic area to avoid interference between wireless networks of different RATs. In some cases, NR or 5G RAT networks may be deployed.

[0039] In some examples, two or more UEs 120 (e.g., shown as UE 120a and UE 120e) may communicate directly using one or more sidelink channels (e.g., without using network node 110 as an intermediary to communicate with each other). For example, UE 120 may communicate using peer-to-peer (P2P) communication, device-to-device (D2D) communication, vehicle-to-everything (V2X) protocols (e.g., which may include vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) protocols, vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) protocols, or vehicle-to-pedestrian (V2P) protocols), or mesh networks. In such examples, UE 120 may perform scheduling operations, resource selection operations, or other operations described elsewhere herein as being performed by network node 110.

[0040] Devices of the wireless network 100 may communicate using an electromagnetic spectrum, which may be subdivided into various categories, bands, or channels by frequency or wavelength. For example, devices of the wireless network 100 may communicate using one or more operating bands. In 5G NR, two initial operating bands have been identified as frequency range designations FR1 (410 MHz to 7.125 GHz) and FR2 (24.25 GHz to 52.6 GHz). Although a portion of FR1 is greater than 6 GHz, FR1 is often (interchangeably) referred to as the “below 6 GHz” band in various documents and articles. A similar naming issue sometimes occurs with respect to FR2, which is often (interchangeably) referred to as the “millimeter wave” band in documents and articles, despite being different from the extremely high frequency (EHF) band (30 GHz to 300 GHz) identified as the “millimeter wave” band by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU).

[0041] Frequencies between FR1 and FR2 are generally referred to as mid-band frequencies. Recent 5G NR research has identified the operating bands for these mid-band frequencies as frequency range designation FR3 (7.125 GHz to 24.25 GHz). The frequency bands falling within FR3 may inherit FR1 characteristics or FR2 characteristics, and thereby the characteristics of FR1 or FR2 may be effectively extended to mid-band frequencies. In addition, higher frequency bands are currently being explored to extend 5G NR operations beyond 52.6 GHz. For example, three higher operating bands have been identified as frequency range designations FR4a or FR4-1 (52.6 GHz to 71 GHz), FR4 (52.6 GHz to 114.25 GHz), and FR5 (114.25 GHz to 300 GHz). Each of these higher frequency bands falls within the EHF band.

[0042] With these examples in mind, unless otherwise specifically stated, if the term "sub-6 GHz" is used herein, it may broadly refer to frequencies that may be less than 6 GHz, frequencies that may be within FR1, or frequencies that may include mid-band frequencies. Additionally, unless otherwise specifically stated, if the term "millimeter wave" is used herein, it may broadly refer to frequencies that may include mid-band frequencies, frequencies that may be within FR2, FR4, FR4-a, FR4-1, or FR5, or frequencies that may be within the EHF band. It is contemplated that the frequencies included in these operating bands (e.g., FR1, FR2, FR3, FR4, FR4-a, FR4-1, or FR5) may be modified, and that the techniques described herein are applicable to those modified frequency ranges.

[0043] In some aspects, UE 120 may include communications manager 140. As described in greater detail elsewhere herein, communications manager 140 may receive an indication of a sidelink slot format, wherein the sidelink slot format indicates a configuration of a sidelink feedback resource, and wherein the sidelink slot format is associated with a plurality of starting positions for sidelink communications; measure a signal associated with a channel access procedure, wherein the measurement of the signal indicates that the UE is granted access to a sidelink channel, wherein the measurement of the signal occurs after a first symbol of a first sidelink slot and before a minislot of the first sidelink slot, and wherein the sidelink slot format indicates that the first sidelink slot is associated with a sidelink feedback resource; and transmit a sidelink communication based at least in part on the measurement of the signal using a transmit start position of a symbol of a minislot of the first sidelink slot or of a second sidelink slot, wherein the format of the sidelink feedback resource is based at least in part on the transmit start position. Additionally or alternatively, communications manager 140 may perform one or more other operations described herein.

[0044] In some aspects, the network node 110 may include a communication manager 150. As described in more detail elsewhere herein, the communication manager 150 may send an indication of a sidelink slot format, wherein the sidelink slot format indicates a configuration of a sidelink feedback resource, and wherein the sidelink slot format is associated with a plurality of starting positions for sidelink communication; and / or when mini-slots are used in a slot that includes a sidelink feedback resource, determine a format of the sidelink feedback resource. Additionally or alternatively, the communication manager 150 may perform one or more other operations described herein.

[0045] As indicated above, FIG1 is provided as an example. Other examples may differ from the example described with respect to FIG1 .

[0046] 2 is a diagram illustrating an example 200 of a network node 110 communicating with a UE 120 in a wireless network 100 according to the present disclosure. The network node 110 may be equipped with a set of antennas 234a to 234t, such as T antennas (T≥1). The UE 120 may be equipped with a set of antennas 252a to 252r, such as R antennas (R≥1). The network node 110 of example 200 includes one or more radio frequency components, such as an antenna 234 and a modem 254. In some examples, the network node 110 may include an interface, a communication component, or another component that facilitates communication with the UE 120 or another network node. Some network nodes 110 may not include a radio frequency component that facilitates direct communication with the UE 120, such as one or more CUs or one or more DUs.

[0047] At the network node 110, the transmit processor 220 may receive data intended for the UE 120 (or a set of UEs 120) from the data source 212. The transmit processor 220 may use one or more channel quality indicators (CQIs) received from the UE 120 to select one or more modulation and coding schemes (MCSs) for the UE 120. The network node 110 may process (e.g., encode and modulate) the data for the UE 120 using the MCS selected for the UE 120 and may provide data symbols to the UE 120. The transmit processor 220 may process system information (e.g., for semi-static resource partitioning information (SRPI)) and control information (e.g., CQI requests, grants, or upper layer signaling) and provide overhead symbols and control symbols. The transmit processor 220 may generate reference symbols for reference signals (e.g., cell-specific reference signals (CRS) or demodulation reference signals (DMRS)) and synchronization signals (e.g., primary synchronization signals (PSS) or secondary synchronization signals (SSS)). The transmit (TX) multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) processor 230 may perform spatial processing (e.g., pre-coding) on ​​data symbols, control symbols, overhead symbols, or reference symbols, where applicable, and may provide a set of output symbol streams (e.g., T output symbol streams) to a corresponding set of modems 232 (e.g., T modems) (shown as modems 232a to 232t). For example, each output symbol stream may be provided to a modulator component (shown as MOD) of the modem 232. Each modem 232 may process a corresponding output symbol stream (e.g., for OFDM) using a corresponding modulator component to obtain an output sample stream. Each modem 232 may also process (e.g., convert to analog, amplify, filter, or up-convert) the output sample stream using a corresponding modulator component to obtain a downlink signal. The modems 232a to 232t may transmit a set of downlink signals (e.g., T downlink signals) via a corresponding set of antennas 234 (e.g., T antennas) (shown as antennas 234a to 234t).

[0048] At the UE 120, a set of antennas 252 (shown as antennas 252a to 252r) may receive downlink signals from the network node 110 or other network nodes 110, and may provide a set of received signals (e.g., R received signals) to a set of modems 254 (e.g., R modems) (shown as modems 254a to 254r). For example, each received signal may be provided to a demodulator component (shown as DEMOD) of the modem 254. Each modem 254 may use a corresponding demodulator component to condition (e.g., filter, amplify, downconvert, or digitize) the received signal to obtain input samples. Each modem 254 may use a demodulator component to further process the input samples (e.g., for OFDM) to obtain received symbols. A MIMO detector 256 may obtain received symbols from the modem 254, may perform MIMO detection on the received symbols where applicable, and may provide detected symbols. The receive processor 258 may process (e.g., demodulate and decode) the detected symbols, may provide decoded data for the UE 120 to the data sink 260, and may provide decoded control information and system information to the controller / processor 280. The term "controller / processor" may refer to one or more controllers, one or more processors, or a combination thereof. The channel processor may determine a reference signal received power (RSRP) parameter, a received signal strength indicator (RSSI) parameter, a reference signal received quality (RSRQ) parameter, or a CQI parameter, among other things. In some examples, one or more components of the UE 120 may be included in the housing 284.

[0049] The network controller 130 may include a communication unit 294, a controller / processor 290, and a memory 292. The network controller 130 may include, for example, one or more devices in a core network. The network controller 130 may communicate with the network node 110 via the communication unit 294.

[0050] One or more antennas (e.g., antennas 234a to 234t or antennas 252a to 252r) may include or may be included in one or more antenna panels, one or more antenna groups, one or more sets of antenna elements, or one or more antenna arrays, etc. An antenna panel, antenna group, set of antenna elements, or antenna array may include one or more antenna elements (within a single housing or multiple housings), a set of coplanar antenna elements, a set of non-coplanar antenna elements, or one or more antenna elements coupled to one or more transmit or receive components (such as one or more components of FIG. 2).

[0051] On the uplink, at the UE 120, the transmit processor 264 may receive and process data from the data source 262 and control information from the controller / processor 280 (e.g., for reports including RSRP, RSSI, RSRQ, or CQI). The transmit processor 264 may generate reference symbols for one or more reference signals. The symbols from the transmit processor 264 may be pre-decoded by the TX MIMO processor 266, where applicable, further processed by the modem 254 (e.g., for DFT-s-OFDM or CP-OFDM), and sent to the network node 110. In some examples, the modem 254 of the UE 120 may include a modulator and a demodulator. In some examples, the UE 120 includes a transceiver. The transceiver may include any combination of an antenna 252, a modem 254, a MIMO detector 256, a receive processor 258, a transmit processor 264, or a TX MIMO processor 266. The transceiver may be used by a processor (eg, controller / processor 280 ) and memory 282 to perform aspects of any of the processes described herein (eg, with reference to FIGS. 9A-9D , 10 , 11 , and 12 ).

[0052] At the network node 110, uplink signals from the UE 120 or other UEs may be received by the antenna 234, processed by the modem 232 (e.g., a demodulator component of the modem 232, shown as DEMOD), detected by the MIMO detector 236 where applicable, and further processed by the receive processor 238 to obtain decoded data and control information transmitted via the UE 120. The receive processor 238 may provide the decoded data to the data sink 239 and provide the decoded control information to the controller / processor 240. The network node 110 may include a communication unit 244 and may communicate with the network controller 130 via the communication unit 244. The network node 110 may include a scheduler 246 to schedule one or more UEs 120 for downlink or uplink communication. In some examples, the modem 232 of the network node 110 may include a modulator and a demodulator. In some examples, the network node 110 includes a transceiver. The transceiver may include any combination of an antenna 234, a modem 232, a MIMO detector 236, a receive processor 238, a transmit processor 220, or a TX MIMO processor 230. The transceiver may be used by a processor (e.g., controller / processor 240) and memory 242 to perform aspects of any of the processes described herein (e.g., with reference to FIGS. 9A-9D, 10, 11, and 12).

[0053] In some aspects, the controller / processor 280 may be a component of a processing system. A processing system may generally be a system or series of machines or components that receives inputs and processes the inputs to produce a set of outputs that may be communicated to other systems or components, such as the UE 120. For example, the processing system of the UE 120 may be a system that includes various other components or subcomponents of the UE 120.

[0054] The processing system of UE 120 may interface with one or more other components of UE 120, may process information (such as input or signal) received from one or more other components, or may output information to one or more other components. For example, a chip or modem of UE 120 may include: a processing system, a first interface for receiving or obtaining information, and a second interface for outputting, sending, or providing information. In some examples, the first interface may be an interface between a processing system and a receiver of the chip or modem, so that UE 120 may receive information or signal input, and may pass information to the processing system. In some examples, the second interface may be an interface between a processing system and a transmitter of the chip or modem, so that UE 120 may send information output from the chip or modem. A person of ordinary skill in the art will readily recognize that the second interface may also obtain or receive information or signal input, and the first interface may also output, send, or provide information.

[0055] In some aspects, controller / processor 240 may be a component of a processing system. A processing system may generally be a system or series of machines or components that receives inputs and processes the inputs to produce a set of outputs that may be passed to other systems or components, such as network node 110. For example, a processing system of network node 110 may be a system that includes various other components or subcomponents of network node 110.

[0056] The processing system of the network node 110 may interface with one or more other components of the network node 110, may process information (such as input or signal) received from one or more other components, or may output information to one or more other components. For example, a chip or modem of the network node 110 may include: a processing system, a first interface for receiving or obtaining information, and a second interface for outputting, sending, or providing information. In some examples, the first interface may be an interface between a processing system and a receiver of the chip or modem, so that the network node 110 may receive information or signal input, and may pass the information to the processing system. In some examples, the second interface may be an interface between a processing system and a transmitter of the chip or modem, so that the network node 110 may send information output from the chip or modem. A person of ordinary skill in the art will readily recognize that the second interface may also obtain or receive information or signal input, and the first interface may also output, send, or provide information.

[0057] The controller / processor 240 of the network node 110, the controller / processor 280 of the UE 120, or any other component of FIG. 2 may perform one or more techniques associated with a sidelink feedback channel slot format for mini-slot channel access, as described in more detail elsewhere herein. For example, the controller / processor 240 of the network node 110, the controller / processor 280 of the UE 120, or any other component (or combination of components) of FIG. 2 may perform or direct the operation of, for example, the process 1000 of FIG. 10 and / or other processes as described herein. The memory 242 and the memory 282 may store data and program codes for the network node 110 and the UE 120, respectively. In some examples, the memory 242 and the memory 282 may include a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing one or more instructions (e.g., code or program code) for wireless communication. For example, one or more instructions, when executed (e.g., directly, or after being compiled, converted, or interpreted) by one or more processors of network node 110 or UE 120, may cause the one or more processors, UE 120, or network node 110 to perform or direct the operation of, for example, process 1000 of FIG. 10 and / or other processes as described herein. In some examples, executing instructions may include running instructions, converting instructions, compiling instructions, and / or interpreting instructions, among others.

[0058] In some aspects, UE 120 includes components for receiving an indication of a sidelink timeslot format, wherein the sidelink timeslot format indicates a configuration of sidelink feedback resources, and wherein the sidelink timeslot format is associated with a plurality of starting positions for sidelink communications; components for measuring a signal associated with a channel access procedure, wherein measurement of the signal indicates that the UE is granted access to the sidelink channel, wherein measurement of the signal occurs after a first symbol of a first sidelink timeslot and before a minislot of the first sidelink timeslot, and wherein the sidelink timeslot format indicates that the first sidelink timeslot is associated with sidelink feedback resources; and / or components for transmitting sidelink communications based at least in part on the measurement of the signal for a transmit start position of a symbol of a minislot of the first sidelink timeslot or of a second sidelink timeslot, wherein the format of the sidelink feedback resources is based at least in part on the transmit start position. Means for UE 120 to perform operations described herein may include, for example, one or more of communications manager 140, antenna 252, modem 254, MIMO detector 256, receive processor 258, transmit processor 264, TX MIMO processor 266, controller / processor 280, or memory 282.

[0059] 2 are illustrated as distinct components, the functionality described above for these blocks may be implemented in a single hardware, software, or combined component or in various combinations of components. For example, the functionality described for the transmit processor 264, the receive processor 258, and / or the TX MIMO processor 266 may be performed by or under the control of the controller / processor 280.

[0060] As indicated above, FIG2 is provided as an example. Other examples may differ from the example described with respect to FIG2.

[0061] The deployment of a communication system (such as a 5G NR system) can be arranged in a variety of ways using various components or constituent parts. In a 5G NR system or network, a network node, a network entity, a mobility element of a network, a RAN node, a core network node, a network element, a base station, or a network equipment can be implemented in an aggregated or decomposed architecture. For example, a base station (such as a Node B (NB), an evolved NB (eNB), an NR base station, a 5G NB, an access point (AP), a TRP, or a cell, etc.) or one or more units (or one or more components) performing base station functions can be implemented as an aggregated base station (also called an independent base station or a monolithic base station) or a decomposed base station. A "network entity" or a "network node" may refer to a decomposed base station or one or more units of a decomposed base station (such as one or more CUs, one or more DUs, one or more RUs, or a combination thereof).

[0062] An aggregated base station (e.g., an aggregated network node) may be configured to utilize a radio protocol stack that is physically or logically integrated within a single RAN node (e.g., within a single device or unit). A decomposed base station (e.g., a decomposed network node) may be configured to utilize a protocol stack that is physically or logically distributed between two or more units (such as one or more CUs, one or more DUs, or one or more RUs). In some examples, the CU may be implemented within a network node, and one or more DUs may be co-located with the CU, or alternatively, may be geographically or virtually distributed across one or more other network nodes. The DU may be implemented to communicate with one or more RUs. Each of the CU, DU, and RU may also be implemented as a virtual unit, such as a virtual central unit (VCU), a virtual distributed unit (VDU), or a virtual radio unit (VRU), and the like.

[0063] Base station type operations or network designs may take into account the aggregated nature of base station functions. For example, a decomposed base station may be utilized in an IAB network, an open radio access network (O-RAN (such as a network configuration initiated by the O-RAN Alliance)), or a virtualized radio access network (vRAN, also known as a cloud radio access network (C-RAN)) to facilitate the scaling of a communication system by separating base station functions into one or more units that can be deployed separately. A decomposed base station may include functions implemented across two or more units at various physical locations, as well as functions implemented virtually for at least one unit, which may enable flexibility in network design. Various units of a decomposed base station may be configured for wired or wireless communication with at least one other unit of the decomposed base station.

[0064] FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example 300 of sidelink communications according to the present disclosure.

[0065] As shown in FIG. 3 , a first UE 305-1 may communicate with a second UE 305-2 (and one or more other UEs 305) via one or more side link channels 310. UEs 305-1 and 305-2 may communicate using one or more side link channels 310 for P2P communication, D2D communication, V2X communication (e.g., which may include V2V communication, V2I communication, and / or V2P communication) and / or mesh networks. In some aspects, UEs 305 (e.g., UEs 305-1 and / or UEs 305-2) may correspond to one or more other UEs described elsewhere herein, such as UE 120. In some aspects, one or more side link channels 310 may use a PC5 interface and / or may operate in a high frequency band (e.g., a 5.9 GHz band). Additionally or alternatively, UEs 305 may use global navigation satellite system (GNSS) timing to synchronize the timing of a transmit time interval (TTI) (e.g., a frame, subframe, time slot, or symbol).

[0066] As further shown in FIG. 3 , the one or more sidelink channels 310 may include a physical sidelink control channel (PSCCH) 315, a physical sidelink shared channel (PSSCH) 320, and / or a physical sidelink feedback channel (PSFCH) 325. The PSCCH 315 may be used to communicate control information, similar to a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) and / or a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) used for cellular communication with the network node 110 via an access link or access channel. The PSSCH 320 may be used to communicate data, similar to a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) and / or a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) used for cellular communication with the network node 110 via an access link or access channel. For example, the PSCCH 315 may carry sidelink control information (SCI) 330, which may indicate various control information for sidelink communication, such as one or more resources (e.g., time resources, frequency resources, and / or space resources), wherein a transport block (TB) 335 may be carried on the PSSCH 320. The TB 335 may include data. The PSFCH 325 may be used to communicate sidelink feedback 340, such as hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) feedback (eg, ACK or NACK (ACK / NACK) information), transmit power control (TPC), and / or scheduling request (SR).

[0067] Although shown on PSCCH 315, in some aspects, SCI 330 may include multiple communications in different levels, such as a first level SCI (SCI-1) and a second level SCI (SCI-2). SCI-1 may be sent on PSCCH 315. SCI-2 may be sent on PSSCH 320. SCI-1 may include, for example, an indication of one or more resources (e.g., time resources, frequency resources, and / or space resources) on PSSCH 320, information for decoding sidelink communications on PSSCH, quality of service (QoS) priority value, resource reservation period, PSSCH DMRS mode, SCI format for SCI-2, beta offset for SCI-2, number of PSSCH DMRS ports, and / or MCS. SCI-2 may include information associated with data transmission on PSSCH 320, such as a HARQ process identifier (ID), a new data indicator (NDI), a source identifier, a destination identifier, and / or a channel state information (CSI) report trigger.

[0068] In some aspects, one or more sidelink channels 310 may use a resource pool. For example, a scheduling assignment (e.g., included in SCI 330) may be sent in a subchannel using specific resource blocks (RBs) across time. In some aspects, data transmissions associated with the scheduling assignment (e.g., on PSSCH 320) may occupy adjacent RBs in the same subframe as the scheduling assignment (e.g., using frequency division multiplexing). In some aspects, the scheduling assignment and the associated data transmission are not sent on adjacent RBs.

[0069] In some aspects, the UE 305 may operate using a sidelink resource allocation mode (e.g., Mode 1) in which resource selection and / or scheduling is performed by a network node 110 (e.g., a base station, CU, or DU). For example, the UE 305 may receive a grant for sidelink channel access and / or scheduling from the network node 110 (e.g., directly or via one or more network nodes) (e.g., in downlink control information (DCI) or in a radio resource control (RRC) message, such as a grant for configuration). In some aspects, the UE 305 may operate using a resource allocation mode (e.g., Mode 2) in which resource selection and / or scheduling is performed by the UE 305 (e.g., instead of the network node 110). In some aspects, the UE 305 may perform resource selection and / or scheduling by sensing channel availability for transmission. For example, UE 305 may measure RSSI parameters associated with various sidelink channels (e.g., sidelink-RSSI (S-RSSI) parameters), may measure RSRP parameters associated with various sidelink channels (e.g., PSSCH-RSRP parameters), and / or may measure RSRQ parameters associated with various sidelink channels (e.g., PSSCH-RSRQ parameters), and may select a channel for sending sidelink communications based at least in part on the measurements.

[0070] Additionally or alternatively, the UE 305 may perform resource selection and / or scheduling using the SCI 330 received in the PSCCH 315, which may indicate occupied resources and / or channel parameters. Additionally or alternatively, the UE 305 may perform resource selection and / or scheduling by determining a channel busy rate (CBR) associated with various sidelink channels, which may be used for rate control (e.g., by indicating a maximum number of resource blocks that the UE 305 may use for a particular set of subframes).

[0071] In a resource allocation mode in which resource selection and / or scheduling is performed by the UE 305, the UE 305 may generate a sidelink grant and may transmit the grant in the SCI 330. The sidelink grant may indicate, for example, one or more parameters (e.g., transmission parameters) to be used for an upcoming sidelink transmission, such as one or more resource blocks (e.g., for TB 335) to be used for an upcoming sidelink transmission on the PSSCH 320, one or more subframes to be used for an upcoming sidelink transmission, and / or an MCS to be used for an upcoming sidelink transmission. In some aspects, the UE 305 may generate a sidelink grant that indicates one or more parameters (such as the periodicity of the sidelink transmission) for semi-persistent scheduling (SPS). Additionally or alternatively, the UE 305 may generate a sidelink grant for event-driven scheduling (such as for an on-demand sidelink message).

[0072] In some examples, the sidelink communication may be associated with a slot-based scheduling. Slot-based scheduling may use a slot as the minimum time unit for resource scheduling in the time domain (e.g., the minimum amount of time that can be reserved for sidelink communication is a slot). In some other examples, the sidelink communication may be associated with a microslot-based scheduling, which may also be referred to as a scheduling based on multiple starting positions (or multiple starting positions). The microslot may include a smaller number of symbols than the number of OFDM symbols included in the slot. For example, the starting position of the microslot may appear 1, 2, 4, 7, or another number of OFDM symbols after the start of the slot. The microslot may be located asynchronously with the start of the slot (e.g., the start of the microslot may not be aligned with the slot boundary). In some other examples, the start of the microslot may be aligned with the slot boundary. The microslot may be a scheduling unit smaller than a slot (e.g., a microslot may be a portion of a slot). In some examples, the microslot may be referred to as a half-slot (such as when the microslot includes half of the total number of symbols in the slot). In some examples, the mini-slot may include one or more data symbols representing data. Additionally or alternatively, the mini-slot may include one or more control symbols representing control information associated with the mini-slot. In some examples, the one or more control symbols may be located at or near the beginning of the mini-slot (e.g., in the first two symbols of the mini-slot) or at or near the end of the mini-slot (e.g., in the last symbol of the mini-slot). Alternatively, the mini-slot may not include a control symbol.

[0073] Using mini-slot based scheduling for sidelink communications may increase flexibility in reserving sidelink resources or may reduce latency associated with sidelink communications. However, mini-slot based scheduling may be associated with increased signaling overhead because more fine-grained resource reservations may be made, resulting in an increased number of resource reservations sent in the sidelink network.

[0074] As indicated above, FIG3 is provided as an example. Other examples may differ from the example described with respect to FIG3.

[0075] FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example 400 of side link communications and access link communications according to the present disclosure.

[0076] As shown in FIG4 , a transmitter (Tx) / receiver (Rx) UE 405 and an Rx / Tx UE 410 may communicate with each other via a side link, as described above in conjunction with FIG3 . As further shown, in some side link modes, the network node 110 may communicate with the Tx / Rx UE 405 (e.g., directly or via one or more network nodes), such as via a first access link. Additionally or alternatively, in some side link modes, the network node 110 may communicate with the Rx / Tx UE 410 (e.g., directly or via one or more network nodes), such as via a first access link. The Tx / Rx UE 405 and / or the Rx / Tx UE 410 may correspond to one or more UEs described elsewhere herein, such as the UE 120 of FIG1 . Thus, a direct link between the UEs 120 (e.g., via a PC5 interface) may be referred to as a side link, and a direct link between the network node 110 and the UE 120 (e.g., via a Uu interface) may be referred to as an access link. Sidelink communications may be sent via the sidelink, and access link communications may be sent via the access link. Access link communications may be downlink communications (from network node 110 to UE 120) or uplink communications (from UE 120 to network node 110).

[0077] As indicated above, FIG4 is provided as an example. Other examples may differ from the example described with respect to FIG4.

[0078] FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of sidelink communication 500 in a shared or unlicensed frequency band according to the present disclosure. Various techniques may be used to increase the data rate associated with the sidelink network. For example, some wireless networks may support carrier aggregation for sidelink communications. As another example, some wireless networks may support sidelink communications via an unlicensed frequency band or a shared frequency band (e.g., an unlicensed or shared spectrum), thereby providing additional frequency domain resources available for sidelink communications. A shared or unlicensed frequency band may be a frequency band associated with non-exclusive use associated with various operators, devices, or RATs, etc.

[0079] For example, in a shared or unlicensed band, devices using different RATs can use the same band (e.g., the same channel) to communicate. In order for two different types of devices (e.g., using different RATs) to coexist while using a common carrier frequency, a mechanism is needed to efficiently utilize the resource allocations made by the two RATs without negatively affecting the operation of each RAT. For example, in a shared or unlicensed band, a transmitting device may contend for channel access with other devices before transmitting on a shared or unlicensed channel to reduce or prevent conflicts on a shared or unlicensed channel. In order to contend for channel access, the transmitting device may perform a channel access procedure for shared or unlicensed band channel access, such as a listen-before-talk (or listen-before-send) (LBT) procedure or another type of channel access procedure. A channel access procedure may be performed to determine whether a physical channel (e.g., a radio resource of a channel) is free for use or busy (e.g., being used by another wireless communication device (such as a UE, an IoT device, or a wireless local area network (WLAN) device, etc.)).

[0080] The channel access procedure may include sensing or measuring a physical channel (e.g., performing an RSRP measurement, detecting an energy level, or performing another type of measurement) during a channel access gap (which may also be referred to as a contention window (CW)), and determining whether a shared or unlicensed channel is idle or busy based at least in part on the sensed or measured signal on the physical channel (e.g., based at least in part on whether the measurement satisfies a threshold such as an energy detection threshold). If the transmitting device determines that the channel access procedure is successful (e.g., if the measurement of the physical channel satisfies the energy detection threshold), the transmitting device may perform one or more transmissions on the shared or unlicensed channel during a transmission opportunity, which may extend up to a channel occupancy time (COT). If the transmitting device determines that the channel access procedure is unsuccessful (e.g., if the measurement of the physical channel does not satisfy the energy detection threshold), the transmitting device may refrain from performing one or more transmissions on the shared or unlicensed channel.

[0081] For example, as shown in FIG5 , UE 120 may attempt to use a first transmission opportunity 505 to transmit a sidelink communication (e.g., sidelink data or sidelink TB). A transmission opportunity may be a time-frequency resource in which a UE (or another wireless communication device) has an opportunity to transmit a signal. "Transmission opportunity" and "transmission opportunity" are used interchangeably herein. UE 120 may perform a channel access procedure (e.g., as an example, shown as an LBT procedure in FIG5 ) before transmitting a sidelink communication. As shown in FIG5 , the channel access procedure may not be successful (e.g., a shared or unlicensed band may be busy). Therefore, UE 120 may refrain from using the first transmission opportunity 505 to transmit a sidelink communication.

[0082] As shown in FIG5 , UE 120 may be associated with a second transmission opportunity 510 or a third transmission opportunity 515. For example, in some cases, based at least in part on the inability to use the first transmission opportunity 505 to transmit the sidelink communication (e.g., due to a channel access procedure failure), UE 120 may send a request to network node 110 for additional time-frequency resources to be used for transmitting retransmissions of the sidelink communication. Network node 110 may send an indication of the second transmission opportunity 510 or the third transmission opportunity 515 to UE 120 (e.g., directly or via one or more network nodes). This may consume additional radio resources and signaling overhead associated with UE 120 sending a request for additional resources and network node 110 sending a grant indicating the additional resources.

[0083] As indicated above, FIG5 is provided as an example. Other examples may differ from the example described with respect to FIG5.

[0084] FIG6 is a diagram illustrating an example of channel access 600 in a shared or unlicensed band according to the present disclosure. As shown in FIG6, UE 120 may communicate in a shared or unlicensed band. For example, UE 120 may communicate one or more side link signals in a shared or unlicensed band. As shown in FIG6, UE 120 may be configured with one or more side link time slots 610. For example, UE 120 may use time slot-based scheduling to send or receive one or more side link signals. In other words, UE 120 may only send signals that start at a time slot boundary. As used herein, "time slot boundary" may refer to the first symbol (e.g., the first OFDM symbol) in a time slot (e.g., the earliest symbol in time in a time slot).

[0085] One or more other devices, such as device 605, may operate in a shared or unlicensed band. Device 605 may be associated with a different RAT (e.g., compared to UE 120), a different slot format, a different transmit timing, or a different scheduling technique (e.g., different from the RAT used by UE 120), etc. For example, device 605 may be associated with asynchronous transmit timing (e.g., the device may not have to wait for scheduling to transmit a signal).

[0086] In a first operation 615, the UE 120 may perform a channel access procedure, such as an LBT procedure (e.g., in a manner similar to that described in more detail elsewhere herein, such as in conjunction with FIG. 5). In a second operation 620, the UE 120 may detect that the channel (e.g., a shared or unlicensed band) is idle (e.g., based at least in part on the channel access procedure being successful). However, the timing at which the UE 120 detects that the channel is idle may occur in the middle of the sidelink time slot 610. In other words, the timing at which the UE 120 detects that the channel (e.g., a shared or unlicensed band) is idle may be arbitrary (e.g., may occur at any time). However, the UE 120 may need to wait until the next sidelink time slot 610 (e.g., until the next time slot boundary) before sending the sidelink communication. For example, since the sidelink communication is synchronous, the timing of the transmission of the sidelink communication may be defined as the start of the sidelink time slot 610. Therefore, the UE 120 may wait until the next time slot (e.g., after detecting that the channel is idle) before sending the sidelink communication.

[0087] However, in the time between the time when the UE 120 detects that the channel is idle and the start of the next time slot, the device 605 may sense the channel (e.g., is idle) and start sending a signal. For example, in a third operation 625, the device 605 may perform a channel access procedure. The device 605 may detect that the channel (e.g., a shared or unlicensed band) is idle (e.g., because the UE 120 is waiting until the next time slot to send a side link signal). Therefore, in a fourth operation 630, the device 605 may send a signal. Since the device 605 may be an asynchronous device or may be associated with a different time slot format or different time slot timing than the UE 120, the device 605 may start sending a signal before the start of the next side link time slot 610 (e.g., in the fourth operation 630).

[0088] In the fifth operation 635, the UE 120 may perform a channel access procedure (e.g., an LBT procedure) shortly before the start of the next side link time slot 610 (e.g., one or more OFDM symbols before) to ensure that the channel is still idle. However, since the device 605 may have started to send signals on the channel (e.g., in the fourth operation 630), the UE 120 (e.g., in the fifth operation 635) may detect that the channel is busy. Therefore, in the sixth operation 640, the UE 120 may refrain from sending the side link signal at the next time slot boundary. In other words, due to the signal sent by the device 605, the UE 120 may not be able to send at the next time slot boundary. Since the UE 120 delays the transmission of the side link signal until the next side link time slot 610 after detecting that the channel is idle (e.g., in the second operation 620), the UE 120 may lose the opportunity to transmit. This may increase the latency associated with the side link signal transmitted in the shared or unlicensed band.

[0089] This problem may be prevalent in sidelink configurations associated with low subcarrier spacing (SCS), such as 15 kHz or 30 kHz, etc. (e.g., because the slot duration may be longer for the lower SCS). For example, the slot duration for a 15 kHz SCS may be approximately 72 microseconds, and the slot duration for a 30 kHz SCS may be approximately 36 microseconds. In some examples, channel access procedures (such as LBT procedures) may be completed in as fast as 16 microseconds. Thus, in a low SCS scenario, while UE 120 is waiting for the next sidelink slot 610, another device (such as device 605) may complete a channel access procedure.

[0090] As indicated above, FIG6 is provided as an example. Other examples may differ from the example described with respect to FIG6.

[0091] FIG. 7 is a diagram of an example 700 associated with mini-slot channel access for sidelink communications according to the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 7 , UE 120 may operate in a shared or unlicensed band. For example, UE 120 may communicate one or more sidelink signals in a shared or unlicensed band in a manner similar to that described elsewhere herein. As shown in FIG. 7 , UE 120 may be configured with one or more sidelink slots 710 and one or more mini-slots 715. For example, UE 120 may send or receive one or more sidelink signals using mini-slot-based scheduling. In other words, UE 120 may start sending a signal at the beginning of a sidelink slot 710 or at the beginning of a mini-slot 715.

[0092] In some examples, the side link time slot 710 may be associated with a first resource pool, and the side link mini-time slot 715 may be associated with a second resource pool. The full time slot resource pool and the mini-time slot resource pool may be associated with time domain resources that overlap at least partially. The full time slot resource pool may support transmission starting at the first (e.g., earliest) symbol in the side link time slot 710, wherein the mini-time slot resource pool may support transmission starting at a certain time after the first (e.g., earliest) symbol in the side link time slot 710. The UE 120 may select the full time slot resource pool or the mini-time slot resource pool based on the time when the UE 120 detects that the channel is idle or available. As another example, a single resource pool may be configured with multiple possible (e.g., multiple candidate) time domain starting positions for side link transmission. For example, the first possible time domain starting position may be the first (e.g., earliest) symbol in the side link time slot 710. The second possible time domain starting position may be the first (e.g., earliest) symbol in the mini-time slot 715. UE 120 may select a time domain starting position from a plurality of possible (eg, a plurality of candidate) time domain starting positions based on a time at which UE 120 detects that a channel is idle or available.

[0093] One or more other devices, such as device 705, may operate in a shared or unlicensed band. Device 705 may be associated with a different RAT (e.g., compared to UE 120), a different slot format, a different transmit timing, or a different scheduling technique (e.g., different from the RAT used by UE 120), etc. For example, device 705 may be associated with asynchronous transmit timing (e.g., the device may not have to wait for scheduling to transmit a signal).

[0094] In the first operation 720, the UE 120 may (e.g., in a manner similar to that described in more detail elsewhere herein) perform a channel access procedure, such as an LBT procedure. In the second operation 725, the UE 120 may (e.g., based at least in part on the success of the channel access procedure) detect that the channel (e.g., a shared or unlicensed band) is idle. However, the timing at which the UE 120 detects that the channel is idle may occur in the middle of the sidelink time slot 710. In other words, the timing at which the UE 120 detects that the channel (e.g., a shared or unlicensed band) is idle may be arbitrary (e.g., may occur at any time). However, in the third operation 730, the UE 120 may begin sending a sidelink signal at the beginning of the mini-time slot 715. For example, as shown in FIG. 7, the UE 120 may not need to wait until the beginning of the next time slot (e.g., after detecting that the channel is idle in the second operation 725) to send a sidelink signal in the third operation 730. In some examples, for the first time slot of the COT, the sidelink communication may be associated with a single TB. The size of the TB may be selected (e.g., by the UE 120 or by the network node 110) based on the resources included in the mini-slot 715. This may reduce the complexity associated with monitoring the sidelink slot 710 and the mini-slot 715 (e.g., the UE 120 may not need to have two different assumptions for two different TB sizes, such as a first assumption for a first TB size associated with the sidelink slot 710 and a second assumption for a second TB size associated with the mini-slot 715). The PSCCH and PSSCH may be mapped (e.g., to resources) and rate matched to the sidelink slot 710 or the mini-slot 715 based on the timing at which the UE 120 detects that the channel is idle and / or available.

[0095] This may reduce the likelihood that the device 705 will be able to sense a channel (e.g., a shared or unlicensed band) and initiate a transmission before the next transmission opportunity for the UE 120. For example, in a fourth operation 735, the device 705 may perform a channel access procedure. However, due to the transmission of the sidelink signal by the UE 120 in the third operation 730, the device 705 may detect that the channel is busy and may refrain from transmitting on the channel. Therefore, the use of mini-slot-based scheduling by the UE 120 may increase the likelihood that the UE 120 will be able to transmit the sidelink signal, or may reduce the latency associated with the sidelink signal.

[0096] As indicated above, FIG7 is provided as an example. Other examples may differ from the example described with respect to FIG7.

[0097] FIG8 is a diagram illustrating an example of a sidelink slot format 800 including PSFCH resources according to the present disclosure. As shown in FIG8, a slot 805 (e.g., a sidelink slot) may include a plurality of symbols 810 (e.g., 14 symbols 810 as shown in FIG8). The slot 805 may include a set of time-frequency resources (such as resource elements (REs)) associated with or reserved for transmission via the PSCCH. Additionally, the slot 805 may include a set of time-frequency resources (such as REs) associated with or reserved for transmission via the PSSCH. In addition, the slot 805 may include a set of time-frequency resources (such as REs) associated with or reserved for transmission via the PSFCH.

[0098] In other words, PSCCH, PSSCH, and PSFCH may be sent in the same time slot (e.g., time slot 805). PSCCH may occupy at most one subchannel with the lowest subchannel index. SCI-1 may be sent in the PSCCH and may indicate information about the PSSCH bandwidth and resource reservation in the upcoming time slot. PSCCH may be configured (or preconfigured) to occupy 10, 12, 15, 20, or 25 physical resource blocks (PRBs) and may be restricted to one subchannel, where each subchannel may occupy 10, 15, 20, 25, 50, 75, or 100 PRBs. The PSCCH duration may be configured (or preconfigured) to be two or three symbols. For resource pools, the size of PSCCH may be fixed. PSSCH may occupy at most The SCI-2 may be decoded after decoding the PSCCH. In other words, the PSSCH may occupy at least one subchannel and may include the SCI-2.

[0099] As shown in FIG8 , at least one symbol 810 in the time slot 805 may be an automatic gain control (AGC) symbol 815. For example, in order to compensate for the power variability of the side link signal, the UE may perform an AGC operation on the signal in the first one or more symbols 810 of each time slot 805 so as to adjust the power of the signal to a suitable amplitude. Therefore, when performing a demodulation operation on the signal, if the AGC operation is performed on the signal in the AGC symbol 815, the UE may discard the AGC symbol 815.

[0100] In some examples, the UE may send or receive HARQ feedback via a PSFCH, such as PSFCH 325. The PSFCH may be configured or enabled for unicast transmissions (e.g., for one-to-one communication) or for groupcast transmissions (e.g., for one-to-many communication). The PSFCH transmission may include one bit indicating ACK feedback or NACK feedback. For multicast transmissions, in some cases, the PSFCH transmission may be associated with NACK feedback (e.g., the UE may send a PSFCH transmission to indicate NACK feedback and may not send a PSFCH transmission to indicate ACK feedback). Alternatively, for multicast transmissions, the PSFCH transmission may be associated with ACK feedback and NACK feedback. The PSFCH transmission may indicate HARQ feedback (e.g., ACK / NACK feedback) for a transmission received K time slots prior to the transmission of the PSFCH transmission (e.g., K time slots prior to time slot 805). The value for K may be configured for the UE and may be 2, 3, or another amount of time slots.

[0101] A PSFCH transmission may use a format. The format may be based at least in part on (or may be the same as) a PUCCH format (e.g., as defined or otherwise fixed by a wireless communication standard such as 3GPP). For example, a PSFCH transmission may use PUCCH format 0 (e.g., as defined or otherwise fixed by a wireless communication standard such as 3GPP). In some cases, only a single format (e.g., PUCCH format 0) may be defined for the PSFCH.

[0102] The UE may receive a PSFCH configuration (such as from the network node 110 or another control entity). The PSFCH configuration may be associated with or included in the sidelink resource pool configuration. The PSFCH configuration may indicate a periodicity associated with the PSFCH. The periodicity may indicate how often resources are to be reserved for the PSFCH according to the amount of time slots. For example, the periodicity may be associated with a value of 0 (e.g., indicating that the PSFCH is disabled or not configured), 1 (e.g., indicating that each time slot includes resources reserved for the PSFCH), 2 (e.g., indicating that every other time slot includes resources reserved for the PSFCH), 4 (e.g., indicating that every 4 time slots include resources reserved for the PSFCH), or another value. The PSFCH configuration may indicate a time interval (e.g., a minimum time interval) between resources reserved for the PSFCH and an associated PSSCH reception (e.g., resources reserved for the PSFCH may be used by the UE to send ACK / NACK feedback for associated PSSCH reception). The time gap may be defined according to an amount of time slots, such as 2 time slots, 3 time slots, or another amount of time slots.

[0103] The PSFCH configuration may indicate the amount of multiplexing cyclic shifts. For example, because the PSFCH may reuse PUCCH format 0, the PSFCH may be associated with 2 base sequences with one or more allowed cyclic shifts (e.g., to mitigate the risk of collision or interference with PSFCH transmissions from another UE using the same time-frequency resources). The PSFCH configuration may indicate the resources reserved for the PSFCH. For example, a configuration parameter (such as an rbSetPSFCH parameter defined by a wireless communication standard or otherwise fixed) may indicate a set of PRBs reserved for the PSFCH (e.g., a set of PRBs from a resource pool used for PSFCH transmissions).

[0104] For example, the PSFCH may be mapped to one RB. A configuration parameter, such as the rbSetPSFCH parameter, may provide a set of PRBs in a resource pool that may be used for the PSFCH. The UE may identify candidate RBs for the PSFCH for subchannel j and time slot i. The UE may Assigned to PSFCH RBs. This may be the amount of time slots associated with the PSFCH (eg, as indicated by a periodicity associated with the PSFCH). can be the amount of RB, given by Definition. For example, if is 2 and If i=5 and j=0, RBs [0 to 4] for i=0 and RBs [5 to 9] for i=1 may be reserved by the UE for PSFCH. The UE may determine the resources for multiplexing PSFCH as ,in is the value configured for the PSFCH associated with the starting subchannel of the PSFCH, and where is the amount of cyclic shift configured for PSFCH. Select RBs from the RBs reserved for PSFCH, where is an identifier of a transmitter (eg, of a UE), and wherein is the receiver identifier for multicast transmission (if not multicast, =0).

[0105] The PSFCH transmission may be replicated in the previous symbol. For example, as shown in FIG8 , two symbols 810 may be allocated for the PSFCH. The second symbol 810 may include an RB selected by the UE for the PSFCH transmission, and the first symbol 810 may include a replicated (e.g., identical) version of the PSFCH transmission. For example, the first symbol may be used by the receiver for AGC operations. In other words, the PSFCH transmission may be associated with a single RB in a single symbol, where the information carried in the single symbol is replicated across 2 symbols.

[0106] The PSFCH transmission may be based at least in part on a Zadoff-Chu sequence. The Zadoff-Chu sequence may be generated based at least in part on a group and a sequence number. The group may be indicated by a configuration parameter associated with a PSFCH hopping (e.g., frequency hopping) configuration, such as a sl-PSFCH-HopID-r16 parameter. In some examples, the PSFCH may be associated with cyclic shift hopping or frequency hopping. For example, the PSFCH may be based on the equation to apply cyclic shift jump, where is based at least in part on a PSFCH configuration of supported cyclic shift pairs, is based at least in part on the value of ACK / NACK and the HARQ mode associated with the PSFCH transmission, and is a function based at least in part on the slot number and symbol index of the PSFCH.

[0107] The UE may determine the transmit power for PSFCH transmission using open loop power control or closed loop power control. For example, the UE may determine the transmit power for PSFCH transmission based at least in part on a nominal transmit power level (e.g., configured for PSFCH or configured for a resource pool associated with PSFCH), a scaling factor based at least in part on a subcarrier spacing configured for a resource pool associated with PSFCH, or a downlink path loss value, etc. For example, the UE may use the equation To determine the transmit power for PSFCH transmission, is the nominal transmit power level, is based at least in part on the subcarrier spacing ( ), and is the compensation value for the downlink path loss (e.g., where is a path loss offset (e.g., a fractional path loss parameter) configured for PSFCH (open loop power control parameter (alpha or α), and PL is the downlink path loss measured via a reference signal). For example, the transmit power used for PSFCH transmissions may compensate for the downlink path loss to mitigate the risk of interference caused by the PSFCH transmissions to the Uu interface or access link with the network node 110. In some examples, where the UE is transmitting multiple PSFCH transmissions simultaneously, the maximum transmit power of the UE may be divided (e.g., equally) among all the multiple PSFCH transmissions.

[0108] In some cases, the UE may be permitted to start a sidelink transmission in the middle of the time slot 805 (e.g., at the beginning of the mini-time slot in a manner similar to that described above in conjunction with FIG. 7). For example, the UE may start the sidelink transmission at symbol 7 shown in FIG. 8. However, the time slot format may indicate that the time slot 805 includes PSFCH resources or PSFCH instances (e.g., in symbols 11 and 12 as shown in FIG. 8). In such examples, the format of the mini-time slot (e.g., symbol 7 of the start time slot 805) may not be defined or configured (e.g., when the time slot 805 is configured with PSFCH resources). For example, assuming that the UE uses time slot-based scheduling, the PSFCH configuration may be determined (e.g., by the network node 110). If the UE initiates a transmission in the middle of the time slot 805 (e.g., at symbol 7 or another symbol other than symbol 0), the UE may not know what the time slot format of the mini-time slot is (e.g., which symbols are allocated for PSCCH transmission and / or PSSCH transmission) and / or how to handle the configured PSFCH resources. As a result, the data capacity associated with the mini-slot may be reduced (e.g., due to the resources allocated for the PSFCH) and / or configured PSFCH instances may be missed (e.g., if the UE ignores the PSFCH resources when transmitting using the mini-slot). This may reduce efficiency and / or communication performance.

[0109] Some techniques and apparatus described herein implement a sidelink feedback channel (e.g., PSFCH) slot format for mini-slot channel access. For example, a UE may receive an indication of a sidelink slot format. The sidelink slot format may indicate a configuration of a sidelink feedback resource (e.g., a PSFCH resource). The sidelink slot format may indicate that the sidelink slot is associated with a transmission start position including a first symbol of the sidelink slot and one or more other symbols of the sidelink slot (e.g., may indicate that mini-slot scheduling is enabled). The UE may measure a signal associated with a channel access procedure, wherein the measurement of the signal indicates that the UE is permitted to access the sidelink channel. The measurement of the signal may occur after a first symbol of a first sidelink slot (e.g., symbol 0) and before a second symbol of the first sidelink slot associated with a transmission start position as indicated by the sidelink slot format (e.g., a starting symbol of a mini-slot). The sidelink slot format may indicate that the first sidelink slot is associated with a sidelink feedback resource. In other words, based on performing a channel access procedure (e.g., an LBT procedure), the UE may determine that the sidelink transmission is to occur in a mini-slot included in a slot configured with a PSFCH resource. The UE may transmit the sidelink communication using a transmission start position of a second symbol of a first sidelink slot or a symbol of a second sidelink slot based at least in part on the measurement of the signal. In some aspects, the format of the sidelink feedback resource may be based at least in part on the transmission start position.

[0110] For example, if the mini-slot and the PSFCH resource are included in the same time slot, the mini-slot may include a sidelink feedback resource (e.g., a PSFCH resource). As another example, a symbol configured to be associated with a sidelink feedback resource may be used by the UE to send sidelink data. In other words, the UE may allocate a symbol configured to be associated with a sidelink feedback resource for a sidelink data channel to the mini-slot (e.g., the UE may cover the PSFCH resource with a PSSCH resource). As another example, if the time slot in which the mini-slot appears is configured with a PSFCH resource, the UE may refrain from transmitting in the mini-slot. For example, the UE may start transmitting a sidelink communication at a symbol (e.g., symbol 0 or the first symbol) of a second sidelink time slot. In other words, the UE may refrain from using mini-slot scheduling in a time slot configured with a sidelink feedback resource (e.g., a PSFCH resource).

[0111] Thus, the UE may identify the slot format of a mini-slot that appears in a slot configured with sidelink feedback resources (e.g., PSFCH resources). For example, the UE may be enabled to identify resource allocations for symbols of the mini-slot. Defining the mini-slot structure when the mini-slot includes sidelink feedback resources may ensure that when mini-slot scheduling is enabled, the UEs in the sidelink network are synchronized for sidelink feedback resource configuration. Ensuring that the UE is synchronized with respect to the mini-slot format may improve communication performance and / or reduce the likelihood that the UE misses sidelink feedback transmissions and / or sidelink data transmissions.

[0112] As indicated above, FIG8 is provided as an example. Other examples may differ from the example described with respect to FIG8.

[0113] 9A to 9D are diagrams of an example 900 associated with a sidelink feedback channel slot format for mini-slot channel access according to the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 9A , one or more network nodes 110 (e.g., CU, DU, RU, or base station) may communicate with a first UE 905 (e.g., first UE 120) and a second UE 910 (e.g., second UE 120). In some aspects, the network node 110, the first UE 905, and the second UE 910 may be part of a wireless network (e.g., wireless network 100). The first UE 905 and the network node 110 may have established a wireless connection prior to the operations shown in FIG. 9A to 9D. Similarly, the second UE 910 and the network node 110 may have established a wireless connection prior to the operations shown in FIG. 9A to 9D. The first UE 905 and the second UE 910 may communicate with each other using a sidelink (e.g., in a manner similar to that described in conjunction with FIG. 4 and FIG. 5).

[0114] The first UE 905 and the second UE 910 may operate in an unlicensed or shared side link channel (e.g., in an unlicensed or shared frequency band). In some aspects, the first UE 905 and the second UE 910 may communicate via an unlicensed or shared side link frequency band (e.g., sometimes referred to as a side link unlicensed (SL-U) frequency band). For example, the first UE 905 and the second UE 910 may communicate via one or more SL-U procedures (e.g., as defined by a wireless communication standard such as 3GPP or otherwise fixed).

[0115] As used herein, a network node 110 "sending" a communication to a UE 120 (e.g., a first UE 905 or a second UE 910) may refer to direct transmission (e.g., from the network node 110 to the UE 120) or indirect transmission via one or more other network nodes or devices. For example, if the network node 110 is a DU, indirect transmission to the UE 120 may include the DU sending the communication to the RU and the RU sending the communication to the UE 120. Similarly, a UE 120 (e.g., a first UE 905 or a second UE 910) "sending" a communication to the network node 110 may refer to direct transmission (e.g., from the UE 120 to the network node 110) or indirect transmission via one or more other network nodes or devices. For example, if the network node 110 is a DU, indirect transmission to the network node 110 may include the UE 120 sending the communication to the RU and the RU sending the communication to the DU. In some aspects, references herein to "network node 110" or "the network node 110" may refer to multiple network nodes.

[0116] In some aspects, as shown by reference numeral 915, the network node 110 may send and the first UE 905 and / or the second UE 910 may receive configuration information. In some aspects, the first UE 905 or the second UE 910 may receive the configuration information via one or more of RRC signaling, one or more medium access control (MAC) control elements (MAC-CE) or DCI, etc. In some other aspects, the first UE 905 and / or the second UE 910 may receive the configuration from another UE (e.g., via sidelink control signaling, sidelink RRC signaling, or another type of signaling), from a roadside unit (RSU), or from another network entity. In some aspects, the configuration information may include one or more configuration parameters for selection by the first UE 905 and / or the second UE 910 or explicit configuration information for the first UE 905 and / or the second UE 910 to configure itself, etc. In some aspects, the first UE 905 and / or the second UE 910 may receive the configuration information via a Uu interface or an access link. In some aspects, the first UE 905 and / or the second UE 910 may receive configuration information via the PC5 interface.

[0117] In some aspects, the configuration information may be associated with the side link configuration. For example, the first UE 905 and / or the second UE 910 may be configured to perform one or more operations associated with the side link or PC5 interface described herein. In some aspects, the configuration information may be a SL-U configuration or may be associated with a SL-U configuration. For example, the first UE 905 or the second UE 910 may be configured to perform one or more operations described herein via a shared or unlicensed band. For example, the configuration information may indicate one or more shared or unlicensed bands to be used by the first UE 905 or the second UE 910 for side link communication. Additionally or alternatively, the configuration information may indicate one or more resource pool configurations to be used by the first UE 905 and / or the second UE 910 for side link communication.

[0118] As used herein, "starting time domain position" and / or "transmitting starting position" may refer to the time when a communication is first transmitted (e.g., the first (or earliest) OFDM symbol in time associated with the communication). As described elsewhere herein, "multiple available starting time domain positions" may refer to multiple or additional opportunities (e.g., in addition to configured time slot boundaries) for UEs (e.g., first UE 905 and / or second UE 910) to initiate sidelink communications. Multiple available starting time domain positions may be associated with mini-slot-based scheduling. For example, multiple available starting time domain positions may include one or more starting time domain positions that are not aligned with time slot boundaries. As an example, multiple available starting time domain positions may be associated with mini-slots. For example, multiple available starting time domain positions may include the start of a time slot (e.g., a configured side link time slot) and the start of a mini-slot. In other words, multiple available starting time domain positions may be associated with one or more mini-slots.

[0119] In some aspects, the configuration information may include a PSFCH configuration. The PSFCH configuration may be associated with, or included in, a sidelink resource pool configuration. The PSFCH configuration may indicate a periodicity associated with the PSFCH. The periodicity may indicate a frequency at which resources are to be reserved for the PSFCH based on the number of time slots. For example, the periodicity may be associated with a value of 0 (e.g., indicating that the PSFCH is disabled or not configured), 1 (e.g., indicating that each time slot includes resources reserved for the PSFCH), 2 (e.g., indicating that every other time slot includes resources reserved for the PSFCH), 4 (e.g., indicating that every 4 time slots include resources reserved for the PSFCH), or another value. The PSFCH configuration may indicate a time interval (e.g., a minimum time interval) between resources reserved for the PSFCH and an associated PSSCH reception (e.g., resources reserved for the PSFCH may be used by the UE to send ACK / NACK feedback for an associated PSSCH reception). The time interval may be defined based on a number of time slots, such as 2 time slots, 3 time slots, or another number of time slots.

[0120] The PSFCH configuration may indicate the number of multiplexed cyclic shifts. For example, because the PSFCH may reuse PUCCH format 0, the PSFCH may be associated with 2 base sequences with one or more allowed cyclic shifts (e.g., to mitigate the risk of collision or interference with a PSFCH transmission from another UE using the same time-frequency resources). The PSFCH configuration may indicate the resources reserved for the PSFCH. For example, a configuration parameter (such as an rbSetPSFCH parameter defined by a wireless communication standard or otherwise fixed) may indicate a set of PRBs reserved for the PSFCH (e.g., a set of PRBs from a resource pool used for PSFCH transmissions).

[0121] For example, the first UE 905 and / or the second UE 910 may receive an indication of a sidelink slot format (e.g., via configuration information such as in one or more resource pool configurations). The indication of the sidelink slot format may indicate or be associated with a configuration of a sidelink feedback resource (e.g., a PSFCH configuration). Additionally, the sidelink slot format and / or configuration information may indicate that the sidelink slot is associated with a transmission start position including a first symbol of the sidelink slot (e.g., the earliest symbol and / or symbol 0 in the time domain) and one or more other symbols of the sidelink slot (e.g., symbols that appear after the earliest symbol in the time domain, such as the 4th symbol, the 7th symbol, and / or the 10th symbol). In other words, the sidelink slot format and / or configuration information may indicate that microslot scheduling is enabled and may indicate a configuration of PSFCH resources for the sidelink slot.

[0122] In some aspects, the first UE 905 may send and the network node 110 may receive a capability report. The capability report may indicate that the first UE 905 supports sidelink communications in a shared or unlicensed channel or frequency band. Additionally, the capability report may indicate that the first UE 905 supports scheduling using multiple starting positions or based on mini-slots. The network node 110 may configure the first UE 905 to use a shared or unlicensed channel or frequency band or to use multiple starting positions or based on mini-slots based at least in part on receiving the capability report. In a similar manner to that described above, the second UE 910 may send and the network node 110 may receive a capability report.

[0123] In some aspects, a starting position (e.g., a starting symbol) within a time slot may be configured and / or negotiated (e.g., via sidelink or PC5 RRC signaling) between the first UE 905 and the second UE 910. For example, which symbols of a time slot will be used as a starting time domain position for sidelink communications may be configured on a per-link basis (e.g., between the first UE 905 and the second UE 910).

[0124] The first UE 905 may configure itself based at least in part on the configuration information. In some aspects, the second UE 910 may configure itself based at least in part on the configuration information. In some aspects, the first UE 905 or the second UE 910 may be configured to perform one or more operations described herein based at least in part on the configuration information.

[0125] As shown by reference numeral 920, the first UE 905 may perform a channel access procedure, such as an LBT procedure. For example, the first UE 905 may perform one or more measurements associated with a channel access procedure for accessing a shared or unlicensed side link channel (e.g., a shared or unlicensed band). For example, the channel access procedure may be an LBT procedure. For example, the first UE 905 may detect or determine that the first UE 905 has side link data to be sent. Therefore, the first UE 905 may attempt to access a shared or unlicensed side link channel (e.g., a shared or unlicensed band) to send side link data by performing a channel access procedure.

[0126] For example, the first UE 905 may measure a signal associated with a channel access procedure. In some aspects, the measurement of the signal may indicate that the first UE 905 is permitted to access the side link channel. For example, the measurement may satisfy an energy detection threshold associated with the channel access procedure. For example, if the measurement satisfies the energy detection threshold, the first UE 905 may determine that a shared or unlicensed side link channel (e.g., a shared or unlicensed band) is idle or available. If the measurement does not satisfy the energy detection threshold, the first UE 905 may determine that a shared or unlicensed side link channel (e.g., a shared or unlicensed band) is busy (e.g., the channel access procedure may be associated with a failure), and the first UE 905 may refrain from transmitting using the shared or unlicensed side link channel.

[0127] For example, as shown by reference numeral 925, the first UE 905 may determine or detect that a measurement of a signal (e.g., of a shared or unlicensed sidelink channel) meets an energy detection threshold at a time after a first symbol of a time slot 930 (e.g., symbol 0 or the first symbol in the time domain) but before a first symbol of a mini-time slot included in the time slot 930. The time slot 930 may be associated with a sidelink feedback resource. For example, one or more symbols of the time slot 930 may be configured to be associated with a PSFCH resource (e.g., as indicated by a PSFCH configuration). For example, the measurement of the signal may occur after the first symbol of the time slot 930 and before a second symbol of the time slot 930 associated with a transmission start position as indicated by the sidelink time slot format (e.g., the first symbol of a mini-time slot included in the time slot 930). As an example, the measurement and / or determination that the measurement satisfies the energy detection threshold may occur after symbol 0 of time slot 930 but before symbol 7 of time slot 930 (e.g., where symbol 7 is the last possible starting time domain position or transmission start position in the time slot), as depicted in Figures 9B and 9C. Thus, the first UE 905 may determine that the mini-time slot is to be used for the transmission of sidelink data.

[0128] As indicated by reference numeral 935, the first UE 905 may determine whether mini-slot usage is enabled for the time slot 930 (e.g., because the time slot 930 includes PSFCH resources and / or PSFCH instances). For example, in some aspects, when a time slot (e.g., time slot 930) includes PSFCH resources, mini-slot usage may be disabled or not allowed (e.g., as depicted and described in more detail in conjunction with FIG. 9D ). In some aspects, based on the period associated with the PSFCH resources being greater than one time slot, when the time slot includes PSFCH resources, mini-slot usage may be disabled or not allowed (e.g., because if the period associated with the PSFCH resources is one time slot, the PSFCH resources will be included in every time slot and no time slots will be available for mini-slot usage).

[0129] Additionally or alternatively, the first UE 905 may determine a format of sidelink feedback resources (e.g., PSFCH resources) included in a mini-slot in time slot 930 (e.g., if mini-slot usage is enabled for time slot 930). In some aspects, the format of the sidelink feedback resources may indicate that the mini-slot includes sidelink feedback resources in a time domain location similar or identical to that indicated or configured for time slot 930.

[0130] For example, as shown in FIG. 9B , the timeslot 930 may include a mini-slot 960 (e.g., a mini-slot to be used by the first UE 905 to send sidelink data, as described in more detail elsewhere herein). The mini-slot 960 may include symbols 7 to 13 of the timeslot 930. As shown in FIG. 9B , the first symbol of the mini-slot (e.g., symbol 7) may be an AGC symbol 965. The format of the sidelink feedback resource may indicate that the first one or more symbols of the first sidelink timeslot are associated with the sidelink feedback resource (e.g., symbol 13), and the second one or more symbols of the first sidelink timeslot (e.g., symbol 12) are associated with AGC operation for the sidelink feedback channel. In other words, if the PSFCH instance falls into the timeslot 960 (e.g., into a timeslot in which the mini-slot is included), the mini-slot 930 may include a PSFCH resource at the end of the mini-slot. For example, a mini-slot 960 may include an AGC symbol 970 (eg, for PSFCH) and one PSFCH symbol (eg, at symbols 11 and 12 of slot 930).

[0131] In some other examples, the format of the sidelink feedback resource may be based at least in part on the fact that the transmission start position of the sidelink communication is the second symbol of the time slot 930 (e.g., symbol 7 or another symbol that is not symbol 0), indicating that the sidelink feedback resource is associated with a sidelink data channel (e.g., PSSCH). In other words, as shown in FIG. 9C, if the first UE 905 uses a micro-time slot included in a time slot including a PSFCH instance, the first UE 905 may use the resources configured for PSFCH in the time slot for PSSCH. For example, symbols 11 and 12 of time slot 930 may be configured for PSFCH (e.g., as indicated by the PSFCH configuration) in a manner similar to that depicted in FIG. 9B. However, when transmitting sidelink communication, the first UE 905 may use one or more symbols (e.g., symbols 11 and 12) associated with the sidelink feedback resource as indicated by the sidelink time slot format to transmit data associated with the sidelink communication. For example, if the first UE 905 determines to use the mini-slot 960, the first UE 905 may cover the PSFCH instance with PSSCH resources.

[0132] For example, because the first UE 905 can access a shared or unlicensed channel and can start transmitting before the configured PSFCH instance, another UE (e.g., the second UE 910) may not be able to access the shared or unlicensed channel during the PSFCH instance. Therefore, because other UEs that can use PSFCH resources to send sidelink feedback data may not be able to access the shared or unlicensed channel during the PSFCH instance, the PSFCH resources can be covered with PSSCH resources to improve efficiency and / or increase the data capacity of the mini-time slot 960.

[0133] As shown in FIG. 9D , based at least in part on the association of the time slot 930 with the side link feedback resource, the transmission start position of the side link communication to be transmitted by the first UE 905 may be a symbol of the second time slot 975. In other words, the first UE 905 may suppress the use of the second symbol (e.g., symbol 7) of the time slot 930 as the transmission start position based at least in part on the association of the time slot 930 with the side link feedback resource. For example, if the time slot (e.g., time slot 930) includes a PSFCH instance and / or a PSFCH resource, mini-slot access may be disabled. As shown in FIG. 9D , for a time slot (such as the second time slot 975) that does not include a PSFCH instance and / or a PSFCH resource (e.g., as indicated by the PSFCH configuration), mini-slot access may be enabled. In other words, the first UE 905 may be enabled to use the mini-slot included in the second time slot 975 to transmit the side link communication. When mini-slot scheduling is enabled, this may reduce the complexity associated with handling the PSFCH instance. Additionally, this may ensure that the PSFCH communications are not missed by UEs in the sidelink network.

[0134] Returning to FIG. 9A , and as indicated by reference numeral 940, the first UE 905 may send (and the second UE 910 may receive) a sidelink communication. The first UE 905 may send a sidelink communication at a transmit start position. The sidelink communication may include one or more PSCCH communications and / or one or more PSSCH communications. In some aspects, the sidelink communication may have a duration that is less than a full sidelink slot (e.g., when the scheduled mini-slot is used by the first UE 905). In some other aspects, the sidelink communication may have a duration that is less than a full sidelink slot.

[0135] In some aspects, the transmission start position may be a symbol in the time slot 930 (e.g., associated with the start of the mini-time slot 960). In some other aspects, the transmission start position may be a symbol in the second time slot 975 (e.g., the first symbol (symbol 0) of the second time slot 975 or the first symbol of the mini-time slot included in the second time slot 975). In some aspects, in the case where the first UE 905 uses the mini-time slot 960 for sidelink communication, the mini-time slot 960 may include one or more PSFCH resources (e.g., as described and depicted in conjunction with FIG. 9C). In some aspects, the first UE 905 may use one or more symbols associated with the sidelink feedback resources as indicated by the sidelink time slot format to transmit data associated with the sidelink communication (e.g., as described and depicted in conjunction with FIG. 9C).

[0136] As shown in reference numeral 945, the first UE 905 may determine HARQ timing feedback for sidelink communication. For example, sidelink communication (e.g., PSSCH communication) may be sent via mini-slot 960. HARQ feedback timing may refer to the number of time slots after mini-slot 960 in which HARQ feedback for sidelink communication is to be sent and / or received. For example, the transmission start position of the sidelink communication may be mini-slot 960. The timing associated with hybrid automatic repeat request feedback for sidelink communication may be based at least in part on the first symbol of time slot 930. In other words, even if the mini-slot is used for sidelink communication, the timing for HARQ feedback may be measured from the first symbol of the time slot in which the mini-slot appears. Additionally, HARQ feedback may be mapped to a PSFCH instance or PSFCH resource, as if the sidelink communication is a full-slot transmission. This may reduce the complexity associated with determining HARQ feedback timing when the mini-slot is used by the first UE 905.

[0137] As shown by reference numeral 950, the first UE 905 may receive and the second UE 910 may send HARQ feedback associated with the sidelink communication. For example, the first UE 905 may monitor PSFCH resources occurring at a time indicated by the HARQ feedback timing (e.g., determined by the first UE 905 as described above). The second UE 910 may determine the HARQ feedback timing in a similar manner. By determining the HARQ feedback timing, the first UE 905 may determine which PSFCH resources to monitor so that the first UE 905 can receive HARQ feedback for the sidelink communication (e.g., sent via a mini-slot).

[0138] As indicated above, Figures 9A-9D are provided as examples. Other examples may differ from the examples described with respect to Figures 9A-9D.

[0139] 10 is a diagram illustrating an example process 1000 performed, for example, by a UE according to the present disclosure. Example process 1000 is an example in which a UE (eg, UE 120, first UE 905, and / or second UE 910) performs operations associated with a sidelink feedback channel slot format for mini-slot channel access.

[0140] As shown in FIG10, in some aspects, process 1000 may include receiving an indication of a sidelink slot format, wherein the sidelink slot format indicates a configuration of sidelink feedback resources, and wherein the sidelink slot format is associated with a plurality of starting positions for sidelink communications (block 1010). For example, a UE (e.g., using communications manager 140 and / or receiving component 1102 as depicted in FIG11) may receive an indication of a sidelink slot format, wherein the sidelink slot format indicates a configuration of sidelink feedback resources, and wherein the sidelink slot format is associated with a plurality of starting positions for sidelink communications, as described above.

[0141] As further shown in FIG. 10, in some aspects, process 1000 may include measuring a signal associated with a channel access procedure, wherein the measurement of the signal indicates that the UE is granted access to the sidelink channel, wherein the measurement of the signal occurs after a first symbol of a first sidelink slot and before a mini-slot of the first sidelink slot, and wherein a sidelink slot format indicates that the first sidelink slot is associated with a sidelink feedback resource (block 1020). For example, a UE (e.g., using communications manager 140 and / or measurement component 1108 as depicted in FIG. 11) may measure a signal associated with a channel access procedure, wherein the measurement of the signal indicates that the UE is granted access to the sidelink channel, wherein the measurement of the signal occurs after a first symbol of a first sidelink slot and before a mini-slot of the first sidelink slot, and wherein the sidelink slot format indicates that the first sidelink slot is associated with a sidelink feedback resource, as described above.

[0142] As further shown in FIG. 10, in some aspects, process 1000 may include transmitting a sidelink communication based at least in part on a measurement of a signal using a transmit start position of a symbol of a mini-slot of a first sidelink time slot or a symbol of a second sidelink time slot, wherein a format of a sidelink feedback resource is based at least in part on the transmit start position (block 1030). For example, a UE (e.g., using communications manager 140 and / or transmitting component 1104 as depicted in FIG. 11) may transmit a sidelink communication based at least in part on a measurement of a signal using a transmit start position of a symbol of a mini-slot of a first sidelink time slot or a symbol of a second sidelink time slot, wherein a format of a sidelink feedback resource is based at least in part on the transmit start position, as described above.

[0143] Process 1000 may include additional aspects, such as any single aspect or any combination of aspects described below and / or in conjunction with one or more other processes described elsewhere herein.

[0144] In a first aspect, a format of the sidelink feedback resource indicates that the sidelink feedback resource is included in a first sidelink timeslot based at least in part on a transmission start position being a mini-slot of the first sidelink timeslot.

[0145] In a second aspect, either alone or in combination with the first aspect, the format of the sidelink feedback resource indicates that a first one or more symbols of the first sidelink time slot are associated with the sidelink feedback resource, and a second one or more symbols of the first sidelink time slot are associated with an AGC operation for a sidelink feedback channel.

[0146] In a third aspect, either alone or in combination with one or more of the first and second aspects, the transmission start position is a mini-slot of a first side link slot, and the format of the side link feedback resource indicates that the side link feedback resource is associated with a side link data channel based at least in part on the transmission start position being a mini-slot of the first side link slot.

[0147] In a fourth aspect, either alone or in combination with one or more of the first to third aspects, the transmission of a sidelink communication comprises transmitting data associated with the sidelink communication using one or more symbols associated with a sidelink feedback resource as indicated by a sidelink slot format.

[0148] In a fifth aspect, either alone or in combination with one or more of the first to fourth aspects, a starting position is sent in a symbol of a second side link time slot based at least in part on the first side link time slot being associated with a side link feedback resource.

[0149] In a sixth aspect, either alone or in combination with one or more of aspects 1 to 5, process 1000 comprises suppressing use of a micro-slot of a first side link time slot as a transmission start position based at least in part on associating the first side link time slot with a side link feedback resource.

[0150] In a seventh aspect, either alone or in combination with one or more of aspects 1 to 6, the transmission start position is in a symbol of a second side link time slot, and the timing associated with a hybrid automatic repeat request feedback for side link communication is based at least in part on a first symbol of a first side link time slot.

[0151] In an eighth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first to seventh aspects, the sidelink feedback resource is associated with the PSFCH.

[0152] In a ninth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first to eighth aspects, based on the first side link time slot being associated with the side link feedback resource, the sending start position is a symbol of the second side link time slot.

[0153] In a tenth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first to ninth aspects, the transmission of sidelink communications includes: for a first sidelink time slot, based on the first sidelink time slot being associated with a sidelink feedback resource, suppressing the use of mini-slot scheduling.

[0154] In the eleventh aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first to tenth aspects, based on the first side link time slot being associated with the side link feedback resource, mini-slot access is disabled for the first side link time slot, and based on disabling mini-slot access for the first side link time slot, a symbol whose starting position is a second side link time slot is sent.

[0155] In the twelfth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first to eleventh aspects, based on the first side link time slot being associated with the side link feedback resource, the available transmission start position for the first side link time slot is the first symbol of the first side link time slot.

[0156] Although Figure 10 shows example blocks of process 1000, in some aspects, process 1000 may include additional blocks, fewer blocks, different blocks, or blocks arranged differently than those depicted in Figure 10. Additionally or alternatively, two or more of the blocks of process 1000 may be performed in parallel.

[0157] FIG. 11 is a diagram of an example apparatus 1100 for wireless communication according to the present disclosure. The apparatus 1100 may be a UE, or the UE may include the apparatus 1100. In some aspects, the apparatus 1100 includes a receiving component 1102 and a sending component 1104 that may communicate with each other (e.g., via one or more buses and / or one or more other components). As shown, the apparatus 1100 may communicate with another apparatus 1106 (such as a UE, a base station, or another wireless communication device) using the receiving component 1102 and the sending component 1104. As further shown, the apparatus 1100 may include a communication manager 140. The communication manager 140 may include one or more of a measurement component 1108 and / or a determination component 1110, among others.

[0158] In some aspects, the device 1100 may be configured to perform one or more operations described herein in conjunction with Figures 9A to 9D. Additionally or alternatively, the device 1100 may be configured to perform one or more processes described herein (such as process 1000 of Figure 10) or a combination thereof. In some aspects, the device 1100 and / or one or more components shown in Figure 11 may include one or more components of the UE described in conjunction with Figure 2. Additionally or alternatively, one or more components shown in Figure 11 may be implemented within one or more components described in conjunction with Figure 2. Additionally or alternatively, one or more components in the set of components may be at least partially implemented as software stored in a memory. For example, a component (or a portion of a component) may be implemented as an instruction or code that is stored in a non-transitory computer-readable medium and can be executed by a controller or processor to perform the function or operation of the component.

[0159] The receiving component 1102 may receive communications, such as reference signals, control information, data communications, or combinations thereof, from the device 1106. The receiving component 1102 may provide the received communications to one or more other components of the device 1100. In some aspects, the receiving component 1102 may perform signal processing (such as filtering, amplification, demodulation, analog-to-digital conversion, demultiplexing, deinterleaving, demapping, equalization, interference cancellation, or decoding, etc.) on the received communications and may provide the processed signals to one or more other components of the device 1100. In some aspects, the receiving component 1102 may include one or more antennas, modems, demodulators, MIMO detectors, receive processors, controllers / processors, memories, or combinations thereof, of the UE described in conjunction with FIG. 2.

[0160] The transmitting component 1104 may transmit communications, such as reference signals, control information, data communications, or combinations thereof, to the device 1106. In some aspects, one or more other components of the device 1100 may generate communications and may provide the generated communications to the transmitting component 1104 for transmission to the device 1106. In some aspects, the transmitting component 1104 may perform signal processing (such as filtering, amplification, modulation, digital-to-analog conversion, multiplexing, interleaving, mapping, or encoding, etc.) on the generated communications and may transmit the processed signals to the device 1106. In some aspects, the transmitting component 1104 may include one or more antennas, modems, modulators, transmit MIMO processors, transmit processors, controllers / processors, memories, or combinations thereof, of the UE described in conjunction with FIG. 2. In some aspects, the transmitting component 1104 may be co-located with the receiving component 1102 in a transceiver.

[0161] The receiving component 1102 may receive an indication of a sidelink slot format, wherein the sidelink slot format indicates a configuration of a sidelink feedback resource, and wherein the sidelink slot format is associated with a plurality of starting positions for sidelink communications. The measuring component 1108 may measure a signal associated with a channel access procedure, wherein the measurement of the signal indicates that the UE is granted access to a sidelink channel, wherein the measurement of the signal occurs after a first symbol of a first sidelink slot and before a mini-slot of the first sidelink slot, and wherein the sidelink slot format indicates that the first sidelink slot is associated with a sidelink feedback resource. The transmitting component 1104 may transmit a sidelink communication based at least in part on the measurement of the signal using a transmission start position of a symbol of a mini-slot of the first sidelink slot or a second sidelink slot, wherein the format of the sidelink feedback resource is based at least in part on the transmission start position.

[0162] Determining component 1110 can refrain from using a mini-slot of the first side link time slot as a transmission start location based at least in part on the first side link time slot being associated with a side link feedback resource.

[0163] The number and arrangement of the components shown in Figure 11 are provided as examples. In practice, there may be additional components, fewer components, different components, or components arranged in a different manner than the components shown in Figure 11. In addition, two or more components shown in Figure 11 may be implemented within a single component, or a single component shown in Figure 11 may be implemented as multiple distributed components. Additionally or alternatively, a set of (one or more) components shown in Figure 11 may perform one or more functions described as being performed by another set of components shown in Figure 11.

[0164] FIG. 12 is a diagram of an example apparatus 1200 for wireless communication according to the present disclosure. Apparatus 1200 may be a network node, or a network node may include apparatus 1200. In some aspects, apparatus 1200 includes a receiving component 1202 and a sending component 1204 that may communicate with each other (e.g., via one or more buses and / or one or more other components). As shown, apparatus 1200 may communicate with another apparatus 1206 (such as a UE, a base station, or another wireless communication device) using receiving component 1202 and sending component 1204. As further shown, apparatus 1200 may include a communication manager 150. Communication manager 150 may include a determining component 1208, among other things.

[0165] In some aspects, the device 1200 may be configured to perform one or more operations described herein in conjunction with Figures 9A to 9D. Additionally or alternatively, the device 1200 may be configured to perform one or more processes described herein. In some aspects, the device 1200 and / or one or more components shown in Figure 12 may include one or more components of the network node described in conjunction with Figure 2. Additionally or alternatively, one or more components shown in Figure 12 may be implemented within one or more components described in conjunction with Figure 2. Additionally or alternatively, one or more components in the set of components may be implemented at least in part as software stored in a memory. For example, a component (or a portion of a component) may be implemented as an instruction or code that is stored in a non-transitory computer-readable medium and can be executed by a controller or processor to perform the function or operation of the component.

[0166] The receiving component 1202 may receive communications, such as reference signals, control information, data communications, or combinations thereof, from the device 1206. The receiving component 1202 may provide the received communications to one or more other components of the device 1200. In some aspects, the receiving component 1202 may perform signal processing (such as filtering, amplification, demodulation, analog-to-digital conversion, demultiplexing, deinterleaving, demapping, equalization, interference cancellation, or decoding, etc.) on the received communications and may provide the processed signals to one or more other components of the device 1200. In some aspects, the receiving component 1202 may include one or more antennas, modems, demodulators, MIMO detectors, receive processors, controllers / processors, memories, or combinations thereof, of the network nodes described in conjunction with FIG. 2.

[0167] The transmitting component 1204 may transmit communications, such as reference signals, control information, data communications, or combinations thereof, to the device 1206. In some aspects, one or more other components of the device 1200 may generate communications and may provide the generated communications to the transmitting component 1204 for transmission to the device 1206. In some aspects, the transmitting component 1204 may perform signal processing (such as filtering, amplification, modulation, digital-to-analog conversion, multiplexing, interleaving, mapping, or encoding, etc.) on the generated communications and may transmit the processed signals to the device 1206. In some aspects, the transmitting component 1204 may include one or more antennas, modems, modulators, transmit MIMO processors, transmit processors, controllers / processors, memories, or combinations thereof, of the network nodes described in conjunction with FIG. 2. In some aspects, the transmitting component 1204 may be co-located with the receiving component 1202 in a transceiver.

[0168] Transmitting component 1204 can transmit an indication of a sidelink slot format, wherein the sidelink slot format indicates a configuration of sidelink feedback resources, and wherein the sidelink slot format is associated with a plurality of starting positions for sidelink communication. Determining component 1208 can determine a format of the sidelink feedback resources based at least in part on the transmission starting positions for sidelink communication.

[0169] The number and arrangement of the components shown in Figure 12 are provided as examples. In practice, there may be additional components, fewer components, different components, or components arranged in a different manner than the components shown in Figure 12. In addition, two or more components shown in Figure 12 may be implemented within a single component, or a single component shown in Figure 12 may be implemented as multiple distributed components. Additionally or alternatively, a set of (one or more) components shown in Figure 12 may perform one or more functions described as being performed by another set of components shown in Figure 12.

[0170] The following provides an overview of some aspects of the disclosure:

[0171] Aspect 1: A method of wireless communication performed by a user equipment (UE), the method comprising: receiving an indication of a sidelink timeslot format, wherein the sidelink timeslot format indicates a configuration of a sidelink feedback resource, and wherein the sidelink timeslot format is associated with a plurality of starting positions for sidelink communications; measuring a signal associated with a channel access procedure, wherein the measurement of the signal indicates that the UE is permitted to access a sidelink channel, wherein the measurement of the signal occurs after a first symbol of a first sidelink timeslot and before a microslot of the first sidelink timeslot, and wherein the sidelink timeslot format indicates that the first sidelink timeslot is associated with the sidelink feedback resource; and sending sidelink communications based at least in part on the measurement of the signal using a send start position of a symbol of the microslot of the first sidelink timeslot or of a second sidelink timeslot, wherein the format of the sidelink feedback resources is based at least in part on the send start position.

[0172] Aspect 2: A method according to Aspect 1, wherein the format of the sidelink feedback resource indicates that the sidelink feedback resource is included in the first sidelink timeslot at least in part based on the transmission start position being the mini-slot of the first sidelink timeslot.

[0173] Aspect 3: A method according to Aspect 2, wherein the format of the sidelink feedback resource indicates that a first one or more symbols of the first sidelink time slot are associated with the sidelink feedback resource, and a second one or more symbols of the first sidelink time slot are associated with an automatic gain control (AGC) operation for a sidelink feedback channel.

[0174] Aspect 4: A method according to any one of Aspects 1 to 3, wherein the transmission start position is the mini-slot of the first side link time slot, and wherein the format of the side link feedback resource indicates that the side link feedback resource is associated with a side link data channel at least partially based on the fact that the transmission start position is the mini-slot of the first side link time slot.

[0175] Aspect 5: A method according to any one of Aspects 1 to 4, wherein the sending of the sidelink communication includes: sending data associated with the sidelink communication using one or more symbols associated with the sidelink feedback resources as indicated by the sidelink time slot format.

[0176] Aspect 6: A method according to any one of aspects 1 to 5, wherein the transmission start position is in the symbol of the second sidelink time slot based at least in part on the association of the first sidelink time slot with the sidelink feedback resource.

[0177] Aspect 7: The method according to any one of Aspects 1 to 6 also includes: suppressing the use of the micro-slot of the first side link time slot as the transmission start position based at least in part on the association of the first side link time slot with the side link feedback resource.

[0178] Aspect 8: A method according to any one of Aspects 1 to 7, wherein the transmission start position is in the symbol of the second side link time slot, and wherein the timing associated with the hybrid automatic repeat request feedback for the side link communication is at least partially based on the first symbol of the first side link time slot.

[0179] Aspect 9: The method according to any one of aspects 1 to 8, wherein the sidelink feedback resource is associated with a physical sidelink feedback channel (PSFCH).

[0180] Aspect 10: The method according to any one of Aspects 1 to 9, wherein based on the first sidelink time slot being associated with the sidelink feedback resource, the transmission start position is the symbol of the second sidelink time slot.

[0181] Aspect 11: A method according to any one of Aspects 1 to 10, wherein the sending of the sidelink communication includes: for the first sidelink time slot, based on the first sidelink time slot being associated with the sidelink feedback resource, suppressing the use of micro-slot scheduling.

[0182] Aspect 12: A method according to any one of Aspects 1 to 11, wherein based on the first side link time slot being associated with the side link feedback resource, mini-slot access is disabled for the first side link time slot, and wherein based on disabling mini-slot access for the first side link time slot, the transmission start position is the symbol of the second side link time slot.

[0183] Aspect 13: A method according to any one of Aspects 1 to 12, wherein based on the first side link time slot being associated with the side link feedback resource, the available transmission start position for the first side link time slot is only the first symbol of the first side link time slot.

[0184] Aspect 14: An apparatus for performing wireless communications at a device, the apparatus comprising: one or more processors; one or more memories coupled to 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 perform one or more of the methods described in Aspects 1 to 13.

[0185] Aspect 15: A device for wireless communication, the device comprising: one or more memories; and one or more processors, the one or more processors coupled to the one or more memories, the one or more processors configured to execute the method according to one or more of Aspects 1 to 13.

[0186] Aspect 16: An apparatus for wireless communication, the apparatus comprising at least one component for performing the method according to one or more of aspects 1 to 13.

[0187] Aspect 17: A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing code for wireless communication, the code comprising instructions executable by one or more processors to perform the method according to one or more of aspects 1 to 13.

[0188] Aspect 18: A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing an instruction set for wireless communication, the instruction set comprising one or more instructions that, when executed by one or more processors of a device, cause the device to perform one or more of the methods described in aspects 1 to 13.

[0189] While the foregoing disclosure provides illustration and description, it is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the aspects to the precise forms disclosed. Modifications and variations are possible in light of the above disclosure or may be acquired from practice of these aspects.

[0190] As used herein, the term "component" is intended to be broadly interpreted as hardware, firmware, or a combination of hardware and software. As used herein, a processor is implemented in hardware, firmware, or a combination of hardware and software. As used herein, the phrase "based on" is intended to be broadly interpreted as "based at least in part on". As used herein, depending on the context, "satisfying a threshold" may refer to a value greater than a threshold, greater than or equal to a threshold, less than a threshold, less than or equal to a threshold, equal to a threshold, not equal to a threshold, etc. As used herein, a phrase referring to "at least one of" a list of items refers to any combination of these items (including a single member). As an example, "at least one of a, b, or c" is intended to cover: a, b, c, a+b, a+c, b+c, and a+b+c.

[0191] In addition, as used herein, the articles "one" and "a kind of" are intended to include one or more items and can be used interchangeably with "one or more". In addition, as used herein, the article "said" is intended to include one or more items connected to the article "said", and can be used interchangeably with "one or more". In addition, as used herein, the terms "group" and "group" are intended to include one or more items (e.g., related items, unrelated items, or a combination of related and unrelated items) and can be used interchangeably with "one or more". If you only want to refer to one item, use the phrase "only one" or similar terms. Moreover, as used herein, the term "having" and similar terms are intended to be open terms that do not limit the elements they modify (e.g., elements "including" A can also contain B). In addition, as used herein, the term "or" is intended to be inclusive when used in a sequence, and can be used interchangeably with "and / or", unless otherwise explicitly stated (e.g., in the case of being used in combination with "any one of" or "only one of").

[0192] The various illustrative logics, logic blocks, modules, circuits, and algorithmic processes described in conjunction with the various aspects disclosed herein may be implemented as electronic hardware, computer software, or a combination of both. The interchangeability of hardware and software has been generally described in terms of functionality and is illustrated in the various illustrative components, blocks, modules, circuits, and processes described herein. Whether such functionality is implemented in hardware or software depends on the specific application and the design constraints imposed on the overall system.

[0193] The hardware and data processing devices for implementing the various exemplary logic components, logic blocks, modules and circuits described in conjunction with the various aspects disclosed herein may be implemented or executed using a general purpose single-chip or multi-chip processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device, a discrete gate or transistor logic component, a discrete hardware component or any combination thereof designed to perform the functions described herein. A general purpose processor may be a microprocessor, or any conventional processor, controller, microcontroller or state machine. The processor may also be implemented as a combination of computing devices, for example, a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, a plurality of microprocessors, a combination of one or more microprocessors and a DSP core, or any other such configuration. In some aspects, specific processes and methods may be performed by circuits dedicated to a given function.

[0194] In one or more aspects, the functions described may be implemented in hardware, digital electronic circuitry, computer software, firmware, including the structures disclosed in this specification and their structural equivalents, or any combination thereof. Aspects of the subject matter described in this specification may also be implemented as one or more computer programs (e.g., one or more modules of computer program instructions) encoded on computer storage media to be executed by a data processing apparatus or to control the operation of the data processing apparatus.

[0195] If implemented in software, the function may be stored on a computer-readable medium as one or more instructions or codes or sent through a computer-readable medium. The process of the method or algorithm disclosed herein may be implemented in a processor executable software module that may reside on a computer-readable medium. Computer-readable media include both computer storage media and communication media, and communication media include any medium that can realize the transfer of a computer program from one place to another. The storage medium may be any available medium that a computer can access. By way of example and not limitation, such computer-readable media may include RAM, ROM, EEPROM, CD-ROM or other optical disk storage devices, disk storage devices or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium that can be used to store the desired program code in the form of an instruction or data structure and can be accessed by a computer. In addition, any connection may be appropriately referred to as a computer-readable medium. Disks and optical disks as used herein include compact disks (CDs), laser disks, optical disks, digital versatile disks (DVDs), floppy disks, and blue-ray disks, wherein disks generally reproduce data magnetically, and optical disks reproduce data optically with lasers. The combination of media described herein should also be included in the scope of computer-readable media. Additionally, the operations of a method or algorithm may reside as a code and instruction set, or any combination of code and instruction sets, on a machine-readable medium or computer-readable medium, which may be incorporated into a computer program product.

[0196] Various modifications to the various aspects described in this disclosure may be apparent to those skilled in the art, and the general principles defined herein may be applied to other aspects without departing from the spirit or scope of the disclosure. Therefore, the claims are not intended to be limited to the aspects shown herein, but should be granted the broadest scope consistent with the disclosure, the principles and novel features disclosed herein.

[0197] Additionally, one of ordinary skill in the art will readily recognize that the terms "upper" and "lower" are sometimes used for ease of describing the drawings and indicate relative positions corresponding to the orientation of the drawings on a correctly oriented page, and may not reflect the correct orientation of any device as implemented.

[0198] Certain features described in this specification in the context of independent aspects may also be implemented in combination in a single aspect. Conversely, various features described in the context of a single aspect may also be implemented in multiple aspects individually or in any suitable subcombination. In addition, while features may be described as acting in certain combinations and even initially claimed as such, one or more features from a claimed combination may in some cases be removed from the combination, and a claimed combination may be directed to a subcombination or variations of a subcombination.

[0199] Similarly, although operations are depicted in a specific order in the accompanying drawings, this should not be understood as requiring such operations to be performed in the specific order shown or in a sequential order, or to perform all illustrated operations to achieve the desired result. In addition, the accompanying drawings can schematically depict one or more example processes in the form of a flow chart. However, other operations not depicted can be incorporated into the example processes schematically illustrated. For example, one or more additional operations can be performed before, after, simultaneously or between any operations in the illustrated operations. Under certain circumstances, multitasking and parallel processing are advantageous. In addition, the separation of various system components in the various aspects described should not be understood as requiring such separation in all aspects, and it should be understood that the described program components and systems can generally be integrated together in a single software product or packaged into multiple software products. Additionally, other aspects also fall within the scope of the appended claims. In some cases, the actions recorded in the claims can be performed in different orders and still achieve the desired result.

Claims

1. A method of wireless communication performed by a user equipment (UE), the method comprising: receiving an indication of a sidelink slot format, wherein the sidelink slot format indicates a configuration of sidelink feedback resources, and wherein the sidelink slot format is associated with a plurality of starting positions for sidelink communications; measuring a signal associated with a channel access procedure, wherein the measurement of the signal indicates that the UE is granted access to a sidelink channel, wherein the measurement of the signal occurs after a first symbol of a first sidelink timeslot and before a minislot of the first sidelink timeslot, and wherein the sidelink timeslot format indicates that the first sidelink timeslot is associated with the sidelink feedback resource; and A sidelink communication is transmitted based at least in part on the measurement of the signal using a transmit start position of a symbol of the mini-slot or the second sidelink slot of the first sidelink slot, wherein a format of the sidelink feedback resource is based at least in part on the transmit start position.

2. A method according to claim 1, wherein the transmission start position is the mini-slot of the first side link time slot, and wherein the format of the side link feedback resource indicates that the side link feedback resource is associated with a side link data channel at least partially based on the transmission start position being the mini-slot of the first side link time slot.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the sending of the sidelink communication comprises: Data associated with the sidelink communications is transmitted using one or more symbols associated with the sidelink feedback resources as indicated by the sidelink slot format.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the transmission start position is within the symbol of the second sidelink time slot based at least in part on the first sidelink time slot being associated with the sidelink feedback resource.

5. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: Based at least in part on the first sidelink timeslot being associated with the sidelink feedback resource, using the mini-slot of the first sidelink timeslot as the transmission start position is suppressed.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the sending of the sidelink communication comprises: For the first sidelink timeslot, based on the first sidelink timeslot being associated with the sidelink feedback resource, using mini-slot scheduling is suppressed.

7. A method according to claim 1, wherein based on the first side link time slot being associated with the side link feedback resource, mini-slot access is disabled for the first side link time slot, and wherein based on disabling mini-slot access for the first side link time slot, the transmission start position is the symbol of the second side link time slot.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein based on the first sidelink time slot being associated with the sidelink feedback resource, an available transmission start position for the first sidelink time slot is only the first symbol of the first sidelink time slot.

9. A method according to claim 1, wherein the transmission start position is in the symbol of the second side link time slot, and wherein the timing associated with the hybrid automatic repeat request feedback for the side link communication is at least partially based on the first symbol of the first side link time slot.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the sidelink feedback resource is associated with a physical sidelink feedback channel (PSFCH).

11. A user equipment (UE) for wireless communication, the user equipment (UE) comprising: one or more memories; and one or more processors coupled to the one or more memories and configured to: receiving an indication of a sidelink slot format, wherein the sidelink slot format indicates a configuration of sidelink feedback resources, and wherein the sidelink slot format is associated with a plurality of starting positions for sidelink communications; measuring a signal associated with a channel access procedure, wherein the measurement of the signal indicates that the UE is granted access to a sidelink channel, wherein the measurement of the signal occurs after a first symbol of a first sidelink timeslot and before a minislot of the first sidelink timeslot, and wherein the sidelink timeslot format indicates that the first sidelink timeslot is associated with the sidelink feedback resource; and A sidelink communication is transmitted based at least in part on the measurement of the signal using a transmit start position of a symbol of the mini-slot or the second sidelink slot of the first sidelink slot, wherein a format of the sidelink feedback resource is based at least in part on the transmit start position.

12. The UE of claim 11, wherein the format of the sidelink feedback resource indicates that the sidelink feedback resource is included in the first sidelink timeslot based at least in part on the transmission start position being the mini-slot of the first sidelink timeslot.

13. The UE of claim 12, wherein the format of the sidelink feedback resource indicates that a first one or more symbols of the first sidelink time slot are associated with the sidelink feedback resource, and a second one or more symbols of the first sidelink time slot are associated with an automatic gain control (AGC) operation for a sidelink feedback channel.

14. The UE of claim 11, wherein the transmission start position is in the symbol of the second sidelink time slot based at least in part on the first sidelink time slot being associated with the sidelink feedback resource.

15. The UE of claim 11, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to: Based at least in part on the first sidelink timeslot being associated with the sidelink feedback resource, using the mini-slot of the first sidelink timeslot as the transmission start position is suppressed.

16. A UE according to claim 11, wherein the transmission start position is in the symbol of the second side link time slot, and wherein the timing associated with the hybrid automatic repeat request feedback for the side link communication is at least partially based on the first symbol of the first side link time slot.

17. The UE of claim 11, wherein to send the sidelink communication, the one or more processors are configured to: For the first sidelink timeslot, based on the first sidelink timeslot being associated with the sidelink feedback resource, using mini-slot scheduling is suppressed.

18. A UE according to claim 11, wherein based on the first side link time slot being associated with the side link feedback resource, mini-slot access is disabled for the first side link time slot, and wherein based on disabling mini-slot access for the first side link time slot, the transmission start position is the symbol of the second side link time slot.

19. The UE of claim 11, wherein based on the first sidelink time slot being associated with the sidelink feedback resource, an available transmission start position for the first sidelink time slot is only the first symbol of the first sidelink time slot.

20. The UE of claim 11, wherein the sidelink feedback resource is associated with a physical sidelink feedback channel (PSFCH).

21. A non-transitory computer readable medium storing an instruction set for wireless communication, the instruction set comprising: One or more instructions that, when executed by one or more processors of a user equipment (UE), cause the UE to: receiving an indication of a sidelink slot format, wherein the sidelink slot format indicates a configuration of sidelink feedback resources, and wherein the sidelink slot format is associated with a plurality of starting positions for sidelink communications; measuring a signal associated with a channel access procedure, wherein the measurement of the signal indicates that the UE is granted access to a sidelink channel, wherein the measurement of the signal occurs after a first symbol of a first sidelink timeslot and before a minislot of the first sidelink timeslot, and wherein the sidelink timeslot format indicates that the first sidelink timeslot is associated with the sidelink feedback resource; and A sidelink communication is transmitted based at least in part on the measurement of the signal using a transmit start position of a symbol of the mini-slot or the second sidelink slot of the first sidelink slot, wherein a format of the sidelink feedback resource is based at least in part on the transmit start position.

22. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 21 , wherein the one or more instructions that cause the UE to send the sidelink communication cause the UE to: Data associated with the sidelink communications is transmitted using one or more symbols associated with the sidelink feedback resources as indicated by the sidelink slot format.

23. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 21, wherein the transmit start position is in the symbol of the second sidelink time slot based at least in part on the first sidelink time slot being associated with the sidelink feedback resource.

24. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 21 , wherein the one or more instructions further cause the UE to: Based at least in part on the first sidelink timeslot being associated with the sidelink feedback resource, using the mini-slot of the first sidelink timeslot as the transmission start position is suppressed.

25. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 21, wherein the sidelink feedback resource is associated with a physical sidelink feedback channel (PSFCH).

26. An apparatus for wireless communication, the apparatus comprising: means for receiving an indication of a sidelink slot format, wherein the sidelink slot format indicates a configuration of sidelink feedback resources, and wherein the sidelink slot format is associated with a plurality of starting positions for sidelink communications; means for measuring a signal associated with a channel access procedure, wherein the measurement of the signal indicates that the apparatus is granted access to a sidelink channel, wherein the measurement of the signal occurs after a first symbol of a first sidelink timeslot and before a mini-slot of the first sidelink timeslot, and wherein the sidelink timeslot format indicates that the first sidelink timeslot is associated with the sidelink feedback resource; as well as Means for transmitting sidelink communications based at least in part on the measurement of the signal using a transmit start position of symbols of the minislot or the second sidelink slot of the first sidelink slot, wherein a format of the sidelink feedback resource is based at least in part on the transmit start position.

27. The apparatus of claim 26, wherein the transmission start position is in the symbol of the second sidelink time slot based at least in part on the first sidelink time slot being associated with the sidelink feedback resource.

28. The apparatus of claim 26, further comprising: Means for refraining from using the mini-slot of the first sidelink timeslot as the transmission start location based at least in part on the first sidelink timeslot being associated with the sidelink feedback resource.

29. An apparatus according to claim 26, wherein the transmission start position is in the symbol of the second side link time slot, and wherein the timing associated with hybrid automatic repeat request feedback for the side link communication is at least partially based on the first symbol of the first side link time slot.

30. The apparatus of claim 26, wherein the sidelink feedback resources are associated with a physical sidelink feedback channel (PSFCH).

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