Processes for layer 1 / layer 2 mobility

Abstract

Aspects relate to Layer 1 and / or Layer 2 mobility. In some examples, a user equipment (UE) may be handed over from a first cell (e.g., SpCell) to a second cell (e.g., SpCell). In some examples, Layer 1 signaling and / or Layer 2 signaling may be used for handover of a UE. In some examples, a UE may be configured for measurement or sounding reference signal transmission for such handover. In some examples, a UE may generate a set of measurements associated with one or more beams, where the one or more beams are associated with one or more candidate special cells (SpCell) for Layer 1 or Layer 2 mobility. The UE may transmit a beam report for the one or more beams, where the beam report is based on the set of measurements.

Description

[0001] Cross - reference to related applications

[0002] This application claims priority and the benefit of the following applications: Patent Cooperation Treaty Application No. PCT / CN2022 / 129450 filed on November 3, 2022, and Patent Cooperation Treaty Application No. PCT / CN2022 / 129467 filed on November 3, 2022. The entire content of each of the above applications is incorporated herein by reference. Technical field

[0003] The techniques discussed below generally relate to wireless communication, and more specifically but not exclusively to mobility procedures. Background art

[0004] Next - generation wireless communication systems (e.g., 5GS) may include a 5G core network and a 5G radio access network (RAN), such as a New Radio (NR) - RAN. The NR - RAN supports communication via one or more cells. For example, a wireless communication device (such as a User Equipment (UE)) may access a first cell of a first Base Station (BS) (such as a gNB) and / or access a second cell of a second base station. The base station may schedule access to the cell to support access by multiple UEs. For example, the base station may allocate different resources (e.g., time - domain and frequency - domain resources) for use by different UEs operating within the cell.

[0005] Different cells may serve a UE at different times. For example, a UE may initially be served by a first cell. Subsequently, additional cells may be selected to serve the UE (e.g., to provide additional resources for serving the UE). Alternatively or in addition, the cell serving the UE may be changed (switched), whereby different cells will serve the UE. Summary of the invention

[0006] To provide a basic understanding of one or more aspects of the present disclosure, an overview of such aspects is given below. This summary is not an exhaustive overview of all the expected features of the present disclosure, and neither aims to identify the key or important elements of all aspects of the present disclosure, nor to depict the scope of any or all aspects of the present disclosure. Its sole purpose is to present some concepts of one or more aspects of the present disclosure in a form as a prelude to the more detailed description presented later.

[0007] In some examples, a user equipment may include one or more memories storing processor-executable code, and one or more processors. The one or more processors may be configured to execute the processor-executable code and cause the user equipment to perform layer 1 measurements based on reference signals received from a first cell. The one or more processors may also be configured to execute the processor-executable code and cause the user equipment to generate a measurement report based on the layer 1 measurements. The one or more processors may also be configured to execute the processor-executable code and cause the user equipment to send the measurement report to a second cell via a layer 1 message.

[0008] In some examples, a method for wireless communication at a user equipment is disclosed. The method may include: performing layer 1 measurements based on reference signals received from a first cell. The method may also include: generating a measurement report based on the layer 1 measurements. The method may also include: sending the measurement report to a second cell via a layer 1 message.

[0009] In some examples, a user equipment may include: a unit for performing layer 1 measurements based on reference signals received from a first cell. The user equipment may also include: a unit for generating a measurement report based on the layer 1 measurements. The user equipment may also include: a unit for sending the measurement report to a second cell via a layer 1 message.

[0010] In some examples, a non-transitory computer-readable medium has instructions stored therein that are executable by one or more processors of a user equipment device to perform layer 1 measurements based on reference signals received from a first cell. The computer-readable medium may also have instructions stored therein that are executable by the one or more processors of the user equipment to generate a measurement report based on the layer 1 measurements. The computer-readable medium may also have instructions stored therein that are executable by the one or more processors of the user equipment to send the measurement report to a second cell via a layer 1 message.

[0011] In some examples, the first network entity may include one or more memories storing processor-executable code, and one or more processors. The one or more processors may be configured to execute the processor-executable code and cause the first network entity to generate a set of measurement results associated with one or more beams, wherein the one or more beams are associated with one or more candidate special cells (SpCells) for layer 1 (L1) or layer 2 (L2) mobility. The one or more processors may also be configured to execute the processor-executable code and cause the first network entity to send a beam report for the one or more beams to a second network entity, wherein the beam report is based on the set of measurement results.

[0012] In some examples, a method for wireless communication at a first network entity is disclosed. The method may include: generating a set of measurement results associated with one or more beams, wherein the one or more beams are associated with one or more candidate special cells (SpCells) for layer 1 (L1) or layer 2 (L2) mobility. The method may also include: sending a beam report for the one or more beams to a second network entity, wherein the beam report is based on the set of measurement results.

[0013] In some examples, a first network entity may include: a unit for generating a set of measurement results associated with one or more beams, wherein the one or more beams are associated with one or more candidate special cells (SpCells) for layer 1 (L1) or layer 2 (L2) mobility. The first network entity may also include: a unit for sending a beam report for the one or more beams to a second network entity, wherein the beam report is based on the set of measurement results.

[0014] In some examples, a non-transitory computer-readable medium has instructions stored therein that are executable by one or more processors of a first network entity device to generate a set of measurement results associated with one or more beams, wherein the one or more beams are associated with one or more candidate special cells (SpCells) for layer 1 (L1) or layer 2 (L2) mobility. The computer-readable medium may also have instructions stored therein that are executable by the one or more processors of the first network entity device to send a beam report for the one or more beams to a second network entity, wherein the beam report is based on the set of measurement results.

[0015] These and other aspects of the present disclosure will be more fully understood after reading the following detailed description. After reviewing the following description of specific examples of the present disclosure in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, other aspects, features, and examples of the present disclosure will become apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art. Although the features of the present disclosure may be discussed below with respect to certain examples and drawings, all examples of the present disclosure may include one or more of the advantageous features discussed herein. In other words, although one or more examples may be discussed as having certain advantageous features, one or more of such features may also be used in accordance with the various examples of the present disclosure discussed herein. In a similar manner, although example aspects may be discussed below as device, system, or method examples, it should be understood that such example aspects may be implemented in a variety of devices, systems, and methods. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0016] Figure 1 is an illustrative schematic diagram of a wireless communication system in accordance with some aspects.

[0017] Figure 2 is a conceptual schematic diagram of an example of a radio access network in accordance with some aspects.

[0018] Figure 3 is a schematic diagram providing a high-level illustration of an example of the configuration of a distributed base station in accordance with some aspects.

[0019] Figure 4 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a base station and a user equipment (UE) in an access network.

[0020] Figure 5 is a schematic diagram of wireless resources in an air interface using orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) in accordance with some aspects.

[0021] Figure 6A is a schematic diagram showing an example of a frame structure of synchronization signals for use in a wireless communication network in accordance with some aspects.

[0022] Figure 6B is a schematic diagram showing an example of a portion of a frame or subframe structure having various channels and associated messages for use in a wireless communication network in accordance with some aspects.

[0023] Figure 7 is a signaling diagram of an example of random access channel (RACH)-related signaling in accordance with some aspects.

[0024] Figure 8 is a conceptual illustration of an example of wireless communication via multiple cells in accordance with some aspects.

[0025] Figure 9 is a conceptual illustration of an example of uplink and downlink timing according to some aspects.

[0026] Figure 10 is a signaling diagram of an example of RACH-based handover signaling according to some aspects.

[0027] Figure 11 is a signaling diagram of an example of RACH-less handover signaling according to some aspects.

[0028] Figure 12 is a conceptual illustration of an example of handover according to some aspects.

[0029] Figure 13 is a schematic diagram showing an example of the difference between L3 mobility and L1 / L2 mobility according to some aspects.

[0030] Figure 14 is a signaling diagram of an example of L1 / L2 handover signaling according to some aspects.

[0031] Figure 15 is a signaling diagram of an example of candidate cell measurement signaling according to some aspects.

[0032] Figure 16 is a signaling diagram of an example of sounding reference signal (SRS) measurement signaling according to some aspects.

[0033] Figure 17 is a conceptual illustration of an example of guard band for SRS according to some aspects.

[0034] Figure 18 is a block diagram conceptually showing an example of the hardware implementation of a user equipment employing a processing system according to some aspects.

[0035] Figure 19 is a flowchart showing an example wireless communication method involving cell measurement according to some aspects.

[0036] Figure 20 is a flowchart showing an example wireless communication method involving SRS transmission according to some aspects.

[0037] Figure 21 is a block diagram conceptually showing an example of the hardware implementation of a network entity employing a processing system according to some aspects.

[0038] Figure 22 is a flowchart showing an example wireless communication method involving measurement reporting according to some aspects.

[0039] Figure 23 is a flowchart showing an example wireless communication method involving SRS processing according to some aspects.

[0040] Figure 24 It is a schematic diagram showing an example communication between a network entity and a UE.

[0041] Figure 25 It is a flowchart showing an example wireless communication method involving sending beam reports according to some aspects.

[0042] Figure 26 It is a flowchart showing an example wireless communication method involving a prohibited timer according to some aspects.

[0043] Figure 27 It is a flowchart showing an example wireless communication method involving receiving beam reports according to some aspects.

[0044] Figure 28 It is a flowchart showing an example wireless communication method involving triggering beam reports according to some aspects.

[0045] Figure 29 It is a schematic diagram showing an example of a hardware implementation for an example device and / or network entity.

[0046] Figure 30 It is a schematic diagram showing an example of a hardware implementation for an example network entity. Detailed Description

[0047] The following detailed description presented in conjunction with the accompanying drawings is intended as a description of various configurations and is not intended to represent the only configuration in which the concepts described herein can be implemented. For the purpose of providing a thorough understanding of the various concepts, the detailed description includes specific details. However, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that these concepts may be practiced without these specific details. In some instances, well-known structures and components are shown in block diagram form to avoid obscuring these concepts.

[0048] While aspects and embodiments are described herein by way of some examples, those skilled in the art will understand that additional implementations and use cases can arise in many different arrangements and scenarios. The innovations described herein can be implemented across many different platform types, devices, systems, shapes, sizes, and packaging arrangements. For example, aspects and / or uses can be generated via integrated chip examples and other non-module component-based devices (e.g., end-user devices, vehicles, communication devices, computing devices, industrial devices, retail / purchase devices, medical devices, artificial intelligence-enabled (AI-enabled) devices, etc.). While some examples may or may not specifically point to use cases or applications, various types of applicability of the described innovations can arise. Implementations can range from chip-level or modular components to non-modular, non-chip-level implementations, and further to aggregated, distributed, or original equipment manufacturer (OEM) devices or systems incorporating one or more aspects of the described innovations. In some practical settings, devices incorporating the described aspects and features may also necessarily include additional components and features for the implementation and execution of the claimed and described examples. For example, the transmission and reception of wireless signals necessarily includes multiple components for analog and digital purposes (e.g., hardware components including antennas, radio frequency (RF) chains, power amplifiers, modulators, buffers, processors, interleavers, adders / summers, etc.). The innovations described herein are intended to be practiced in various devices, chip-level components, systems, distributed arrangements, disaggregated arrangements (e.g., base stations and / or UEs), end-user devices, etc., of different sizes, shapes, and configurations.

[0049] Aspects of the present disclosure relate to handover procedures. For example, a user equipment (UE) may handover from a first cell (e.g., SpCell) to a second cell (e.g., SpCell). In some examples, layer 1 (L1) signaling and / or layer 2 (L2) signaling may be used to handover the UE from the first cell to the second cell. In some examples, the handover may omit the random access channel (RACH) procedure.

[0050] In some aspects, the present disclosure relates to the measurement of candidate cells for L1 / L2 handover. For example, a serving cell may configure the UE with information for the UE to measure channel state information-reference signal (CSI-RS) or synchronization signal block (SSB) transmitted by a candidate cell.

[0051] In some aspects, the present disclosure relates to sounding reference signal (SRS) measurement for L1 / L2 handover. For example, a serving cell may configure the UE with information for the UE to transmit SRS that can be measured by a candidate cell.

[0052] Aspects of the present disclosure relate to a first network entity generating a set of measurement results associated with one or more beams, where the one or more beams are associated with one or more candidate special cells (SpCells) for layer 1 (L1) or layer 2 (L2) mobility. The first network entity may also send a beam report for the one or more beams to a second network entity, where the beam report is based on the set of measurement results.

[0053] The various concepts presented throughout the present disclosure may be implemented across a wide variety of telecommunications systems, network architectures, and communication standards. Now referring Figure 1 , by way of example and not limitation, aspects of the present disclosure are illustrated with reference to wireless communication system 100. Wireless communication system 100 includes three interacting domains: core network 102, radio access network (RAN) 104, and user equipment (UE) 106. By means of wireless communication system 100, UE 106 can be enabled to perform data communication with an external data network 110 (such as, but not limited to, the Internet).

[0054] RAN 104 may implement any one or more suitable wireless communication technologies to provide radio access to UE 106. For example, RAN 104 may operate according to the New Radio (NR) specification of the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), often referred to as 5G. As another example, RAN 104 may operate under a hybrid of 5G NR and the evolved universal terrestrial radio access network (eUTRAN) standard, commonly known as Long Term Evolution (LTE). 3GPP refers to this hybrid RAN as the next generation RAN or NG-RAN. In another example, RAN 104 may operate according to both the LTE and 5G NR standards. Of course, many other examples may be used within the scope of the present disclosure.

[0055] As shown in the figure, the RAN 104 includes a plurality of base stations 108. Broadly speaking, a base station is a network element in a radio access network that is responsible for radio transmission and reception to or from UEs in one or more cells. In different technologies, standards, or contexts, those skilled in the art may refer to a base station differently as a base transceiver station (BTS), radio base station, radio transceiver, transceiver function, basic service set (BSS), extended service set (ESS), access point (AP), Node B (NB), evolved Node B (eNB), gNodeB (gNB), transmission and reception point (TRP), or some other suitable term. In some examples, a base station may include two or more TRPs that may be co-located or non-co-located. Each TRP may communicate on the same or different carrier frequencies in the same or different frequency bands. In an example where the RAN 104 operates according to both LTE and 5G NR standards, one of the base stations 108 may be an LTE base station, and another base station may be a 5G NR base station.

[0056] The radio access network 104 is also shown as supporting wireless communication for a plurality of mobile devices. A mobile device may be referred to as a user equipment (UE) 106 in the 3GPP standard, but may also be referred to by those skilled in the art as a mobile station (MS), user station, mobile unit, user unit, wireless unit, remote unit, mobile device, wireless device, wireless communication device, remote device, mobile user station, access terminal (AT), mobile terminal, wireless terminal, remote terminal, handheld device, terminal, user agent, mobile client, client, or some other suitable term. The UE 106 may be a device that provides a user with access to network services. In an example where the RAN 104 operates according to both LTE and 5G NR standards, the UE 106 may be an evolved universal terrestrial radio access network - new radio dual connectivity (EN-DC) UE, which is capable of simultaneously connecting to an LTE base station and an NR base station to receive data packets from both the LTE base station and the NR base station.

[0057] In this document, a mobile device does not necessarily have the ability to move and may be stationary. The terms mobile device or mobile equipment broadly refer to a wide variety of devices and technologies. The UE may include a plurality of hardware structural components whose size, shape, and arrangement are changed to facilitate communication; such components may include antennas, antenna arrays, RF chains, amplifiers, one or more processors, etc. that are electrically coupled to each other. For example, some non-limiting examples of mobile devices include mobile stations, cellular (cell) phones, smartphones, session initiation protocol (SIP) phones, laptop computers, personal computers (PCs), notebooks, netbooks, smartbooks, tablets, personal digital assistants (PDAs), and various embedded systems (e.g., corresponding to the Internet of Things (IoT)).

[0058] The mobile device can also be an automobile or other vehicle, a remote sensor or actuator, a robot or robotic device, a satellite radio unit, a Global Positioning System (GPS) device, a target tracking device, a drone, a multi-rotor helicopter, a quadcopter helicopter, a remote control device, a consumer and / or wearable device such as glasses, a wearable camera, a virtual reality device, a smart watch, a health or fitness tracker, a digital audio player (e.g., an MP3 player), a camera, a gaming console, etc. The mobile device can also be a digital home or smart home device such as a home audio, video, and / or multimedia device, an appliance, a vending machine, smart lighting, a home security system, a smart meter, etc. In addition, the mobile device can also be a smart energy device, a security device, a solar panel or solar array, a municipal infrastructure device for controlling electricity (e.g., a smart grid), lighting, water, etc., an industrial automation and enterprise device, a logistics controller, an agricultural device, etc. In addition, the mobile device can also provide interconnected healthcare or telemedicine support, i.e., healthcare at a distance. The telemedicine device can include a telemedicine monitoring device and a telemedicine management device, and its communication can be given priority or precedence over access to other types of information, e.g., in terms of priority access for the transmission of critical service data and / or the associated QoS for the transmission of critical service data.

[0059] The wireless communication between the RAN 104 and the UE 106 can be described as using an air interface. The transmission from a base station (e.g., base station 108) to one or more UEs (e.g., UE 106) over the air interface can be referred to as a downlink (DL) transmission. In some examples, the term downlink can refer to a point-to-multipoint transmission originating from a base station (e.g., base station 108). Another way to describe this point-to-multipoint transmission scheme can be to use the term broadcast channel multiplexing. The transmission from a UE (e.g., UE 106) to a base station (e.g., base station 108) can be referred to as an uplink (UL) transmission. In some examples, the term uplink can refer to a point-to-point transmission initiated at a UE (e.g., UE 106).

[0060] In some examples, access to the air interface can be scheduled, where a scheduling entity of some other type of network entity (e.g., base station 108) allocates resources for communication among some or all of the devices and apparatuses within its service area or cell. Within the present disclosure, as further discussed below, the scheduling entity can be responsible for scheduling, allocating, reconfiguring, and releasing resources for one or more scheduled entities (e.g., UEs). That is, for the scheduled communication, multiple UEs 106 (which can be the scheduled entities) can utilize the resources allocated by the scheduling entity (e.g., base station 108).

[0061] Base station 108 is not the only entity that can act as a scheduling entity. That is, in some examples, a UE can act as a scheduling entity, scheduling resources for one or more scheduled entities (e.g., one or more other UEs). For example, a UE can communicate with other UEs in a peer-to-peer or device-to-device manner and / or in a relay configuration.

[0062] As Figure 1 shown, a scheduling entity (e.g., base station 108) can broadcast downlink traffic 112 to one or more scheduled entities (e.g., UE106). Broadly speaking, a scheduling entity is a node or device responsible for scheduling traffic in a wireless communication network (including downlink traffic 112 and, in some examples, including uplink traffic 116 and / or uplink control information 118 from one or more scheduled entities to the scheduling entity). On the other hand, a scheduled entity is a node or device that receives downlink control information 114 (including but not limited to scheduling information (e.g., grant), synchronization or timing information, or other control information from another entity in the wireless communication network such as a scheduling entity).

[0063] In addition, uplink control information 118, downlink control information 114, downlink traffic 112, and / or uplink traffic 116 can be time-divided into frames, subframes, time slots, and / or symbols. As used herein, a symbol can refer to a time unit that carries one resource element (RE) per subcarrier in an orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM) waveform. In some examples, a time slot can carry 7 or 14 OFDM symbols. A subframe can refer to a duration of 1 millisecond (ms). Multiple subframes or time slots can be grouped together to form a single frame or radio frame. Within this disclosure, a frame can refer to a predetermined duration for wireless transmission (e.g., 10 ms), where each frame is, for example, composed of 10 subframes each of 1 ms. Of course, these definitions are not required, and any suitable scheme for organizing the waveform can be utilized, and the various time divisions of the waveform can have any suitable duration.

[0064] Generally, base station 108 can include a backhaul interface for communicating with the backhaul 120 of the wireless communication system. The backhaul 120 can provide a link between base station 108 and core network 102. Further, in some examples, the backhaul network can provide an interconnection between the respective base stations 108. Various types of backhaul interfaces can be employed, such as direct physical connections, virtual networks, etc., using any suitable transport network.

[0065] The core network 102 can be part of a wireless communication system 100 and can be independent of the radio access technology used in the RAN 104. In some examples, the core network 102 can be configured according to the 5G standard (e.g., 5GC). In other examples, the core network 102 can be configured according to the 4G evolved packet core (EPC) or any other suitable standard or configuration.

[0066] Now refer to Figure 2 , by way of example and not limitation, a schematic diagram of a radio access network (RAN) 200 is provided. In some examples, the RAN 200 can be the same as the RAN 104 described above and shown in Figure 1 .

[0067] The geographical area covered by the RAN 200 can be divided into cellular areas (cells), and user equipment (UE) can uniquely identify these cellular areas (cells) based on an identifier broadcast from an access point or base station. Figure 2 Cells 202, 204, 206, and 208 are shown, and each of them can include one or more sectors (not shown). A sector is a sub-region of a cell. All sectors in a cell are served by the same base station. The radio link within a sector can be identified by a single logical identifier belonging to that sector. In a cell divided into sectors, multiple sectors within the cell can be formed by multiple sets of antennas, where each antenna is responsible for communicating with UEs in a part of the cell.

[0068] Various base station arrangements can be utilized. For example, in Figure 2 , two base stations 210 and 212 are shown in cells 202 and 204; and base station 214 is shown as controlling a remote radio head (RRH) 216 in cell 206. That is to say, a base station can have an integrated antenna or can be connected to an antenna or RRH via a feeder cable. In the example shown, cells 202, 204, and 206 can be referred to as macro cells because base stations 210, 212, and 214 support cells with a relatively large size. In addition, base station 218 is shown in cell 208, and cell 208 can overlap with one or more macro cells. In this example, cell 208 can be referred to as a small cell (e.g., micro cell, pico cell, femto cell, home base station, home node B, home eNodeB, etc.) because base station 218 supports a cell with a relatively small size. The cell size can be changed according to system design and component constraints.

[0069] It is to be understood that the RAN 200 may include any number of radio base stations and cells. Additionally, relay nodes may be deployed to extend the size or coverage area of a given cell. The base stations 210, 212, 214, 218 provide a wireless access point to the core network for any number of mobile devices. In some examples, the base stations 210, 212, 214, and / or 218 may be the same as the base station / scheduling entity described above and shown in Figure 1 as shown.

[0070] Figure 2 Also included is an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) 220, which may be a drone or quadcopter. The UAV 220 may be configured to act as a base station, or more specifically, a mobile base station. That is, in some examples, a cell may not necessarily be stationary, and the geographical area of the cell may move according to the position of a mobile base station such as the UAV 220.

[0071] In the RAN 200, a cell may include UEs that may communicate with one or more sectors of each cell. Additionally, each of the base stations 210, 212, 214, and 218 may be configured to provide an access point to the core network 102 (refer to Figure 1 ) for all UEs in their respective cells. For example, UEs 222 and 224 may communicate with base station 210; UEs 226 and 228 may communicate with base station 212; UEs 230 and 232 may communicate with base station 214 via RRH 216; and UE 234 may communicate with base station 218. In some examples, UEs 222, 224, 226, 228, 230, 232, 234, 236, 238, 240, and / or 242 may be the same as the UE / scheduled entity described above and shown in Figure 1 as shown. In some examples, the UAV 220 (e.g., a quadcopter) may be a mobile network node and may be configured to act as a UE. For example, the UAV 220 may operate within cell 202 by communicating with base station 210.

[0072] In another aspect of the RAN 200, sidelink signals can be used between UEs without relying on scheduling or control information from the base station. Sidelink communication can be utilized, for example, in device-to-device (D2D) networks, peer-to-peer (P2P) networks, vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) networks, vehicle-to-everything (V2X) networks, and / or other suitable sidelink networks. For example, two or more UEs (e.g., UEs 238, 240, and 242) can communicate with each other using sidelink signal 237 without relaying the communication through the base station. In some examples, each of UEs 238, 240, and 242 can act as a scheduling entity or a transmitting sidelink device and / or a scheduled entity or a receiving sidelink device to schedule resources and transmit sidelink signal 237 therebetween without relying on scheduling or control information from the base station. In other examples, two or more UEs (e.g., UEs 226 and 228) within the coverage area of a base station (e.g., base station 212) can also transmit sidelink signal 227 through a direct link (sidelink) without transmitting the communication through base station 212. In this example, base station 212 can allocate resources to UEs 226 and 228 for sidelink communication.

[0073] In the RAN 200, the ability of a UE to communicate while in motion (regardless of its location) is referred to as mobility. The various physical channels between the UE and the radio access network are typically established, maintained, and released under the control of an access and mobility management function (AMF, not shown, which is Figure 1 part of the core network 102), and the AMF can include a security context management function (SCMF) that manages the security context for both the control plane and user plane functions, as well as a security anchor function (SEAF) that performs authentication.

[0074] RAN 200 can use DL-based mobility or UL-based mobility to achieve mobility and handover (i.e., the connection of the UE is transferred from one radio channel to another radio channel). In a network configured for DL-based mobility, during a call with a scheduling entity or at any other time, the UE can monitor various parameters of the signal from its serving cell and various parameters of neighboring cells. Based on the quality of these parameters, the UE can maintain communication with one or more neighboring cells. During this time, if the UE moves from one cell to another cell, or if the signal quality from a neighboring cell exceeds the signal quality from the serving cell by a given amount of time, the UE can perform a handover or handoff from the serving cell to the neighboring (target) cell. For example, UE 224 (shown as a vehicle, although any suitable form of UE can be used) can move from the geographical area corresponding to its serving cell (e.g., cell 202) to the geographical area corresponding to a neighboring cell (e.g., cell 206). When the signal strength or quality from the neighbor cell exceeds the signal strength or quality of the serving cell by a given amount of time, UE 224 can send a report message to its serving base station (e.g., base station 210) to indicate this condition. In response, UE 224 can receive a handover command, and the UE can perform a handover to cell 206.

[0075] In a network configured for UL-based mobility, the network can select a serving cell for each UE using the UL reference signal from each UE. In some examples, base stations 210, 212, and 214 / 216 can broadcast a unified synchronization signal (e.g., a unified primary synchronization signal (PSS), a unified secondary synchronization signal (SSS), and a unified physical broadcast channel (PBCH)). UE222, 224, 226, 228, 230, and 232 can receive the unified synchronization signal, derive the carrier frequency and slot timing based on the synchronization signal, and send an uplink pilot or reference signal in response to deriving the timing. The uplink pilot signal sent by a UE (e.g., UE 224) can be concurrently received by two or more cells (e.g., base stations 210 and 214 / 216) within RAN 200. Each of the cells can measure the strength of the pilot signal, and the radio access network (e.g., one or more of base stations 210 and 214 / 216 and / or a central node within the core network) can determine the serving cell for UE 224. As UE 224 moves through RAN 200, the network can continue to monitor the uplink pilot signal sent by UE 224. When the signal strength or quality of the pilot signal measured by a neighboring cell exceeds the signal strength or quality of the pilot signal measured by the serving cell, RAN 200 can switch UE 224 from the serving cell to the neighboring cell with or without notifying UE 224.

[0076] Although the synchronization signals transmitted by base stations 210, 212, and 214 / 216 may be uniform, the synchronization signal may not identify a specific cell, but may identify an area of multiple cells operating on the same frequency and / or using the same timing. Using areas in a 5G network or other next-generation communication network enables an uplink-based mobility framework and improves the efficiency of both the UE and the network, as the number of mobility messages that need to be exchanged between the UE and the network can be reduced.

[0077] In various implementations, the air interface in RAN 200 can utilize licensed spectrum, unlicensed spectrum, or shared spectrum. Licensed spectrum is typically obtained by a mobile network operator purchasing a license from a government regulatory agency to provide exclusive use of a portion of the spectrum. Unlicensed spectrum provides shared use of a portion of the spectrum without the need for a government-granted license. Although some technical rules typically still need to be adhered to for accessing unlicensed spectrum, generally any operator or device can obtain access. Shared spectrum may fall between licensed and unlicensed spectrum, where technical rules or restrictions may be required to access the spectrum, but the spectrum can still be shared by multiple operators and / or multiple radio access technologies (RATs). For example, the license holder of a portion of licensed spectrum can provide licensed shared access (LSA) to share the spectrum with other parties (e.g., with appropriate licensee-determined conditions for access).

[0078] The air interface in RAN 200 can utilize one or more multiplexing and multiple access algorithms to enable simultaneous communication of individual devices. For example, the 5G NR specification provides multiple access for UL transmissions from UEs 222 and 224 to base station 210, and multiplexing of DL transmissions from base station 210 to one or more UEs 222 and 224 using orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) with a cyclic prefix (CP). Additionally, for UL transmissions, the 5G NR specification provides support for discrete Fourier transform spread OFDM (DFT-s-OFDM) with CP (also known as single-carrier FDMA (SC-FDMA)). However, within the scope of the present disclosure, multiplexing and multiple access are not limited to the above schemes and can be provided using time division multiple access (TDMA), code division multiple access (CDMA), frequency division multiple access (FDMA), sparse code multiple access (SCMA), resource spreading multiple access (RSMA), or other suitable multiple access schemes. Furthermore, time division multiplexing (TDM), code division multiplexing (CDM), frequency division multiplexing (FDM), orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM), sparse code multiplexing (SCM), or other suitable multiplexing schemes can be used to provide multiplexing of DL transmissions from base station 210 to UEs 222 and UE 224.

[0079] In addition, the air interface in RAN 200 can utilize one or more duplexing algorithms. Duplexing refers to a point-to-point communication link where two endpoints can communicate with each other in two directions. Full duplex means that two endpoints can communicate with each other simultaneously. Half duplex means that only one endpoint can send information to the other endpoint at a time. Half-duplex emulation is often implemented using time-division duplex (TDD) for wireless links. In TDD, transmissions in different directions on a given channel are separated from each other using time-division multiplexing. That is, at certain times, the channel is dedicated to transmission in one direction, while at other times, the channel is dedicated to transmission in the other direction, where the direction can change very rapidly, e.g., several times per time slot. In a wireless link, a full-duplex channel typically relies on physical isolation of the transmitter and receiver and appropriate interference cancellation techniques. Full-duplex emulation is often implemented for wireless links by utilizing frequency-division duplex (FDD) or space-division duplex (SDD). In FDD, transmissions in different directions operate at different carrier frequencies. In SDD, space-division multiplexing (SDM) is used to separate transmissions in different directions on a given channel. In other examples, full-duplex communication can be achieved within unpaired spectrum (e.g., within a single-carrier bandwidth), where transmissions in different directions occur in different sub-bands of the carrier bandwidth. This type of full-duplex communication can be referred to as sub-band full-duplex (SBFD), cross-split duplex (xDD), or flexible duplex.

[0080] The deployment of a communication system (such as a 5G New Radio (NR) system) can be arranged in different ways using various components or constituents. In a 5G NR system or network, network nodes, network entities, mobile elements of the network, radio access network (RAN) nodes, core network nodes, network elements, or network devices (such as a base station (BS) or one or more units (or one or more components) performing base station functions) can be implemented in an aggregated or disaggregated architecture. For example, a BS (such as a Node B (NB), evolved NB (eNB), NR BS, 5G NB, access point (AP), transmit receive point (TRP), or cell, etc.) can be implemented as an aggregated base station (also referred to as a stand-alone BS or monolithic BS) or a disaggregated base station.

[0081] A converged base station can be configured to utilize a radio protocol stack physically or logically integrated within a single RAN node. A split base station can be configured to utilize a protocol stack physically or logically distributed between two or more units, such as one or more central or centralized units (CUs), one or more distributed units (DUs), or one or more radio units (RUs). In some aspects, a centralized unit (CU) can be implemented within a RAN node, and one or more DUs can be co-located with the CU, or alternatively, can be geographically or virtually distributed among one or more other RAN nodes. A DU can be implemented to communicate with one or more RUs. Each of the CU, distributed unit (DU), and radio unit (RU) can also be implemented as a virtual unit, i.e., a virtual central unit (VCU), a virtual distributed unit (VDU), or a virtual radio unit (VRU).

[0082] Base station operation or network design can consider the aggregation characteristics of base station functions. For example, a split base station can be used in an integrated access backhaul (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)). Splitting can include distributing functions across two or more units at various physical locations, as well as virtually distributing functions for at least one unit, which can achieve flexibility in network design. The individual units of a split base station or a split RAN architecture can be configured for wired or wireless communication with at least one other unit.

[0083] Figure 3 FIG. 300 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a wireless communication system and an access network. The illustrated wireless communication system includes a split base station architecture. The split base station architecture can include one or more CUs 310, which can communicate directly with the core network 320 via a backhaul link, or indirectly with the core network 320 through one or more split base station units, such as a near real-time (near RT) RAN intelligent controller (RIC) 325 via an E2 link, or a non-real-time (non RT) RIC 315 associated with a service management and orchestration (SMO) framework 305, or both. The CU 310 can communicate with one or more DUs 330 via a corresponding midhaul link, such as an F1 interface. The DU 330 can communicate with one or more RUs 340 via a corresponding fronthaul link. The RU 340 can communicate with a corresponding UE 350 via one or more radio frequency (RF) access links. In some implementations, the UE 350 can be served by multiple RUs 340 simultaneously. In some examples, the UE 304 can correspond to the one at Figure 1 , Figure 2 , Figure 4 ,Figures 8 - 12 , Figures 14 - 16 , Figure 18 , Figure 24 , Figure 29 and Figure 30 any one of the UEs or scheduled entities shown in any of the figures in , , , , , and .

[0084] Each of the units in the unit (i.e., CU 310, DU 330, RU 340, and near RT RIC 325, non-RT RIC 315, and SMO framework 305) may include one or more interfaces or be coupled to one or more interfaces, and the one or more interfaces are configured to receive or transmit signals, data, or information (collectively referred to as signals) via a wired or wireless transmission medium. Each of the units in the unit, or the associated processor or controller that provides instructions to the communication interface of the unit, may be configured to communicate with one or more of the other units via the transmission medium. For example, the unit may include a wired interface configured to receive or transmit signals via a wired transmission medium to one or more of the other units. In addition, the unit may include a wireless interface, which may include a receiver, a transmitter, or a transceiver (such as an RF transceiver), configured to receive or transmit signals to, or receive and transmit signals from, one or more of the other units via a wireless transmission medium.

[0085] In some aspects, CU 310 may host one or more high-layer control functions. Such control functions may include radio resource control (RRC), packet data convergence protocol (PDCP), service data adaptation protocol (SDAP), etc. Each control function may be implemented using an interface configured to convey signals with other control functions hosted by CU 310. CU 310 may be configured to handle user plane functions (i.e., central unit - user plane (CU-UP)), control plane functions (i.e., central unit - control plane (CU-CP)), or a combination thereof. In some implementations, CU 310 may be logically divided into one or more CU-UP units and one or more CU-CP units. When implemented in an O-RAN configuration, the CU-UP units may communicate bidirectionally with the CU-CP units via an interface such as an E1 interface. CU 310 may be implemented to communicate with DU 330 when necessary for network control and signaling.

[0086] The DU 330 may correspond to a logical unit that includes one or more base station functions for controlling the operation of one or more RUs 340. In some aspects, the DU 330 may host one or more of the radio link control (RLC) layer, the media access control (MAC) layer, and one or more high physical (PHY) layers (such as modules for forward error correction (FEC) encoding and decoding, scrambling, modulation, demodulation, etc.) according to a functional split (such as those defined by 3GPP). In some aspects, the DU 330 may further host one or more low PHY layers. Each layer (or module) may be implemented using an interface configured to communicate signals with other layers (and modules) hosted by the DU 330 or control functions hosted by the CU 310.

[0087] Lower layer functions may be implemented by one or more RUs 340. In some deployments, the RUs 340 controlled by the DU 330 may correspond to logical nodes that host RF processing functions or low PHY layer functions (such as performing fast Fourier transform (FFT), inverse FFT (iFFT), digital beamforming, physical random access channel (PRACH) extraction and filtering, etc.) or both based on a functional split (such as a low layer functional split). In such an architecture, the RUs 340 may be implemented to handle over-the-air (OTA) communication with one or more UEs 304. In some implementations, the real-time and non-real-time aspects of the control and user plane communication with the RUs 340 may be controlled by the corresponding DU 330. In some scenarios, this configuration may enable the DU 330 and the CU 310 to be implemented in a cloud-based RAN architecture (such as a vRAN architecture).

[0088] The SMO framework 305 can be configured to support the RAN deployment and provisioning of both non-virtualized network elements and virtualized network elements. For non-virtualized network elements, the SMO framework 305 can be configured to support the deployment of dedicated physical resources for RAN coverage requirements, which can be managed via an operation and maintenance interface (such as the O1 interface). For virtualized network elements, the SMO framework 305 can be configured to interact with a cloud computing platform (such as the Open Cloud (O-Cloud) 390) to perform network element lifecycle management (such as instantiating a virtualized network element) via a cloud computing platform interface (such as the O2 interface). Such virtualized network elements can include, but are not limited to, the CU 310, DU 330, RU 340, and the near-RT RIC 325. In some implementations, the SMO framework 305 can communicate with the hardware aspects of the 4G RAN (such as the Open eNB (O-eNB) 311) via the O1 interface. Additionally, in some implementations, the SMO framework 305 can communicate directly with one or more RUs 340 via the O1 interface. The SMO framework 305 can also include the non-RT RIC 315, which is configured to support the functions of the SMO framework 305.

[0089] The non-RT RIC 315 can be configured to include logic functions that implement non-real-time control and optimization of RAN elements and resources, artificial intelligence (AI) / machine learning (ML) (AI / ML) workflows including model training and updating, or policy-based guidance of applications / features in the near-RT RIC 325. The non-RT RIC 315 can be coupled to or communicate with the near-RT RIC 325 (such as via the A1 interface). The near-RT RIC 325 can be configured to include logic functions that implement near-real-time control and optimization of RAN elements and resources via data collection and actions on an interface connecting one or more CUs 310, one or more DUs 330, or both, and the O-eNB to the near-RT RIC 325 (such as via the E2 interface).

[0090] In some implementations, to generate an AI / ML model to be deployed in the near-RT RIC 325, the non-RT RIC 315 may receive parameters or external enrichment information from an external server. Such information can be utilized by the near-RT RIC 325 and can be received from non-network data sources or from network functions at the SMO framework 305 or the non-RT RIC 315. In some examples, the non-RT RIC 315 or the near-RT RIC 325 may be configured to tune RAN behavior or performance. For example, the non-RT RIC 315 may monitor long-term trends and patterns of performance and adopt an AI / ML model via the SMO framework 305 (such as reconfiguration via O1) or via creating a RAN management policy (such as an A1 policy) to perform corrective actions.

[0091] At least one of the CU 310, DU 330, and RU 340 may be referred to as the base station 302. Thus, the base station 302 may include one or more of the CU 310, DU 330, and RU 340 (each component is indicated by a dashed line to represent that each component may or may not be included in the base station 302). In some examples, the base station 302 may correspond to the one in Figure 1 , Figure 2 , Figure 4 , Figures 8 - 12 , Figures 14 - 16 , Figure 21 , Figure 24 , Figure 29 and Figure 30Any one of the network entities, base stations, CUs, DUs, RUs, or scheduling entities shown in any of the figures. Base station 302 provides an access point for UE 304 to core network 320. Base station 302 may include macro cells (high-power cellular base stations) and / or small cells (low-power cellular base stations). Small cells include femto cells, pico cells, and micro cells. A network including both small cells and macro cells may be referred to as a heterogeneous network. The heterogeneous network may also include a home evolved Node B (eNB) (HeNB), which may serve a restricted group referred to as a closed subscriber group (CSG). The communication link between RU 340 and UE 304 may include an uplink (UL) (also referred to as a reverse link) transmission from UE 304 to RU 340 and / or a downlink (DL) (also referred to as a forward link) transmission from RU 340 to UE 304. The communication link may use multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) antenna technology, including spatial multiplexing, beamforming, and / or transmit diversity. The communication link may be over one or more carriers. Base station 302 / UE 304 may use a spectrum with a bandwidth of up to Y MHz (e.g., 5, 10, 15, 20, 100, 400, etc. MHz) per carrier, allocated in carrier aggregation with a total of up to Yx MHz (x component carriers) for transmission in each direction. The carriers may be adjacent to each other or may not be adjacent to each other. The allocation of carriers may be asymmetric with respect to DL and UL (e.g., more or fewer carriers may be allocated for DL compared to UL). Component carriers may include a primary component carrier and one or more secondary component carriers. The primary component carrier may be referred to as the primary cell (PCell), and the secondary component carriers may be referred to as secondary cells (SCells).

[0092] Some UEs 304 may communicate with each other using device-to-device (D2D) communication links 358. D2D communication links 358 may use DL / UL wireless wide area network (WWAN) spectrum. D2D communication links 358 may use one or more sidelink channels, such as the physical sidelink broadcast channel (PSBCH), the physical sidelink discovery channel (PSDCH), the physical sidelink shared channel (PSSCH), and the physical sidelink control channel (PSCCH). D2D communication may be through various wireless D2D communication systems, such as, for example, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi based on the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 standard, LTE, or NR.

[0093] The wireless communication system may also include a Wi-Fi AP 350 that communicates with a UE 304 (also referred to as a Wi-Fi station (STA)) via a communication link 354, e.g., in a 5 GHz unlicensed spectrum. When communicating in the unlicensed spectrum, the UE 304 / AP 350 may perform a Clear Channel Assessment (CCA) before communication to determine whether the channel is available.

[0094] The electromagnetic spectrum is generally subdivided into various categories, bands, channels, etc. based on frequency / wavelength. In 5G NR, two initial operating bands have been identified as the frequency range names FR1 (410 MHz - 7.125 GHz) and FR2 (24.25 GHz - 52.6 GHz). Although a part of FR1 is greater than 6 GHz, in various documents and articles, FR1 is generally (interchangeably) referred to as the "sub-6 GHz" band. Similar naming issues sometimes arise with respect to FR2. Although different from the extremely high frequency (EHF) band (30 GHz - 300 GHz), which is identified by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) as the "millimeter wave" band, FR2 is generally (interchangeably) referred to as the "millimeter wave" band in documents and articles.

[0095] The frequencies between FR1 and FR2 are generally referred to as mid-band frequencies. Recent 5G NR research has identified the operating bands of these mid-band frequencies as the frequency range name FR3 (7.125 GHz – 24.25 GHz). The bands falling within FR3 may inherit FR1 characteristics and / or FR2 characteristics and, thus, can effectively extend the characteristics of FR1 and / or FR2 to the mid-band frequencies. Additionally, higher bands are currently being explored to extend 5G NR operation above 52.6 GHz. For example, three higher operating bands have been identified as the frequency range names FR2-2 (52.6 GHz – 71 GHz), FR4 (71 GHz – 114.25 GHz), and FR5 (114.25 GHz – 300 GHz). Each of these higher bands falls within the EHF band.

[0096] Considering the above aspects, unless otherwise specifically stated, if terms are used in this document, "sub-6 GHz" etc. may generally represent frequencies that can be less than 6 GHz, frequencies that can be within FR1, or frequencies that can include mid-band frequencies. Additionally, unless otherwise specifically stated, if used in this document, terms such as "millimeter wave" may generally represent frequencies that can include mid-band frequencies, frequencies that can be within FR2, FR4, FR2-2, and / or FR5, or frequencies that can be within the EHF band.

[0097] The base station 302 and the UE 304 may each include multiple antennas (such as antenna elements, antenna panels, and / or antenna arrays) to facilitate beamforming. The base station 302 may transmit the beamformed signal 382 to the UE 304 in one or more transmission directions. The UE 304 may receive the beamformed signal from the base station 302 in one or more reception directions. The UE 304 may also transmit the beamformed signal 384 to the base station 302 in one or more transmission directions. The base station 302 may receive the beamformed signal from the UE 304 in one or more reception directions. The base station 302 / UE 304 may perform beam training to determine the optimal reception and transmission directions for each of the base station 302 / UE 304. The transmission direction and the reception direction for the base station 302 may be the same or may be different. The transmission direction and the reception direction for the UE 304 may be the same or may be different.

[0098] The base station 302 may include and / or be referred to as a gNB, Node B, eNB, access point, base station transceiver, radio base station, radio transceiver, transceiver function, basic service set (BSS), extended service set (ESS), TRP, network node, network entity, network device, or some other suitable term. The base station 302 may be implemented as an integrated access and backhaul (IAB) node, a relay node, a sidelink node, an aggregated (monolithic) base station with a baseband unit (BBU) (including a CU and a DU) and an RU, or may be implemented as a disaggregated base station including one or more of a CU, a DU, and / or an RU.

[0099] The core network 320 may include an Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF) 361, a Session Management Function (SMF) 362, a User Plane Function (UPF) 363, a Unified Data Management (UDM) 364, one or more Location Servers 368, and other functional entities. The AMF 361 is a control node that processes signaling between the UE 304 and the core network 320. The AMF 361 supports registration management, connection management, mobility management, and other functions. The SMF 362 supports session management and other functions. The UPF 363 supports packet routing, packet forwarding, and other functions. The UDM 364 supports the generation of Authentication and Key Agreement (AKA) credentials, user identification processing, access authorization, and subscription management. One or more Location Servers 368 are shown to include a Gateway Mobile Location Center (GMLC) 365 and a Location Management Function (LMF) 366. However, in general, one or more Location Servers 368 may include one or more location / locationing servers, which may include one or more of the GMLC 365, LMF 366, a Position Determination Entity (PDE), a Serving Mobile Location Center (SMLC), a Mobile Positioning Center (MPC), etc. The GMLC 365 and LMF 366 support UE location services. The GMLC 365 provides an interface for clients / applications (e.g., emergency services) to access UE location information. The LMF 366 receives measurement and assistance information from the NG-RAN and the UE 304 via the AMF 361 to calculate the location of the UE 304. The NG-RAN may utilize one or more positioning methods to determine the location of the UE 304. Positioning the UE 304 may include signal measurement, location estimation, and optional speed calculation based on the measurement. The signal measurement may be performed by the UE 304 and / or the serving base station 302. The measured signals may be based on a Satellite Positioning System (SPS) 370 (e.g., a Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS), Global Positioning System (GPS), Non-Terrestrial Network (NTN), or one or more of other satellite position / locationing systems), LTE signals, Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) signals, Bluetooth signals, Terrestrial Beacon System (TBS), sensor-based information (e.g., barometric pressure sensors, motion sensors), NR Enhanced Cell ID (NR E-CID) method, NR signals (e.g., multi-round-trip time (multi-RTT), DL Angle of Departure (DL-AoD), DL Time Difference of Arrival (DL-TDOA), UL Time Difference of Arrival, and UL Angle of Arrival (UL-AoA) positioning), and / or other systems / signals / sensors.

[0100] Examples of the UE 304 include cellular phones, smart phones, Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) phones, laptop computers, personal digital assistants (PDAs), satellite radio units, global positioning systems, multimedia devices, video devices, digital audio players (e.g., MP3 players), cameras, game consoles, tablet computers, smart devices, wearable devices, vehicles, electricity meters, gas pumps, large or small kitchen appliances, healthcare devices, implants, sensors / actuators, displays, or any other device with similar functions. Some of the UEs in the UE 304 may be referred to as IoT devices (e.g., parking meters, gas pumps, ovens, vehicles, cardiac monitors, etc.). The UE 304 may also be referred to as a station, mobile station, user station, mobile unit, user unit, radio unit, remote unit, mobile device, wireless device, wireless communication device, remote device, mobile user station, access terminal, mobile terminal, wireless terminal, remote terminal, handheld device, user agent, mobile client, client, or some other appropriate term. In some scenarios, the term UE may also apply to one or more companion devices, such as companion devices in a device constellation. One or more of these devices may access the network jointly and / or access the network individually.

[0101] Referring again to Figure 3 , in some aspects, the UE 304 may include a reporting component 398. In some aspects, the reporting component 398 may be configured to generate a set of measurement results associated with one or more beams, where the one or more beams are associated with one or more candidate SpCells for L1 or L2 mobility. In some aspects, the reporting component 398 may also be configured to send a beam report for the one or more beams to a second network entity, where the beam report is based on the set of measurement results. In some aspects, the reporting component 398 may be configured to generate a measurement report and send the measurement report to another node (e.g., the base station 302).

[0102] In some aspects, the base station 302 may include a reporting component 399. In some aspects, the reporting component 399 may be configured to establish a connection with a second network entity. In some aspects, the reporting component 399 may also be configured to receive beam reports for one or more beams associated with the second network entity, wherein the one or more beams are associated with one or more candidate SpCells for L1 or L2 mobility, wherein the beam reports are based on a set of measurement results associated with the one or more beams, and wherein the one or more beams are associated with one or more candidate SpCells for L1 or L2 mobility. In some aspects, the reporting component 399 may be configured to generate a measurement configuration and cause the measurement configuration to be sent to another node (e.g., the user equipment 304). Additionally, the reporting component 399 may be configured to receive a measurement report from another node (e.g., the user equipment 304), generate a cell handover command based on the measurement report, and cause the cell handover command to be sent to another node (e.g., the user equipment 304).

[0103] As described herein, a node (which may be referred to as a node, network node, network entity, or wireless node) may include, be, or be included in (e.g., be a component of) the following: a base station (e.g., any base station described herein), a UE (e.g., any UE described herein), a network controller, a device, an apparatus, a computing system, an integrated access and backhaul (IAB) node, a distributed unit (DU), a central unit (CU), a remote / radio unit (RU) (which may also be referred to as a remote radio unit (RRU)), and / or another processing entity configured to perform any of the techniques described herein. For example, a network node may be a UE. As another example, a network node may be a base station or a network entity. As another example, a first network node may be configured to communicate with a second network node or a third network node. In one aspect of this example, the first network node may be a UE, the second network node may be a base station, and the third network node may be a UE. In another aspect of this example, the first network node may be a UE, the second network node may be a base station, and the third network node may be a base station. In other aspects of this example, the first network node, the second network node, and the third network node may be different from these examples. Similarly, references to UEs, base stations, devices, apparatuses, computing systems, etc. may include the disclosure that the UEs, base stations, devices, apparatuses, computing systems, etc. are network nodes. For example, the disclosure that a UE is configured to receive information from a base station also discloses that a first network node is configured to receive information from a second network node. Consistent with this disclosure, once a particular example is broadened in accordance with this disclosure (e.g., the disclosure that a UE is configured to receive information from a base station also discloses that a first network node is configured to receive information from a second network node), the broader example of the narrower example may be interpreted in the opposite way, but in a broad open-ended manner. In the above example where the disclosure that a UE is configured to receive information from a base station also discloses that a first network node is configured to receive information from a second network node, the first network node may refer to a first UE, a first base station, a first device, a first apparatus, a first computing system, a first group of one or more components, a first processing entity, etc. configured to receive information; and the second network node may refer to a second UE, a second base station, a second device, a second apparatus, a second computing system, a second group of one or more components, a second processing entity, etc.

[0104] As described herein, different terms may be used to describe the communication of information (e.g., any information, signal, etc.) in various aspects. The disclosure of one communication term includes the disclosure of other communication terms. For example, a first network node may be described as being configured to send information to a second network node. In this example and consistent with the present disclosure, the disclosure that the first network node is configured to send information to the second network node includes the disclosure that the first network node is configured to provide, send, output, transmit, or deliver information to the second network node. Similarly, in this example and consistent with the present disclosure, the disclosure that the first network node is configured to send information to the second network node includes the disclosure that the second network node is configured to receive, obtain, or decode the information provided, sent, output, transmitted, or delivered by the first network node.

[0105] Figure 4 is a block diagram showing a base station 410 in an access network communicating with a UE 450. In some examples, the base station 410 may correspond to any one of the network entities, base stations, CUs, DUs, RUs, or scheduling entities shown in any of the diagrams in Figures 1 - 3 , Figures 8 - 12 , Figures 14 - 16 , Figure 21 , Figure 24 , Figure 29 and Figure 30 Any one of the UEs or scheduled entities shown in any of the diagrams in Figures 1 - 3 , Figures 8 - 12 , Figures 14 - 16 , Figure 18 , Figure 24 , Figure 29 and Figure 30 In some examples, the UE 450 may correspond to any one of the UEs or scheduled entities shown in any of the diagrams in

[0106] In DL, Internet Protocol (IP) packets can be provided to one or more controllers / processors (for convenience, referred to herein as controller / processor 475). The controller / processor 475 implements layer 3 and layer 2 functions. Layer 3 includes a Radio Resource Control (RRC) layer, and layer 2 includes a Service Data Adaptation Protocol (SDAP) layer, a Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) layer, a Radio Link Control (RLC) layer, and a Medium Access Control (MAC) layer. The controller / processor 475 provides: RRC layer functions associated with: broadcasting of system information (e.g., MIB, SIB), RRC connection control (e.g., RRC connection paging, RRC connection establishment, RRC connection modification, and RRC connection release), inter-Radio Access Technology (RAT) mobility, and measurement configuration for UE measurement reporting; PDCP layer functions associated with: header compression / decompression, security (encryption, decryption, integrity protection, integrity verification), and handover support functions; RLC layer functions associated with: transmission of upper layer Packet Data Units (PDUs), error correction via ARQ, concatenation, segmentation, and reassembly of RLC Service Data Units (SDUs), re-segmentation of RLC data PDUs, and re-ordering of RLC data PDUs; and MAC layer functions associated with: mapping between logical channels and transport channels, multiplexing of MAC SDUs onto Transport Blocks (TBs), demultiplexing of MAC SDUs from TBs, scheduling information reporting, error correction via Hybrid Automatic Repeat reQuest (HARQ), priority handling, and logical channel prioritization.

[0107] One or more transmit (TX) processors, generally represented by TX processor 416, and one or more receive (RX) processors, generally represented by RX processor 470, implement the layer 1 functions associated with various signal processing functions. Layer 1, which includes the physical (PHY) layer, may include error detection on the transport channel, forward error correction (FEC) coding / decoding on the transport channel, interleaving, rate matching, mapping to the physical channel, modulation / demodulation of the physical channel, and MIMO antenna processing. TX processor 416 processes the mapping to the signal constellation based on various modulation schemes (e.g., binary phase shift keying (BPSK), quadrature phase shift keying (QPSK), M-phase shift keying (M-PSK), M-order quadrature amplitude modulation (M-QAM)). The encoded and modulated symbols can then be divided into parallel streams. Each stream can then be mapped to OFDM subcarriers, multiplexed with reference signals (e.g., pilots) in the time and / or frequency domain, and then combined using an inverse fast Fourier transform (IFFT) to generate a physical channel carrying a stream of time-domain OFDM symbols. The OFDM stream is space precoded to generate multiple spatial streams. Channel estimates from channel estimator 474 can be used to determine the coding and modulation schemes and for spatial processing. The channel estimates can be derived based on reference signals transmitted by UE 450 and / or channel state feedback. Each spatial stream can then be provided to a different antenna 420 via a separate transmitter 418Tx. Each transmitter 418Tx can modulate a radio frequency (RF) carrier with the corresponding spatial stream for transmission.

[0108] At the UE 450, each receiver 454Rx receives signals via its respective antenna 452. Each receiver 454Rx recovers the information modulated onto the RF carrier and provides this information to one or more receive (RX) processors (commonly represented by RX processor 456) that implement layer 1 functions associated with various signal processing functions. One or more transmit (TX) processors (commonly represented by TX processor 468) and the RX processor 456 implement layer 1 functions associated with various signal processing functions. The RX processor 456 may perform spatial processing on the information to recover any spatial streams destined for the UE 450. If multiple spatial streams are destined for the UE 450, they may be combined by the RX processor 456 into a single OFDM symbol stream. The RX processor 456 then uses a fast Fourier transform (FFT) to transform the OFDM symbol stream from the time domain to the frequency domain. The frequency domain signal includes a separate OFDM symbol stream for each subcarrier of the OFDM signal. The symbols and reference signals on each subcarrier are recovered and demodulated by determining the most likely signal constellation points transmitted by the base station 410. These soft decisions may be based on the channel estimates computed by the channel estimator 458. The soft decisions are then decoded and deinterleaved to recover the data and control signals originally transmitted by the base station 410 on the physical channel. The data and control signals are then provided to one or more controllers / processors (referred to herein as controller / processor 459 for convenience) that implement layer 3 and layer 2 functions.

[0109] The controller / processor 459 may be associated with one or more memories (referred to herein as memory 460 for convenience) that store program code and data. The memory 460 may be referred to as a computer-readable medium. In the UL, the controller / processor 459 provides demultiplexing, packet reassembly, decryption, header decompression, and control signal processing between the transport channel and the logical channel to recover IP packets. The controller / processor 459 is also responsible for error detection using the acknowledgement (ACK) and / or negative acknowledgement (NACK) protocols to support HARQ operations.

[0110] Similar to the functions described in connection with DL transmissions performed by base station 410, controller / processor 459 provides: RRC layer functions associated with: system information (e.g., MIB, SIB) acquisition, RRC connection, and measurement reporting; PDCP layer functions associated with: header compression / decompression and security (encryption, decryption, integrity protection, integrity verification); RLC layer functions associated with: transfer of upper layer PDUs, error correction via ARQ, concatenation, segmentation, and reassembly of RLC SDUs, re-segmentation of RLC data PDUs, and re-ordering of RLC data PDUs; and MAC layer functions associated with: mapping between logical channels and transport channels, multiplexing of MAC SDUs onto TBs, demultiplexing of MAC SDUs from TBs, scheduling information reporting, error correction via HARQ, priority handling, and logical channel prioritization.

[0111] Channel estimates derived by channel estimator 458 based on reference signals or feedback sent by base station 410 can be used by TX processor 468 to select an appropriate coding and modulation scheme, and to facilitate spatial processing. The spatial streams generated by TX processor 468 can be provided to different antennas 452 via a separate transmitter 454Tx. Each transmitter 454Tx can modulate an RF carrier with a corresponding spatial stream for transmission.

[0112] UL transmissions are processed at base station 410 in a manner similar to that described in connection with the receiver functions at UE 450. Each receiver 418Rx receives signals via its respective antenna 420. Each receiver 418Rx recovers the information modulated onto the RF carrier and provides the information to RX processor 470.

[0113] Controller / processor 475 can be associated with one or more memories (referred to herein as memory 476 for convenience) that store program code and data. Memory 476 can be referred to as a computer-readable medium. In the UL, controller / processor 475 provides demultiplexing between transport channels and logical channels, packet reassembly, decryption, header decompression, control signal processing to recover IP packets. Controller / processor 475 is also responsible for error detection using the ACK and / or NACK protocols to support HARQ operations.

[0114] At least one of TX processor 468, RX processor 456, and controller / processor 459 can be configured to perform aspects related to Figure 3 reporting component 398.

[0115] At least one of TX processor 416, RX processor 470, and controller / processor 475 can be configured to perform aspects related toFigure 3 Aspects related to the reporting component 399.

[0116] Aspects of the present disclosure will be described with reference to an OFDM waveform, an example of which is schematically shown in Figure 5 Those skilled in the art should understand that aspects of the present disclosure can be applied to SC-FDMA waveforms in substantially the same manner as described hereinafter. That is, although some examples of the present disclosure may focus on OFDM links for clarity, it should be understood that the same principles can also be applied to SC-FDMA waveforms.

[0117] Now referring to Figure 5 , an expanded view of an exemplary subframe 502 is shown, which shows an OFDM resource grid. However, as those skilled in the art will readily recognize, the physical (PHY) layer transmission structure for any particular application can be different from the examples described herein, depending on any number of factors. Here, time is in the horizontal direction, in units of OFDM symbols; and frequency is in the vertical direction, in units of subcarriers of a carrier.

[0118] The resource grid 504 can be used to schematically represent time-frequency resources for a given antenna port. In some examples, an antenna port is a logical entity for mapping a data stream to one or more antennas. Each antenna port can be associated with a reference signal (e.g., it can allow a receiver to distinguish data streams associated with different antenna ports in a received transmission). Antenna ports can be defined such that the channel over which a symbol is transmitted on an antenna port can be inferred from the channel over which another symbol is transmitted on the same antenna port. Thus, a given antenna port can represent a particular channel model associated with a particular reference signal. In some examples, a given antenna port and a subcarrier spacing (SCS) can be associated with a corresponding resource grid (including the REs as described above). Here, modulated data symbols from a multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) layer can be combined and redistributed to each antenna port, then precoding is applied, and the precoded data symbols are applied to the corresponding REs for OFDM signal generation and transmission via one or more physical antenna elements. In some examples, the mapping from antenna ports to physical antennas can be beamforming-based (e.g., signals can be transmitted on certain antenna ports to form a desired beam). Thus, a given antenna port can correspond to a particular set of beamforming parameters (e.g., signal phase and / or amplitude).

[0119] In a MIMO implementation with multiple available antenna ports, a corresponding plurality of resource grids 504 may be available for communication. The resource grid 504 is divided into a plurality of resource elements (REs) 506. An RE (which is 1 subcarrier × 1 symbol) is the smallest discrete portion of the time-frequency grid and contains a single complex value representing data from a physical channel or signal. Depending on the modulation utilized in a particular implementation, each RE may represent one or more bits of information. In some examples, a block of REs may be referred to as a physical resource block (PRB), or more simply as a resource block (RB) 508, which contains any suitable number of contiguous subcarriers in the frequency domain. In one example, an RB may include 12 subcarriers (a number independent of the numerology used). In some examples, depending on the numerology, an RB may include any suitable number of contiguous OFDM symbols in the time domain. Within the present disclosure, it is assumed that a single RB, such as RB 508, corresponds exactly to communication in a single direction (transmission or reception for a given device).

[0120] A set of contiguous or non-contiguous resource blocks may be referred to herein as a resource block group (RBG), subband, or bandwidth part (BWP). A set of subbands or BWPs may span the entire bandwidth. Scheduling a scheduled entity (e.g., a UE) for downlink, uplink, or sidelink transmission generally involves scheduling one or more resource elements 506 within one or more subbands or bandwidth parts (BWPs). Thus, a UE typically utilizes only a subset of the resource grid 504. In some examples, an RB may be the smallest unit of resources that can be allocated to a UE. Thus, the more RBs scheduled for a UE and the higher the modulation scheme selected for the air interface, the higher the data rate for the UE. An RB may be scheduled by a scheduling entity such as a base station (e.g., a gNB, eNB, etc.), or may be self-scheduled by a UE implementing D2D sidelink communication.

[0121] In this illustration, RB 508 is shown as occupying less than the entire bandwidth of subframe 502, with some subcarriers shown above and below RB 508. In a given implementation, subframe 502 may have a bandwidth corresponding to any number of one or more RBs 508. Additionally, in this illustration, RB 508 is shown as occupying less than the entire duration of subframe 502, although this is only one possible example.

[0122] Each 1 ms subframe 502 may include one or more adjacent time slots. In Figure 5In the example shown, as an illustrative example, a subframe 502 includes four time slots 510. In some examples, a time slot can be defined according to a specified number of OFDM symbols with a given cyclic prefix (CP) length. For example, a time slot can include 7 or 14 OFDM symbols with a nominal CP. Additional examples can include mini-slots (sometimes referred to as shortened transmission time intervals (TTIs)) having a shorter duration (e.g., one to three OFDM symbols). These mini-slots or shortened TTIs can be transmitted in some cases by occupying resources scheduled for an ongoing time slot transmission for the same UE or different UEs. Any number of resource blocks can be used within a subframe or a time slot.

[0123] An expanded view of one of the time slots 510 within the time slot 510 shows that the time slot 510 includes a control region 512 and a data region 514. Generally, the control region 512 can carry a control channel, and the data region 514 can carry a data channel. Of course, a time slot can contain all DL, all UL, or at least one DL portion and at least one UL portion. In Figure 5 the structure shown is merely exemplary in nature, and different time slot structures can be utilized, and different time slot structures can include one or more regions in each of the control region and the data region.

[0124] Although Figure 5 not shown in, various resource elements 506 within the RB 508 can be scheduled to carry one or more physical channels, including control channels, shared channels, data channels, etc. Other resource elements 506 within the RB 508 can also carry pilot signals or reference signals. These pilot or reference signals can be provided to a receiving device to perform channel estimation of the corresponding channel, which can enable coherent demodulation / detection of the control and / or data channels within the RB 508.

[0125] In some examples, the time slot 510 can be used for broadcast, multicast, groupcast, or unicast communication. For example, broadcast, multicast, or groupcast communication can refer to a point-to-multipoint transmission from one device (e.g., a base station, UE, or other similar device) to other devices. Here, broadcast communication is delivered to all devices, while multicast or groupcast communication is delivered to multiple intended recipient devices. Unicast communication can refer to a point-to-point transmission from one device to a single other device.

[0126] In an example of cellular communication over a cellular carrier via the Uu interface, for DL transmission, a scheduling entity (e.g., a base station) may allocate one or more REs 506 (e.g., within the control region 512) to one or more scheduled entities (e.g., UEs) to carry DL control information including one or more DL control channels such as the Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH). The PDCCH carries downlink control information (DCI), including but not limited to power control commands (e.g., one or more open-loop power control parameters and / or one or more closed-loop power control parameters), scheduling information, grants, and / or assignments of REs for DL transmission and UL transmission. The PDCCH may also carry hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) feedback transmissions such as an acknowledgement (ACK) or a negative acknowledgement (NACK). HARQ is a technique well known to those skilled in the art, where the integrity of a packet transmission can be verified for accuracy at the receiving side, e.g., using any suitable integrity verification mechanism such as a checksum or a cyclic redundancy check (CRC). If the integrity of the transmission is confirmed, an ACK may be sent, while if the integrity of the transmission is not confirmed, a NACK may be sent. In response to a NACK, the transmitting device may send a HARQ retransmission, which may implement chase combining, incremental redundancy, etc.

[0127] The base station may also allocate one or more REs 506 (e.g., in the control region 512 or the data region 514) to carry other DL signals such as demodulation reference signals (DMRS); phase-tracking reference signals (PT-RS); channel state information (CSI) reference signals (CSI-RS); and synchronization signal blocks (SSB). The SSB may be broadcast regularly at regular intervals based on a period (e.g., 5, 10, 20, 30, 80, or 130 ms). The SSB includes a primary synchronization signal (PSS), a secondary synchronization signal (SSS), and a physical broadcast control channel (PBCH). The UE may use the PSS and SSS to achieve radio frame, subframe, slot, and symbol synchronization in the time domain, identify the center of the channel (system) bandwidth in the frequency domain, and identify the physical cell identifier (PCI) of the cell.

[0128] The PBCH in SSB may also include a master information block (MIB) containing various system information and parameters for decoding system information blocks (SIBs). The SIB may be, for example, SystemInformationType 1 (SIB1), which may include various additional (remaining) system information. The MIB and SIB1 together provide minimum system information (SI) for initial access. Examples of system information sent in the MIB may include, but are not limited to, subcarrier spacing (e.g., default downlink numerology), system frame number, configuration of the PDCCH control resource set (CORESET) (e.g., PDCCH CORESET0), cell barring indicator, cell reselection indicator, grid offset, and search space for SIB1. Examples of the remaining minimum system information (RMSI) sent in SIB1 may include, but are not limited to, random access search space, paging search space, downlink configuration information, and uplink configuration information. The base station may also send other system information (OSI).

[0129] In UL transmission, the UE may utilize one or more REs 506 to carry UL control information (UCI) including one or more UL control channels (such as the physical uplink control channel (PUCCH)) to a scheduling entity. The UCI may include a variety of packet types and categories, including pilots, reference signals, and information configured to enable or assist in decoding uplink data transmissions. Examples of uplink reference signals may include sounding reference signals (SRS) and uplink DMRS. In some examples, the UCI may include a scheduling request (SR), i.e., a request to the scheduling entity to schedule an uplink transmission. Here, in response to the SR sent on the UCI, the scheduling entity may send downlink control information (DCI), which may schedule resources for uplink packet transmission. The UCI may also include HARQ feedback, channel state feedback (CSF) (such as CSI report), or any other appropriate UCI.

[0130] In addition to control information, one or more REs 506 (e.g., within the data region 514) may also be allocated for data traffic. Such data traffic may be carried on one or more traffic channels (e.g., for DL transmission, the physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH); or for UL transmission, the physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH)). In some examples, one or more REs 506 within the data region 514 may be configured to carry other signals (such as one or more SIBs and DMRS).

[0131] In an example of sidelink communication on a sidelink carrier via a proximity service (ProSe) PC5 interface, the control region 512 of slot 510 may include a physical sidelink control channel (PSCCH) that includes sidelink control information (SCI) transmitted by an initiating (transmitting) sidelink device (e.g., a transmitting (Tx) V2X device or other Tx UE) towards a set of one or more other receiving sidelink devices (e.g., a receiving (Rx) V2X device or some other Rx UE). The data region 514 of slot 510 may include a physical sidelink shared channel (PSSCH) that includes sidelink data traffic transmitted by the initiating (transmitting) sidelink device within resources reserved on the sidelink carrier via the SCI. Other information may also be transmitted via various resource elements (REs) 506 within slot 510. For example, HARQ feedback information may be transmitted from the receiving sidelink device to the transmitting sidelink device in a physical sidelink feedback channel (PSFCH) within slot 510. Additionally, one or more reference signals (such as a sidelink SSB, sidelink CSI-RS, sidelink SRS, and / or sidelink positioning reference signal (PRS)) may be transmitted within slot 510.

[0132] These physical channels described above are typically multiplexed and mapped to transport channels for processing at the media access control (MAC) layer. A transport channel carries an information block referred to as a transport block (TB). Based on the modulation and coding scheme (MCS) and the number of resource blocks (RBs) in a given transmission, the transport block size (TBS) (which may correspond to the number of information bits) may be a controlled parameter.

[0133] As referred to above Figures 1 - 5 the channels or carriers described are not necessarily all of the channels or carriers that may be utilized between a scheduling entity and a scheduled entity, and one of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that other channels or carriers, such as other traffic, control, and feedback channels, may be utilized in addition to the channels or carriers shown.

[0134] Figure 6A An example 600 of various downlink channels within a subframe of a frame including channels for initial access and synchronization is shown. As Figure 6A shown, the physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) 602 is transmitted in at least two symbols (e.g., symbol 0 and symbol 1) and may carry DCI within at least one control channel element (CCE), where each CCE includes nine resource element groups (REGs), and each resource element group (REG) includes four consecutive resource elements (REs) in an OFDM symbol. Additionally, Figure 6AAn exemplary synchronization signal block (SSB) 604 that can be periodically transmitted by a base station or gNB is shown. The SSB 604 carries a synchronization signal PSS 606 and SSS 608, as well as a physical broadcast channel (PBCH) 610. In this example, the SSB 604 includes one PSS symbol (shown in symbol 2), one SSS symbol (shown in symbol 4), and two PBCH symbols (shown in symbols 3 and 5). The combination of the PSS and SSS can be used to identify the physical cell identity. The UE uses the PSS to determine the subframe / symbol timing and the physical layer identity. The SSS is used by the UE to determine the physical layer cell identity group number and the radio frame timing. Based on the physical layer identity and the physical layer cell identity group number, the UE can determine the physical cell identifier (PCI). In addition, based on the PCI, the UE can determine the position of the above DMRS. The physical broadcast channel (PBCH) carrying the master information block (MIB) is logically grouped with the PSS and SSS to form a synchronization signal, i.e., the SSB 604. The MIB provides a plurality of RBs in the system bandwidth and the system frame number (SFN).

[0135] Figure 6B is a schematic diagram showing various broadcast information 650 related to initial cell access according to some examples. The broadcast information 650 can be transmitted by a RAN node (e.g., a base station, such as an eNB or gNB) on resources (e.g., time-frequency resources) allocated for the transmission of the broadcast information 650 in a cell. The broadcast information 650 includes Figure 6A the SSB 604 shown in. Note that the PBCH in the SSB 604 includes the MIB carrying various system information (SI), including, for example, a cell barring indication, a subcarrier spacing, a system frame number, and scheduling information for CORESET0 652. For example, the PBCH in the SSB 604 can include scheduling information indicating the time-frequency resources allocated for CORESET0 652. In some examples, CORESET0 652 can be transmitted within the first four symbols of a time slot (e.g., within the control region). Additionally, CORESET0 652 carries a PDCCH with DCI that contains scheduling information for scheduling SIB1 654. SIB1 654 is carried within a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) in the data region of a time slot. In addition, SIB1 654 can be referred to as RMSI and includes, for example, a set of radio resource parameters providing network identification and configuration. For example, the set of radio resource parameters can include the bandwidth (e.g., the number of BWPs) on which the UE can communicate with the base station.

[0136] The MIB in the PBCH may include system information (SI) together with parameters for decoding SIBs (e.g., SIB1). Examples of SI sent in the MIB may include, but are not limited to, subcarrier spacing, system frame number, configuration of the PDCCH control resource set (CORESET) (e.g., PDCCH CORESET0), and the search space for SIB1. Examples of SI sent in SIB1 may include, but are not limited to, random access search space, downlink configuration information, and uplink configuration information. The MIB and SIB1 together provide the minimum SI for initial access.

[0137] A brief discussion of the initial access procedure for a UE using the above information is as follows. As mentioned above, a base station (BS) may send synchronization signals (e.g., including PSS and SSS) in the network to enable the UE to synchronize with the BS, and send SI (e.g., including MIB, RMSI, and OSI) to facilitate initial network access. The BS may send PSS, SSS, and / or MIB via the SSB on the PBCH, and broadcast RMSI and / or OSI on the PDSCH.

[0138] A UE attempting to access the RAN (e.g., Figure 2 the RAN 200) can perform initial cell search by detecting the PSS from the BS of the RAN (e.g., the PSS of the cell of the BS). The PSS can enable the UE to synchronize with the periodic timing of the BS and can indicate the physical layer identity value assigned to the cell. The UE can also receive the SSS from the BS that enables the UE to synchronize with the cell at the radio frame level. The SSS can also provide a cell identity value that can be combined with the physical layer identity value to identify the cell.

[0139] After receiving the PSS and SSS, the UE can receive SI from the BS. The system information may be in the form of the above MIB and SIBs. The system information may include information that the UE can use to access the network, such as downlink (DL) channel configuration information, uplink (UL) channel configuration information, access category information, and cell barring information, as well as other information. The MIB may include SI for initial network access and scheduling information for RMSI and / or OSI. After decoding the MIB, the UE can receive RMSI and / or OSI.

[0140] The SI includes information that enables the UE to determine how to perform initial access to the RAN. In some examples, SIB2 includes random access configuration information (e.g., random access channel (RACH) configuration) indicating the resources to be used by the UE to communicate with the RAN during initial access. The random access configuration information may indicate, for example, the resources allocated by the RAN for the RACH procedure. For example, the RACH configuration may indicate the resources allocated by the network for the UE to transmit a physical random access channel (PRACH) preamble and receive a random access response. In some examples, the RACH configuration identifies the monitoring occasion (MO) that specifies the set of symbols (e.g., in a PRACH time slot) scheduled by the base station for the PRACH procedure. The RACH configuration may also indicate the size of the random access response window during which the UE is to monitor for a response to the PRACH preamble. In some examples, the RACH configuration may also specify that the random access response window starts a certain number of subframes after the end of the PRACH preamble. After obtaining the MIB, RMSI, and / or OSI, the UE may thus perform a random access procedure for initial access to the RAN.

[0141] Figure 7 is a signaling diagram 700 showing an example of signaling associated with a contention-based RACH procedure in a wireless communication system including a network entity (e.g., a base station) 702 and a user equipment 704. In some examples, the network entity 702 may correspond to any one of the network entities, base stations, CUs, DUs, RUs, or scheduling entities shown in any of the diagrams in Figures 1 - 4 、 Figures 8 - 12 、 Figures 14 - 16 、 Figure 21 、 Figure 24 、 Figure 29 and Figure 30 In some examples, the user equipment 704 may correspond to any one of the UEs or scheduled entities shown in any of the diagrams in Figures 1 - 4 、 Figures 8 - 12 、 Figures 14 - 16 、 Figure 18 、 Figure 24 、 Figure 29 and Figure 30 any one of the diagrams.

[0142] At #706 in Figure 7 , the network entity 702 broadcasts configuration information that nearby devices (e.g., the user equipment 704) can use for the RACH procedure for the network entity 702. For example, the network entity 702 may broadcast the random access-related SI discussed above.

[0143] At Figure 7At #708, the user equipment 704 sends Message 1 of the RACH procedure (which may be referred to as Msg1) to the network entity 702. In some examples, Msg1 is a PRACH preamble. The RACH Msg1 may be referred to as a PRACH. As described above, the user equipment 704 may send a PRACH preamble on the resources specified by the RACH configuration included in SIB2.

[0144] At #710, the network entity 702 responds to the PRACH preamble with Message 2 of the RACH procedure (which may be referred to as Msg2). Msg2 may be officially referred to as a random access response (RAR). In some examples at 710, the network entity 702 sends DCI on the PDCCH, where the DCI schedules the PDSCH (e.g., the DCI specifies the resources for PDSCH transmission). Then, the network entity 702 sends a PDSCH including RAR data, e.g., a UL grant for the user equipment to send Message 3 of the RACH procedure (which may be referred to as Msg3).

[0145] In some examples, the user equipment monitors the RACH Msg2 on the resources specified by the RACH configuration during the RAR window specified by the RACH configuration. For example, the user equipment may decode the DCI carried on the PDCCH and then decode the RAR carried on the PDSCH.

[0146] At #712, upon receiving all RAR information, the user equipment 704 sends Msg3 of the RACH procedure. In some examples, the RACH Msg3 is a radio resource control (RRC) establishment request message.

[0147] At #714, the network entity 702 responds with Message 4 of the RACH procedure (which may be referred to as Msg4). In some examples, the RACH Msg4 is an RRC establishment message (e.g., a contention resolution message).

[0148] At #716, the user equipment 704 responds with Message 5 of the RACH procedure (which may be referred to as Msg5). In some examples, the RACH Msg5 is an RRC establishment complete message. In some examples, if the user equipment 704 successfully decodes the RACH Msg4, the transmission of the RACH Msg5 may involve sending a PUCCH including a HARQ-ACK for the PDSCH data of the RACH Msg4. In some examples, PUCCH frequency hopping may be used for this transmission of the RACH Msg5.

[0149] As shown in 718, the network entity 702 and the user equipment 704 finally establish a connection and enter an active operating phase in which data can be exchanged. For example, the network entity 702 can schedule the user equipment 704 for UL communication and / or DL communication.

[0150] The 5G-NR network can also support carrier aggregation (CA) of component carriers transmitted from different cells and / or different transmit and receive points (TRPs) in a multi-cell transmission environment. Different TRPs can be associated with a single serving cell or multiple serving cells. In some aspects, the term component carrier can refer to a carrier frequency (or frequency band) used for communication within a cell.

[0151] In some aspects, a TRP can refer to a physical entity incorporating the RU function for a specific physical cell. This function can be similar to (or incorporate) the RU function of a NodeB, eNodeB, gNodeB, radio network controller (RNC), base station (BS), radio base station (RBS), base station controller (BSC), base transceiver station (BTS), transceiver function (TF), radio transceiver, wireless router, basic service set (BSS), extended service set (ESS), macro cell, macro node, home eNB (HeNB), or some other similar entity in one or more aspects.

[0152] Figure 8 is a conceptual illustration of a wireless communication system of a base station (BS) and a user equipment (UE) communicating via multiple carriers according to some aspects of the present disclosure. Specifically, Figure 8 shows an example of a wireless communication system 800 including a primary serving cell (PCell) 802 and one or more secondary serving cells (SCells) 806a, 806b, 806c, and 806d. The PCell 802 can be referred to as an anchor cell, which provides a radio resource control (RRC) connection to the UE 810. In some examples, the PCell and the SCell can be co-located (e.g., different TRPs at the same location). The UE 810 can correspond to any one of the UEs or scheduled entities shown in any of the diagrams in Figures 1 - 4 、 Figures 9 - 12 、 Figures 14 - 16 、 Figure 18 、 Figure 24 、 Figure 29 and Figure 30 any of the diagrams shown in.

[0153] One or more of the SCells 806a-806d may be activated or added to the PCell 802 to form a serving cell serving the UE 810. Each serving cell corresponds to a component carrier (CC). The CC of the PCell 802 may be referred to as a primary CC, and the CC of the SCells 806a-806d may be referred to as a secondary CC. One or more of the PCell 802 and the SCell 806 may be controlled by a controller that is associated with the UE 810. Figures 1 - 4 , Figures 9 - 12 , Figures 14 - 16 , Figure 21 , Figure 24 , Figure 29 and Figure 30 Any of the base stations shown in the figures may be served by corresponding base stations 804 and 808a-808c or scheduling entities. Figure 8 In the example shown in , SCells 806a-806c are all served by corresponding base stations 808a-808c. SCell 806d is co-located with PCell 802. For example, base station 804 may include multiple TRPs, each TRP supporting a different carrier. The coverage of PCell 802 and SCell 806d may be different because component carriers of different frequency bands may experience different path losses.

[0154] In some examples, PCell 802 can add or remove one or more of SCells 806a-806d to improve reliability and / or increase data rates for connections to UE 810. PCell 802 can change when switching to another PCell.

[0155] In some examples, the PCell 802 can utilize a first radio access technology (RAT) such as LTE, and one or more of the SCells 806 can utilize a second RAT such as 5G-NR. In this example, the multi-cell transmission environment can be referred to as a multi-RAT-dual connectivity (MR-DC) environment. An example of MR-DC is an Evolved-Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (E-UTRAN)-New Radio (NR) Dual Connectivity (EN-DC) mode, which enables a UE to simultaneously connect to an LTE base station and an NR base station to receive data packets from and send data packets to both the LTE base station and the NR base station.

[0156] In some examples, the PCell 802 can be a low - band cell, and the SCell 806 can be a high - band cell. The low - band (LB) cell uses a CC in a frequency band lower than that of the high - band cell. For example, the high - band cell can use a millimeter - wave (mmW) CC, while the low - band cell can use a CC in a band lower than the mmW band (e.g., lower than the 6 GHz band). Generally, a cell using an mmW CC can provide a larger bandwidth compared to a cell using a low - band CC. Additionally, when using a frequency carrier higher than 6 GHz (e.g., mmW), beamforming can be used to transmit and receive signals in some examples.

[0157] In different examples, various types of cells can be deployed in a wireless communication system. In some examples, a cell can be a special cell (SpCell), such as a primary cell (PCell), a primary secondary cell (PSCell), or a PUCCH secondary cell (PUCCH SCell). In some examples, the SpCell can be a PCell for the master cell group (MCG) or a PSCell for the secondary cell group (SCG).

[0158] For uplink transmission, 5G NR uplink allows uplink intra - cell orthogonality, such that uplink transmissions received from different devices within a cell do not interfere with each other. To achieve this uplink orthogonality, the uplink slot boundaries for a given numerology are (approximately) time - aligned at the network entity. To ensure this receiver - side time alignment, the network entity can send a timing advance (TA) signal or indication to the UE, such that the UE can adjust its uplink timing accordingly.

[0159] Generally, the timing advance is a negative offset applied at a wireless device (e.g., UE) between the start of a downlink (DL) symbol (or sub - frame) observed by the device and the start of a symbol in the uplink (UL). By appropriately controlling the offset for each device, the network (e.g., a network entity such as a gNB) can control the timing of signals received from various devices (UEs) in the cell being served at the network entity. Devices farther from the network entity experience longer propagation delays and, therefore, should start their uplink transmissions slightly earlier compared to devices closer to the network entity that experience shorter propagation delays.

[0160] Figure 9 An example 900 of downlink and uplink timing is shown. In this example, the first UE (UE 1) is farther from the network entity (e.g., gNB) than the second UE (UE 2). Time - aligned downlink transmissions and uplink transmissions are shown relative to the time t1 902 representing the sub - frame boundary at the network entity. In some examples, Figure 9The UE can correspond to any one of the UEs or scheduled entities shown in any of the figures in Figures 1 - 4 , Figure 8 , Figures 10 - 12 , Figures 14 - 16 , Figure 18 , Figure 24 , Figure 29 and Figure 30 . In some examples, Figure 9 The network entity can correspond to any one of the network entities, base stations, CUs, DUs, RUs or scheduled entities shown in any of the figures in Figures 1 - 4 , Figure 8 , Figures 10 - 12 , Figures 14 - 16 , Figure 21 , Figure 24 , Figure 29 and Figure 30 .

[0161] As represented by downlink subframe 904 (designated as downlink subframe #n in this example), the transmission of the downlink subframe at the network entity starts at time t1 902. Downlink subframe 906 represents the delayed reception of downlink subframe 904 at the first UE (UE 1). As indicated, the subframe 906 is received at the first UE (UE 1) after a propagation delay δ1 908.

[0162] In some aspects, it may be desirable to receive an uplink transmission at the network entity at a time aligned with the subframe boundary of the network entity. To this end, based on the timing advance command received from the network entity, the first UE (UE 1) can send an uplink subframe 910 at a time of propagation delay δ1 before the subframe boundary of the network entity. Uplink subframe 912 represents the delayed reception of uplink subframe 910 at the network entity. As indicated, this uplink subframe is received aligned with the subframe boundary time of the network entity. For convenience, the transmission of the uplink subframe is depicted relative to time t1 902. However, it should be understood that in a half-duplex system, the relative subframe boundary for uplink transmission will be later in time than time t1 902.

[0163] Figure 9 It is also shown that since the second UE (UE 2) is closer to the network entity than the first UE (UE 1), the propagation delay δ2 from the network entity to the second UE (UE 2) is shorter than the propagation delay δ1. Downlink subframe 914 represents the delayed reception of downlink subframe 904 at the second UE (UE 2). As indicated, the subframe 914 is received at the second UE (UE 2) after a propagation delay δ2 916.

[0164] Based on the timing advance command received from the network entity, a second UE (UE 2) may transmit an uplink subframe 918 at a time that is delayed by δ2 before the subframe boundary of the network entity. The uplink subframe 920 represents the delayed reception of the uplink subframe 918 at the network entity. As indicated, this uplink subframe is received aligned with the subframe boundary time of the network entity. For convenience, the transmission of the uplink subframe is again depicted relative to time t1 902. However, it should be understood that in a half-duplex system, the relative subframe boundary for uplink transmission will be later in time than time t1 902.

[0165] Some wireless communication systems (e.g., 3GPP LTE and NR) use upper layer mobility (e.g., based on layer 3, RRC signaling) to enable a UE to move from one cell to another. Here, a UE is connected to a single cell at a time. For example, a UE may initially be connected to a serving cell. Subsequently, upon receiving a cell handover command, the UE may connect to a new cell.

[0166] As described above, the handover operation in such a system (e.g., based on layer 3, RRC signaling) may involve a RACH procedure.

[0167] Figure 10 FIG. 1000 is a signaling diagram showing an example of signaling associated with RACH-based handover in a wireless communication system, the wireless communication system including a user equipment 1002, a first network entity 1004 (e.g., a source gNB), and a second network entity 1006 (e.g., a target gNB). In some examples, the user equipment 1002 may correspond to any one of the UEs or scheduled entities shown in any of the figures in Figures 1 - 4 , Figures 7 - 9 , Figures 11 - 12 , Figures 14 - 16 , Figure 18 , Figure 24 , Figure 29 and Figure 30 In some examples, the first network entity 1004 and the second network entity 1006 may correspond to any one of the network entities, base stations, CUs, DUs, RUs, or scheduled entities shown in any of the figures in Figures 1 - 4 , Figures 7 - 9 , Figures 11 - 12 , Figures 14 - 16 , Figure 21 , Figure 24 , Figure 29 and Figure 30 .

[0168] In Figure 10At #1008, an event trigger can cause the user equipment 1002 to generate a measurement report (e.g., a measurement report message) and send the measurement report at #1010. For example, based on the measurement of signals from the first network entity 1004 and one or more other network entities, the user equipment 1002 can determine that the measured signal has dropped below or above a specific threshold. Examples of event triggers used in 3GPP-based systems include event A1 (serving cell > threshold), event A2 (serving cell < threshold), event A3 (neighbor cell > threshold + offset), event A4 (neighbor cell > threshold), event A5 (SpCell < threshold 1 and neighbor cell > threshold 2), and event A6 (neighbor cell > SpCell + offset). In other examples, other event triggers can be used.

[0169] At #1012, based on the measurement report, the first network entity 1004 can choose to hand over the user equipment to the second network entity 1006. Thus, the first network entity 1004 and the second network entity 1006 can cooperate to prepare the second network entity 1006 as the target for the handover of the user equipment 1002.

[0170] At #1014, the first network entity 1004 sends an RRC reconfiguration message to the user equipment 1002 to notify the user equipment 1002 that it is being handed over to the second network entity 1006. In some aspects, this RRC reconfiguration message can be referred to as (or be said to include) a cell handover command.

[0171] At #1016, upon receiving the RRC configuration message, the user equipment 1002 performs a RACH procedure with the second network entity 1006 (e.g., as discussed above in conjunction with Figure 7 ). Here, upon receiving the PRACH from the user equipment 1002, the second network entity 1006 can determine the timing advance value, power control value, and beam information that can be used (e.g., by the user equipment) to establish communication between the user equipment 1002 and the second network entity 1006.

[0172] At #1018, in conjunction with completing the RACH procedure, the user equipment 1002 sends an RRC reconfiguration complete message to the second network entity 1006. The user equipment 1002 can thus be served by the second network entity 1006 instead of the first network entity 1004.

[0173] Some wireless communication systems (e.g., 3GPP LTE and NR) can support RACH-less handover. For example, in certain defined scenarios (e.g., handover to or from a small cell), when initiating communication with the target cell, the UE can use the same TA value that it used for communication with the source cell.

[0174] Figure 11 FIG. 1100 is a signaling diagram illustrating an example of signaling associated with RACH-based handover in a wireless communication system that includes a user equipment 1102, a first network entity 1104 (e.g., a source gNB), and a second network entity 1106 (e.g., a target gNB). In some examples, the user equipment 1102 may correspond to any one of the UEs or scheduled entities shown in any of the figures in Figures 1 - 4 , Figures 7 - 10 , Figure 12 , Figures 14 - 16 , Figure 18 , Figure 24 , Figure 29 and Figure 30 . In some examples, the first network entity 1104 and the second network entity 1106 may correspond to any one of the network entities, base stations, CUs, DUs, RUs, or scheduled entities shown in any of the figures in Figures 1 - 4 , Figures 7 - 10 , Figure 12 , Figures 14 - 16 , Figure 21 , Figure 24 , Figure 29 and Figure 30 .

[0175] At #1108 in Figure 11 , an event trigger may cause the user equipment 1102 to generate a measurement report (e.g., a measurement report message) and send the measurement report at #1110. For example, based on measurements of signals from the first network entity 1104 and one or more other network entities, the user equipment 1102 may determine that a measured signal has dropped below or above a specific threshold. Examples of event triggers used in 3GPP-based systems include event A1 (serving cell > threshold), event A2 (serving cell < threshold), event A3 (neighbor cell > threshold + offset), event A4 (neighbor cell > threshold), event A5 (SpCell < threshold 1 and neighbor cell > threshold 2), and event A6 (neighbor cell > SpCell + offset). In other examples, other event triggers may be used.

[0176] At #1112, based on the measurement report, the first network entity 1104 may select to hand over the user equipment to the second network entity 1106. Accordingly, the first network entity 1104 and the second network entity 1106 may cooperate to prepare the second network entity 1106 as a target for handover of the user equipment 1102.

[0177] At #1114, a first network entity 1104 sends an RRC reconfiguration message to a user equipment 1102 to notify the user equipment 1102 that it is being switched to a second network entity 1106. In some aspects, the RRC reconfiguration message may be referred to as (or may be referred to as including) a cell handover command.

[0178] At #1116, upon receiving the RRC configuration message, the user equipment 1102 sends an RRC reconfiguration complete message to the second network entity 1106 without performing a RACH procedure. Compared to a RACH-based handover, the user equipment 1102 can thus establish a connection with the second network entity 1106 faster.

[0179] In some aspects, the present disclosure relates to mobility procedures. Mobility procedures may include, for example, procedures related to beam switching, handover to a cell, etc.

[0180] In some examples, a UE may encounter two types of mobility: cell-level mobility and beam-level mobility (which may be beam-based mobility). For cell-level mobility, the UE may experience a handover between base stations. In some wireless communication systems, for beam-level mobility, as explained herein, a beam switch may occur within the same base station.

[0181] In response to different conditions, a beam may be switched. For example, a Transmission Configuration Indicator (TCI) state change may be sent by a base station such that the UE may switch to a new beam for the TCI state. The TCI state change may cause the UE to find the best UE receive beam corresponding to the TCI state from the base station and switch to that beam. Switching the beam may allow for an enhanced or improved connection between the UE and the base station by ensuring that the transmitter and receiver communicate using the same configured set of beams. As used herein, the term "beam" may refer to a spatial filter associated with a transmission.

[0182] The TCI state may include timing / frequency error and / or quasi - co - location (QCL) information that the UE can use to derive for signal transmission / reception, which can be used for spatial filtering. If the properties of the channel on which symbols are transmitted on one antenna port can be inferred from the channel on which symbols are transmitted on another antenna port, then these two antenna ports are said to be quasi - co - located. The base station may indicate the TCI state to the UE as a transmission configuration indicating the QCL relationship between a signal (e.g., a reference signal) and the signal to be transmitted / received. For example, the TCI state may indicate the QCL relationship between DL RSs in a set of reference signals (RSs) and the PDSCH / PDCCH DM - RS ports. The TCI state can provide information on different beam selections for the UE to transmit / receive various signals. Under the unified TCI framework, different types of common TCI states can be indicated. For example, type 1 TCI can be a joint DL / UL common TCI state, which is used to indicate the common beam for at least one DL channel or RS and at least one UL channel or RS. Type 2 TCI can be a separate DL (e.g., separate from UL) common TCI state, which is used to indicate the common beam for more than one DL channel or RS. Type 3 TCI can be a separate UL common TCI state, which is used to indicate the common beam for more than one UL channel / RS. Type 4 TCI can be a separate DL single - channel or RS TCI state, which is used to indicate the beam for a single DL channel or RS. Type 5 TCI can be a separate UL single - channel or RS TCI state, which is used to indicate the beam for a single UL channel or RS. Type 6 TCI can include UL spatial relationship information (e.g., such as a sounding reference signal (SRS) resource indicator (SRI)), which is used to indicate the beam for a single UL channel or RS. Example RSs can be SSB, tracking reference signal (TRS) for tracking and associated CSI - RS, CSI - RS for beam management, CSI - RS for channel quality information (CQI) management, DM - RS associated with non - UE - specific reception on PDSCH, and a subset (which can be the full set) of the control resource set (CORESET), etc. The TCI state can be defined to represent at least one source RS to provide a reference (e.g., UE assumption) for determining quasi - co - location (QCL) or spatial filter. For example, the TCI state can define the QCL assumption between the source RS and the target RS.

[0183] As another example, a spatial relation change, such as a spatial relation update, can trigger the UE to switch beams. Beamforming can be applied to the uplink channel, such as but not limited to the PUCCH. Beamforming can be based on configuring one or more spatial relations between the uplink and downlink signals. The spatial relation can indicate that the UE can use the same beam as the beam used to receive the corresponding downlink signal to transmit the uplink signal.

[0184] The different processes for managing and controlling beams can be collectively referred to as "beam management". The process of selecting a beam to switch to for a data channel or a control channel can be called "beam selection". In some wireless communication systems, beam selection for data channels and control channels can be performed for beams within the same physical cell identifier (ID) (PCI).

[0185] In some wireless communication systems, inter-cell beam management can be based on beam-based mobility, where the indicated beam can be from a TRP associated with a PCI that is different from the PCI associated with the serving cell. The benefits of inter-cell beam management based on beam-based mobility can include more robustness against blockages, more opportunities for higher ranks for user data management (SDM) across different cells, and generally more efficient communication between the UE and the network.

[0186] In some wireless communication systems (e.g., 3GPP NR Release 18), mobility (e.g., including the handover process) can be based on layer 1 (physical layer) and layer 2 (e.g., MAC layer) signaling. Conventionally, layer 1 can be referred to as L1, and layer 2 can be referred to as L2. In some aspects, such L1 / L2-based mobility can apply to any of the following scenarios. L1 / L2 mobility can involve an independent operation mode, a carrier aggregation (CA) operation mode, or an NR-DC operation mode, where there is a serving cell change within one CG. L1 / L2 mobility can involve in-DU situations or CU-in - DU - between situations (applicable to independent and CA). L1 / L2 mobility can involve intra-frequency or inter-frequency operation. L1 / L2 mobility can involve FR1 or FR2 operation. L1 / L2 mobility can involve scenarios where the source cell and the target cell are synchronous or asynchronous. In other examples, other scenarios are possible.

[0187] As an example, inter-cell beam management based on beam-based mobility can be facilitated by L1 and / or L2 (referred to herein as "L1 / L2") signaling (such as UE dedicated channels / RS). This mobility can be associated with a handover to a TRP with a different PCI according to a unified TCI update based on downlink control information (DCI) or medium access control (MAC) control element (MAC-CE). As used herein, such mobility can be referred to as L1 / L2 mobility.

[0188] In some wireless communication systems, PCell change using L1 / L2 signaling is not supported. When communicating with a TRP with a different PCI (not supporting serving cell change), the UE can be within the coverage of the serving cell.

[0189] In some aspects, the network can configure a set of cells for L1 / L2 mobility. The set of cells for L1 / L2 mobility can be referred to as the "L1 / L2 mobility-configured set of cells" or the "mobility-configured set of cells". The L1 / L2 mobility-configured set of cells can include an "L1 / L2 mobility-activated set of cells" (which can also be referred to as the "L1 / L2-activated mobility cell set" or the "mobility-activated cell set") and an "L1 / L2 mobility-deactivated set of cells" (which can also be referred to as the "deactivated L1 / L2 mobility cell set" or the "mobility-deactivated cell set"). The L1 / L2 mobility-activated set of cells can be a group of cells within the L1 / L2 mobility-configured set of cells that are activated and can be readily used for data and control transmission. The L1 / L2 mobility-deactivated set of cells (which can be an L1 / L2 mobility candidate cell set) can be a group of cells within the configured set that can be configured for the UE for L1 / L2 mobility that can be activated by L1 / L2 signaling. Once activated, the deactivated cells can be used for data and control transmission.

[0190] For mobility management of the set of active cells, L1 / L2 signaling can be used to activate / deactivate cells in the set of cells configured for L1 / L2 mobility and to select beams within the active cells of the (set of active cells). When the UE moves, cells from the set of cells configured for L1 / L2 mobility can be deactivated and activated via L1 / L2 signaling based on signal quality (e.g., based on measurements), load, etc. Example measurements can include cell coverage measurements represented by reference signal received power (RSRP), and quality represented by reference signal received quality (RSRQ), or other measurements performed by the UE on signals from the base station. In some aspects, the measurements can be L1 measurements or L2 measurements, such as one or more of RSRP, RSRQ, received signal strength indicator (RSSI), or signal-to-interference and noise ratio (SINR) measurements of various signals (such as SSB, PSS, SSS, broadcast channel (BCH), DM-RS, CSI-RS, etc.).

[0191] In some examples, the cells in the set of cells configured for L1 / L2 mobility can belong to the same DU, and the cells can be on the same or different carrier frequencies. The cells in the set of cells configured for L1 / L2 mobility can cover a mobility area.

[0192] When the UE moves, the serving cell (SpCell) can be reselected or updated in the configured set of candidate special cells (SpCells) based on the UE's measurements of candidate cells (e.g., L1 measurements such as RSRP, RSRQ, RSSI, SINR, etc.). The SpCell can be a primary cell (PCell) or a primary-secondary cell (PSCell).

[0193] Figure 12 FIG. 1200 is a schematic diagram showing an example of the movement of the UE and the associated handover of the SpCell based on the configured set of candidate SpCells. As used herein, the term "candidate SpCell" can refer to a cell configured for the UE, and the cell can be activated or switched to as the UE's SpCell based on L1 or L2 signaling or based on L1 or L2 measurements.

[0194] In some examples, FIG. 1200 can show L1 / L2-based inter-cell mobility, which shows a single SpCell change (without carrier aggregation) for UE 1202 via L1 / L2 signaling based on L1 measurements. In Figure 12 the example, UE 1202 is initially served by SpCell 1204. Additionally, a set of candidate SpCells (e.g., including candidate SpCell 1206, candidate SpCell 1208, and candidate SpCell 1210) can be pre-configured for UE 1202.

[0195] As the UE 1202 moves, the UE 1202 may update its SpCell from the old SpCell 1204 to one of the candidate SpCells in a set of candidate SpCells configured to include candidate SpCell 1206, candidate SpCell 1208, and candidate SpCell 1210. The set of candidate SpCells configured may be configured before the UE moves. The candidate SpCells may be activated before being selected as the new SpCell or may be deactivated before being selected as the new SpCell. In some aspects, each of candidate SpCell 1206, candidate SpCell 1208, and candidate SpCell 1210 may be associated with the same frequency or different frequencies. For example, candidate SpCell 1206 may be associated with a first frequency, candidate SpCell 1208 may be associated with a second frequency, and candidate SpCell 1208 may be associated with a third frequency. For example, other cells sharing timing advance group (TAG) 1 with candidate SpCell 1206 may include candidate SpCells and SCell in a set of candidate cells associated with the physical cell site associated with candidate SpCell 1206. In some examples, the UE 1202 may correspond to any one of the UEs or scheduled entities shown in any of the figures in Figures 1 - 4 , Figures 8 - 11 , Figures 14 - 16 , Figure 18 , Figure 24 , Figure 29 and Figure 30 . In some examples, candidate SpCell 1206, candidate SpCell 1208, and candidate SpCell 1210 may correspond to any one of the network entities, base stations, CUs, DUs, RUs, or scheduled entities shown in any of the figures in Figures 1 - 4 , Figures 8 - 11 , Figures 14 - 16 , Figure 21 , Figure 24 , Figure 29 and Figure 30 .

[0196] Based on the UE 1202's measurement of the candidate SpCell, the UE may switch to candidate SpCell 1206. In some aspects, the candidate SpCells and SCell in the set of candidate cells associated with the physical cell site associated with candidate SpCell 1206 may not be activated until candidate SpCell 1206 is activated and selected as the new SpCell.

[0197] When using L1 / L2 mobility, a UE connected to a serving SpCell can also obtain configuration information about candidate SpCells from the UE's serving cell. Based on this configuration information, the UE can send information to and receive information from these candidate SpCells. For example, the UE can perform measurements of candidate SpCells and select a target SpCell using L1 / L2 signaling. By using L1 / L2 signaling, the handover delay can be reduced compared to L3 handover.

[0198] Figure 13 Table 1300 is depicted describing some of the differences that may exist between L3 mobility and L1 / L2 mobility. Notably, for L1 / L2 mobility, measurements may be performed at the beam level. Additionally, measurement reports may be sent via uplink control information, which may involve less latency than RRC signaling used in L3 mobility. Furthermore, L1 / L2 measurements may be triggered by RRC signaling, MAC-CE-signaling, or DCI signaling, which further reduces handover latency compared to L3 mobility using event-based triggering. Furthermore, there is no need to perform filtering of multiple measurements for L1 / L2 mobility (e.g., L1 measurements may be performed for a single time location), which may further reduce handover latency compared to L3 mobility using filtering. Additionally, the UE may have a dedicated CSI reporting configuration for L1 measurements, wherein the CSI reporting configuration is associated with the physical layer.

[0199] The present disclosure relates in some aspects to techniques for using HARQ-free switching in L1 / L2 mobility scenarios.By eliminating HARQ signaling, the switching latency can be further reduced.

[0200] Figure 14 1 is a signaling diagram 1400 illustrating an example of signaling associated with RACH-free L1 / L2 handover in a wireless communication system including a user equipment 1402, a first network entity 1404 (e.g., associated with an active serving cell), and a second network entity 1406 (e.g., associated with a candidate cell). In some examples, the user equipment 1402 may correspond to Figures 1 - 4 , Figures 7 - 12 , Figures 15 - 16 , Figure 18 , Figure 24 , Figure 29 and Figure 30 In some examples, the first network entity 1404 and the second network entity 1406 may correspond to any of the UEs or scheduled entities shown in any of the figures. Figures 1 - 4 , Figures 7 - 12 , Figures 15 - 16 , Figure 21 , Figure 24, Figure 29 and Figure 30 any one of the network entities, base stations, CUs, DUs, RUs, or scheduling entities shown in any of the figures in

[0201] .

[0201] At #1408 in Figure 14 , the first network entity 1404 sends an RRC configuration message to the user equipment 1402, where the RRC configuration message includes configuration information about one or more candidate cells for potential handover for the user equipment 1402. In some examples, the configuration information may indicate the resources and other parameters used by each candidate cell for sending information (e.g., CSI-RS, SSB, etc.) and receiving information (e.g., SRS, etc.). Figure 14 At #1410, based on the configuration information, the user equipment 1402 can perform signal measurements, generate a measurement report (e.g., a beam report), and send the measurement report to the first network entity 1404.

[0202] At #1412, based on the measurement report, the first network entity 1404 may choose to hand over the user equipment to the second network entity 1406. Accordingly, the first network entity 1404 sends an L1 / L2 handover message to the user equipment 1402 to notify the user equipment 1402 that it is being handed over to the second network entity 1406. In some aspects, the L1 / L2 handover message may be referred to as (or may be said to include) a cell handover command. In some examples, the L1 / L2 handover message may include an indication of a timing advance value to be used by the user equipment 1402 when communicating with the second network entity 1406. In some examples, the L1 / L2 handover message may be implemented using MAC-CE signaling. In some examples, the L1 / L2 handover message may be implemented using DCI signaling.

[0203] In this case, the user equipment 1402 does not send a PRACH message to the second network entity 1406 (as indicated by the dashed line with X in

[0204] ). Instead, at #1414, upon receiving the L1 / L2 handover message, the user equipment 1402 sends an L1 / L2 handover complete message to the second network entity 1406. Compared to RACH-based handover, the user equipment 1402 can thus establish a connection with the second network entity 1406 faster. In some examples, the L1 / L2 handover complete message may be implemented using MAC-CE signaling. In some examples, the L1 / L2 handover complete message may be implemented using DCI signaling.

[0204] In this case, the user equipment 1402 does not send a PRACH message to the second network entity 1406 (as indicated by the dashed line with X in Figure 14 ). Instead, at #1414, upon receiving the L1 / L2 handover message, the user equipment 1402 sends an L1 / L2 handover complete message to the second network entity 1406. Compared to RACH-based handover, the user equipment 1402 can thus establish a connection with the second network entity 1406 faster. In some examples, the L1 / L2 handover complete message may be implemented using MAC-CE signaling. In some examples, the L1 / L2 handover complete message may be implemented using DCI signaling. Figure 14 In this case, the user equipment 1402 does not send a PRACH message to the second network entity 1406 (as indicated by the dashed line with X in Figure 14 ). Instead, at #1414, upon receiving the L1 / L2 handover message, the user equipment 1402 sends an L1 / L2 handover complete message to the second network entity 1406. Compared to RACH-based handover, the user equipment 1402 can thus establish a connection with the second network entity 1406 faster. In some examples, the L1 / L2 handover complete message may be implemented using MAC-CE signaling. In some examples, the L1 / L2 handover complete message may be implemented using DCI signaling.

[0205] Thus, RACH-less handover can be used to handover to a candidate cell in L1 and L2 mobility. For example, RACH-less handover can be supported for 3GPP R18 L1 / L2 mobility, whereby, after receiving a cell handover command, the UE can start uplink (UL) transmission without first sending a PRACH message.

[0206] Candidate cell measurement

[0207] In some aspects, the present disclosure relates to techniques for supporting L1 measurements based on reference signals (e.g., CSI-RS or SSB) for candidate cells in L1 / L2-based mobility. In some aspects, the UE can be configured to perform such measurements based on the UE's capabilities. In some examples, these measurements can be performed in conjunction with beam reporting discussed below.

[0208] In some examples, certain allowed measurement types are defined for each measurement metric. For example, based on UE capabilities, intra-L1 frequency CSI-RS and / or SSB measurements can be configured, and / or inter-frequency CSI-RS and / or SSB measurements can be configured. In some examples, for inter-L1 frequency CSI-RS and / or SSB measurements, the metrics to be reported can include one or more of L1 reference signal received power (L1-RSRP), L1 reference signal received quality (L1-RSRQ), L1 signal-to-interference and noise ratio (L1-SINR), channel quality information (CQI), rank information, strongest layer indication, or precoding matrix information. For intra-L1 frequency CSI-RS and / or SSB measurements, the metrics to be reported can include one or more of L1-RSRP, L1-SINR, or CQI.

[0209] The reported metrics can be based on different types of measurements. In some examples (e.g., in the case where the UE performs L1 beam-level measurements), the reported metrics can correspond to the beam level. In some examples (e.g., in the case where the UE performs L1 cell-level measurements), the reported metrics can correspond to the cell level, which can be a linear average over multiple beams in the cell.

[0210] For L1 intra-frequency signal-to-interference and noise ratio (SINR) reporting, the serving cell can configure the UE with resources that enable the UE to measure the channel and associated interference. For example, the UE can be configured with multiple resource sets, such as a channel measurement resource (CMR) set and one or more interference measurement resource (IMR) sets (e.g., the CMR set can be associated with one or more IMR sets). In various examples, such CMRs can be periodic, semi-persistent, or aperiodic. In various examples, such IMRs can be periodic, semi-persistent, or aperiodic.

[0211] For L1 frequency reference signal received power (RSRP) reporting, the serving cell may configure the UE with resources that enable the UE to measure the channel. For example, depending on the type of measurement being performed, the UE may be configured with one or more resource sets. In some examples, the UE may be configured with a set of channel measurement resources (CMRs) for single-TRP operation (e.g., measuring signals from a single TRP). In some examples, the UE may be configured with multiple (e.g., two) CMR sets for multi-TRP operation (e.g., measuring signals from two or more TRPs). In various examples, such CMRs may be periodic, semi-persistent, or aperiodic.

[0212] Figure 15 FIG. 1500 is a signaling diagram illustrating an example of measurements associated with L1 / L2 handover (e.g., RACH-less L1 / L2 handover) in a wireless communication system, the wireless communication system including a user equipment 1502, a first network entity 1504 (e.g., an active serving cell), and a second network entity 1506 (e.g., a candidate cell). In some examples, the user equipment 1502 may correspond to any one of the UEs or scheduled entities shown in any of the figures in Figures 1 - 4 , Figures 7 - 12 , Figure 14 , Figure 16 , Figure 18 , Figure 24 , Figure 29 and Figure 30 In some examples, the first network entity 1504 and the second network entity 1506 may correspond to any one of the network entities, base stations, CUs, DUs, RUs, or scheduled entities shown in any of the figures in Figures 1 - 4 , Figures 7 - 12 , Figure 14 , Figure 16 , Figure 21 , Figure 24 , Figure 29 and Figure 30 .

[0213] At #1508 in Figure 15 , the user equipment 1502 (e.g., via a UE capability message) sends UE capability information to the first network entity 1504. In some examples, the UE capability information may indicate the UE's capabilities regarding inter-frequency resource measurement, intra-frequency resource measurement, and reporting of different types of measurement metrics.

[0214] At #1510, a first network entity 1504 sends an L1 measurement configuration message to a user equipment 1502, where the L1 measurement configuration message includes configuration information about one or more candidate cells for potential handover for the user equipment 1502. In some examples, the configuration information may indicate resources and other parameters used by each candidate cell for transmitting information (e.g., CSI-RS, SSB, etc.) and receiving information (e.g., SRS, etc.).

[0215] At #1512, based on the configuration information received at #1510, the user equipment 1502 may perform measurements on signals sent by a second network entity 1506. For example, the user equipment 1502 may measure CSI-RS signaling on configured CSI-RS resources and / or measure SSB signaling on configured SSB resources.

[0216] At #1514, based on the measurements of #1512, the user equipment 1502 generates a measurement report (e.g., a beam report), and sends the measurement report to the first network entity 1504.

[0217] Based on the measurement report, the first network entity 1504 may choose to hand over the user equipment to the second network entity 1506. Thus, at #1516, the first network entity 1504 sends an L1 / L2 handover message to the user equipment 1502 to notify the user equipment 1502 that it is being handed over to the second network entity 1506. In some aspects, the L1 / L2 handover message may be referred to as including a cell handover command. In some examples, the L1 / L2 handover message may include an indication of a timing advance value to be used by the user equipment 1502 when communicating with the second network entity 1506. In some examples, the L1 / L2 handover message may be implemented using MAC-CE signaling. In some examples, the L1 / L2 handover message may be implemented using DCI signaling.

[0218] At #1518, upon receiving the L1 / L2 handover message, the user equipment 1502 completes the handover and sends an L1 / L2 handover completion message to the second network entity 1506, as discussed above.

[0219] In some aspects, the present disclosure relates to techniques for supporting L1 UL measurements based on SRS for candidate cells in L1 / L2-based mobility. In some examples, the SRS frequency option may be UE-capability based. For example, based on UE capability, L1 intra-frequency SRS or L1 inter-frequency SRS may be configured. It may be indicated to send SRS for candidate cells periodically, semi-persistently, or aperiodically.

[0220] In the case of inter-frequency SRS, the SRS for a candidate cell may use one or more parameters (e.g., UL or SRS parameters) different from those used by the active serving cell. For example, compared to the serving cell, the candidate cell may use one or more of a different center frequency, a different subcarrier spacing (SCS), or a different bandwidth part (BWP).

[0221] Figure 16 FIG. 1600 is a signaling diagram showing an example of SRS transmission associated with an L1 / L2 handover (e.g., RACH-less L1 / L2 handover) in a wireless communication system, which includes a user equipment 1602, a first network entity 1604 (e.g., an active serving cell), and a second network entity 1606 (e.g., a candidate cell). In some examples, the user equipment 1602 may correspond to any one of the UEs or scheduled entities shown in any of the figures in Figures 1 - 4 、 Figures 7 - 12 、 Figures 14 - 15 、 Figure 18 、 Figure 24 、 Figure 29 and Figure 30 . In some examples, the first network entity 1604 and the second network entity 1606 may correspond to any one of the network entities, base stations, CUs, DUs, RUs, or scheduled entities shown in any of the figures in Figures 1 - 4 、 Figures 7 - 12 、 Figures 14 - 15 、 Figure 21 、 Figure 24 、 Figure 29 and Figure 30 .

[0222] At #1608 in Figure 16 , the user equipment 1602 (e.g., via a UE capability message) sends UE capability information to the first network entity 1604. In some examples, the UE capability information may indicate the UE's capabilities regarding transmitting inter-frequency SRS, intra-frequency SRS, and guard time requirements.

[0223] At #1610, the first network entity 1604 sends an SRS configuration message to the user equipment 1602, where the SRS configuration message includes configuration information about one or more candidate cells for potential handover of the user equipment 1602. In some examples, the configuration information may indicate the resources and other parameters used by each candidate cell for receiving information (e.g., SRS, etc.).

[0224] At #1612, based on the configuration information received at #1610, the user equipment 1602 may send an SRS to the second network entity 1606. For example, the SRS configuration message received at #1610 may instruct the user equipment 1602 to send the SRS.

[0225] At #1614, the second network entity 1606 generates timing advance (TA) information based on the SRS received at #1612 and sends the TA information to the first network entity 1604. Then, at #1616, the first network entity 1604 forwards the TA information to the user equipment 1602.

[0226] As described above, the user equipment performs L1 measurements, generates a measurement report (e.g., a beam report), and sends the measurement report to the first network entity 1604. Based on the measurement report, the first network entity 1604 may choose to hand over the user equipment to the second network entity 1606. Thus, at #1616, the first network entity 1604 sends an L1 / L2 handover message to the user equipment 1602 to notify the user equipment 1602 that it is being handed over to the second network entity 1606. In some examples, the L1 / L2 handover message may be implemented using MAC-CE signaling. In some examples, the L1 / L2 handover message may be implemented using DCI signaling.

[0227] At #1618, upon receiving the L1 / L2 handover message, the user equipment 1602 completes the handover and sends an L1 / L2 handover completion message to the second network entity 1606. As discussed herein, this uplink signaling may be based on the TA information received at #1616.

[0228] In some aspects, the present disclosure relates to the use of guard time for SRS transmission. In some examples, it is not desirable for the UE to transmit or receive on SRS symbols used for L1 UL measurements (e.g., transmit PUCCH, PUSCH, or SRS, or receive PDCCH, PDSCH, or CSI-RS for tracking or CSI-RS for CQI). Additionally, it may not be desirable for the UE to transmit on X data symbols before each SRS symbol used for L1 UL measurements and on X data symbols after each SRS symbol used for L1 UL measurements. In some examples, X is a fixed value. In some examples, X is UE capability. In some examples, the symbol duration may be based on the SCS of the active serving cell or the SCS of the candidate cell. The above rules may apply to at least inter-frequency SRS. In some examples, guard time may be reserved for RF tuning.

[0229] Figure 17FIG. 1700 depicts a timing diagram showing guard times for SRS transmission 1702. In this example, a first guard time 1704 is defined between the end of DL reception or UL transmission 1706 and the start of SRS transmission 1702. Additionally, a second guard time 1708 is defined between the end of SRS transmission 1702 and the start of DL reception or UL transmission 1710.

[0230] Figure 18 FIG. is a block diagram illustrating an example of a hardware implementation of UE 1800 employing a processing system 1814. For example, UE 1800 may be a device configured to communicate wirelessly with a network entity, such as discussed in any one or more of the figures in Figures 1 - 17 and Figures 19 - 30 In some implementations, UE 1800 may correspond to any one of the UEs or scheduled entities shown in any of the figures in Figures 1 - 4 , Figures 7 - 12 , Figures 14 - 16 , Figure 24 , Figure 29 and Figure 30 According to various aspects of the present disclosure, an element or any part of an element or any combination of elements may be implemented with processing system 1814. Processing system 1814 may include one or more processors 1804 (for convenience, referred to herein as processor 1804). Examples of processor 1804 include a microprocessor, a microcontroller, a digital signal processor (DSP), a field programmable gate array (FPGA), a programmable logic device (PLD), a state machine, gated logic, discrete hardware circuits, and other suitable hardware configured to perform the various functions described throughout the present disclosure. In various examples, UE 1800 may be configured to perform any one or more of the functions described herein. That is, as used in UE 1800, processor 1804 may be used to implement any one or more of the processes and procedures described herein.

[0231] In some cases, processor 1804 may be implemented via a baseband or modem chip, and in other implementations, processor 1804 may include multiple devices distinct and different from the baseband or modem chip (e.g., in such scenarios, may work together to implement the examples discussed herein). And as described above, various hardware arrangements and components external to the baseband modem processor may be used in the implementation, including RF chains, power amplifiers, modulators, buffers, interleavers, adders / summers, etc.

[0232]

[0233] ​In this example, the processing system 1814 can be implemented using a bus architecture generally represented by bus 1802. Depending on the specific application and overall design constraints of the processing system 1814, bus 1802 can include any number of interconnecting buses and bridges. Bus 1802 communicatively couples various circuits including one or more processors (generally represented by processor 1804), one or more memories (referred to herein for convenience as memory 1805), and one or more computer-readable media (generally represented by computer-readable media 1806). Memory 1805 and / or computer-readable media 1806 can store processor-executable code for processor 1804. Bus 1802 can also link various other circuits such as a timing source, peripherals, voltage regulators, and power management circuits, which are well known in the art and will not be described further herein. Bus interface 1808 provides an interface between bus 1802, transceiver 1810, and antenna array 1820, and between bus 1802 and interface 1830. Transceiver 1810 provides a communication interface or unit for communicating with various other devices over a wireless transmission medium. Interface 1830 provides a communication interface or unit for communicating with various other devices and equipment (e.g., other devices housed within the same device as UE 1800 or other external devices) over an internal bus or an external transmission medium such as an Ethernet cable. Depending on the nature of the device, interface 1830 can include a user interface (e.g., keypad, display, speaker, microphone, joystick). Of course, such a user interface is optional and can be omitted in some examples, such as IoT devices.

[0234] Processor 1804 is responsible for managing bus 1802 and general processing, including executing software stored on computer-readable media 1806. The software, when executed by processor 1804, causes the processing system 1814 to perform the various functions described hereinafter for any particular device. Computer-readable media 1806 and memory 1805 can also be used to store data manipulated by processor 1804 when executing the software. For example, memory 1805 can store handover information 1815 (e.g., measurement information) used by processor 1804 for the communication operations described herein.

[0235] One or more processors 1804 in the processing system can execute software. Whether referred to as software, firmware, middleware, microcode, hardware description language, or other terms, software should be broadly construed to mean instructions, instruction sets, code, code segments, program code, programs, subprograms, software modules, applications, software applications, software packages, routines, subroutines, objects, executable files, execution threads, procedures, functions, etc. The software can reside on computer-readable media 1806.

[0236] The computer-readable medium 1806 can be a non-transitory computer-readable medium. By way of example, non-transitory computer-readable media include magnetic storage devices (e.g., hard disks, floppy disks, magnetic strips), optical disks (e.g., compact disc (CD) or digital versatile disc (DVD)), smart cards, flash memory devices (e.g., cards, sticks, or key drives), random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), programmable ROM (PROM), erasable PROM (EPROM), electrically erasable PROM (EEPROM), registers, removable disks, and any other suitable medium for storing software and / or instructions that can be accessed and read by a computer. The computer-readable medium 1806 can reside within the processing system 1814, outside the processing system 1814, or be distributed across multiple entities including the processing system 1814. The computer-readable medium 1806 can be embodied in a computer program product. By way of example, the computer program product can include the computer-readable medium in a package material. Those skilled in the art will recognize how best to implement the described functionality presented throughout this disclosure, depending on the particular application and overall design constraints imposed on the overall system.

[0237] The UE 1800 can be configured to perform any one or more of the operations described herein (e.g., as described in connection with Figure 19 , Figure 20 , Figure 25 and Figure 26 and elsewhere). In some aspects of the present disclosure, as utilized in the UE 1800, the processor 1804 can include circuitry configured for various functions.

[0238] The processor 1804 may include a communication and processing circuit 1841. The communication and processing circuit 1841 may be configured to communicate with network entities such as gNBs. The communication and processing circuit 1841 may be configured to communicate with a base station and one or more other wireless communication devices via a common carrier shared between a cellular (e.g., Uu) interface and a sidelink (e.g., PC5) interface. The communication and processing circuit 1841 may include one or more hardware components that provide a physical structure for performing various processes related to the wireless communication described herein (e.g., signal reception and / or signal transmission). The communication and processing circuit 1841 may also include one or more hardware components that provide a physical structure for performing various processes related to signal processing as described herein (e.g., processing received signals and / or processing signals for transmission). In some examples, the communication and processing circuit 1841 may include two or more transmit / receive chains (e.g., one chain for communicating with a base station and another chain for communicating with a sidelink device). The communication and processing circuit 1841 may also be configured to execute communication and processing software 1851 included on a computer-readable medium 1806 to implement one or more functions described herein.

[0239] In some implementations where communication involves receiving information, the communication and processing circuit 1841 may obtain information from components of the UE 1800 (e.g., from a transceiver 1810 that receives information via radio frequency signaling or some other type of signaling suitable for the applicable communication medium), process (e.g., decode) the information, and output the processed information. For example, the communication and processing circuit 1841 may output the information to another component of the processor 1804, the memory 1805, or the bus interface 1808. In some examples, the communication and processing circuit 1841 may receive one or more of signals, messages, other information, or any combination thereof. In some examples, the communication and processing circuit 1841 may receive information via one or more channels. In some examples, the communication and processing circuit 1841 may receive one or more of signals, messages, SCI, feedback, other information, or any combination thereof. In some examples, the communication and processing circuit 1841 may receive information via one or more of a PSCCH, a PSSCH, a PSFCH, some other type of channel, or any combination thereof. In some examples, the communication and processing circuit 1841 may include the functionality of a unit for performing reception. In some examples, the communication and processing circuit 1841 may include the functionality of a unit for performing decoding.

[0240] In some implementations where communication involves transmitting (e.g., sending) information, the communication and processing circuitry 1841 can obtain information (e.g., from another component of the processor 1804, the memory 1805, or the bus interface 1808), process (e.g., encode) the information, and output the processed information. For example, the communication and processing circuitry 1841 can output information to the transceiver 1810 (e.g., to send the information via radio frequency signaling or some other type of signaling suitable for the applicable communication medium). In some examples, the communication and processing circuitry 1841 can send one or more of signals, messages, other information, or any combination thereof. In some examples, the communication and processing circuitry 1841 can send information via one or more channels. In some examples, the communication and processing circuitry 1841 can send one or more of signals, messages, SCI, feedback, other information, or any combination thereof. In some examples, the communication and processing circuitry 1841 can send information via one or more of the PSCCH, PSSCH, PSFCH, some other type of channel, or any combination thereof. In some examples, the communication and processing circuitry 1841 can include the functionality of a unit for performing transmission. In some examples, the communication and processing circuitry 1841 can include the functionality of a unit for performing encoding.

[0241] The processor 1804 can include measurement processing circuitry 1842 configured to perform measurement processing related operations as discussed herein (e.g., one or more of the measurement operations described herein in connection with Figures 1 - 17 , Figures 19 - 20 and Figures 24 - 26 ). The measurement processing circuitry 1842 can be configured to execute measurement processing software 1852 included on the computer-readable medium 1806 to implement one or more of the functions described herein.

[0242] The measurement processing circuitry 1842 can include the functionality of a unit for receiving (e.g., one or more of the receiving operations described herein in connection with Figures 1 - , ​ and ​ ). For example, the measurement processing circuitry 1842 can cooperate with the communication and processing circuitry 1841 to receive a measurement report configuration from a network entity (e.g., via RRC signaling). As another example, the measurement processing circuitry 1842 can cooperate with the communication and processing circuitry 1841 to receive a message from a network entity (e.g., via PDSCH or PDCCH). As a further example, the measurement processing circuitry 1842 can cooperate with the communication and processing circuitry 1841 to receive a handover command from a network entity. As another example, the measurement processing circuitry 1842 can cooperate with the communication and processing circuitry 1841 to receive MAC-CE and / or DCI from a network entity.

[0243] The measurement processing circuit 1842 may include the functions of units for performing measurements (e.g., one or more layer 1 measurement operations described herein in connection with Figures 1 - 17 , Figures 19 - 20 and Figures 24 - 26 ). For example, the measurement processing circuit 1842 may cooperate with the communication and processing circuit 1841 to measure (e.g., measure non-periodically and / or periodically) reference signals (e.g., SSB signals, TRS, CSI-RS, etc.) transmitted by a cell (e.g., SCell). As another example, the measurement processing circuit 1842 may cooperate with the communication and processing circuit 1841 to perform measurements. As a further example, the measurement processing circuit 1842 may cooperate with the communication and processing circuit 1841 to obtain SSB information from an SSB signal. As another example, the measurement processing circuit 1842 may cooperate with the communication and processing circuit 1841 to perform CSI-RS measurements.

[0244] The measurement processing circuit 1842 may include the functions of units for generating measurement reports (e.g., one or more report generation operations described herein in connection with Figures 1 - 17 , Figures 19 - 20 and Figures 24 - 26 ). For example, the measurement processing circuit 1842 may generate a measurement report (e.g., a measurement report message) based on layer 1 measurements (e.g., CSI-RS measurements, SSB measurements, etc.). The report may include, for example, a reference signal received power (RSRP) metric and / or other metrics.

[0245] The measurement processing circuit 1842 may include the functions of units for transmitting (e.g., one or more transmission operations described herein in connection with Figures 1 - 17 , Figures 19 - 20 and Figures 24 - 26 ). For example, the measurement processing circuit 1842 may cooperate with the communication and processing circuit 1841 to transmit (e.g., transmit non-periodically and / or periodically) a measurement report (e.g., a measurement report message) to a network entity. As another example, the measurement processing circuit 1842 may cooperate with the communication and processing circuit 1841 to transmit a message to a network entity (e.g., via PUSCH or PUCCH). As a further example, the measurement processing circuit 1842 may cooperate with the communication and processing circuit 1841 to transmit capability information to a network entity.

[0246] The processor 1804 may include a handover processing circuit 1843, which is configured to perform handover processing related operations as discussed herein (e.g., herein in connection with Figures 1 - 17 , Figures 19 - 20 and Figures 24 - 26(one or more of the described handover operations). The handover processing circuit 1843 may be configured to execute handover processing software 1853 included on a computer-readable medium 1806 to implement one or more of the functions described herein.

[0247] The handover processing circuit 1843 may include the functionality of units for receiving (e.g., one or more of the receiving operations described herein in connection with Figures 1 - 17 、 Figures 19 - 20 and Figures 24 - 26 ). For example, the handover processing circuit 1843 may cooperate with the communication and processing circuit 1841 to receive a message from a network entity on a specified resource (e.g., for cell addition or cell activation). As another example, the handover processing circuit 1843 may cooperate with the communication and processing circuit 1841 to receive a handover command from a network entity. As a further example, the handover processing circuit 1843 may cooperate with the communication and processing circuit 1841 to receive an SRS configuration from a network entity.

[0248] The handover processing circuit 1843 may include the functionality of units for sending messages (e.g., one or more of the sending operations described herein in connection with Figures 1 - 17 、 Figures 19 - 20 and Figures 24 - 26 ). For example, the handover processing circuit 1843 may cooperate with the communication and processing circuit 1841 to send a message to a network entity on a specified resource. As another example, the handover processing circuit 1843 may cooperate with the communication and processing circuit 1841 to send an SRS (e.g., send an SRS transmission).

[0249] The handover processing circuit 1843 may include the functionality of units for RF tuning (e.g., one or more of the tuning operations described herein in connection with Figures 1 - 17 、 Figures 19 - 20 and Figures 24 - 26 ). For example, the handover processing circuit 1843 may cooperate with the communication and processing circuit 1841 to perform RF tuning during at least one guard time.

[0250] Figure 19 is a flow chart showing an example method 1900 for wireless communication in accordance with some aspects of the present disclosure. As described below, in certain implementations within the scope of the present disclosure, some or all of the illustrated features may be omitted, and some of the illustrated features may not be required for all example implementations. In some examples, method 1900 (a method for wireless communication) may be performed by Figure 18 the UE 1800 shown in

[0251] At block 1902, the user equipment may perform layer 1 measurements based on reference signals received from the first cell. In some examples, Figure 18 the measurement processing circuitry 1842 shown and described in may provide a unit for performing layer 1 measurements based on reference signals received from the first cell, together with the communication and processing circuitry system 1841 and the transceiver 1810.

[0252] At block 1904, the user equipment may generate a measurement report based on the layer 1 measurements. In some examples, Figure 18 the measurement processing circuitry 1842 shown and described in may provide a unit for generating a measurement report based on the layer 1 measurements.

[0253] At block 1906, the user equipment may send the measurement report to the second cell via a layer 1 message. In some examples, Figure 18 the measurement processing circuitry 1842 shown and described in may provide a unit for sending the measurement report to the second cell via a layer 1 message, together with the communication and processing circuitry 1841 and the transceiver 1810.

[0254] In some examples, the layer 1 message may include (e.g., may be) uplink control information (UCI). In some examples, the reference signal may include a channel state information-reference signal (CSI-RS) or a synchronization signal block (SSB) signal.

[0255] In some examples, the user equipment may receive a configuration specifying at least one first measurement metric for inter-frequency layer 1 measurements and at least one second measurement metric for intra-frequency layer 1 measurements. In some examples, the at least one first measurement metric may include at least one of layer 1 reference signal received power (L1-RSRP), layer 1 reference signal received quality (L1-RSRQ), layer 1 signal-to-interference and noise ratio (L1-SINR), or channel quality information. In some examples, the at least one second measurement metric may include at least one of layer 1 reference signal received power (L1-RSRP), layer 1 signal-to-interference and noise ratio (L1-SINR), or channel quality information.

[0256] In some examples, the measurement report may include measurement metrics associated with beam-level measurements. In some examples, the measurement report may include measurement metrics associated with cell-level measurements.

[0257] In some examples, a user equipment may receive at least one configuration specifying at least one first resource for channel measurement and at least one second resource for interference measurement. In some examples, performing layer 1 measurements may include measuring signals on at least one first resource and at least one second resource, and generating a measurement report may include generating a layer 1 signal-to-interference-and-noise ratio (L1-SINR) measurement metric based on the layer 1 measurements. In some examples, the at least one first resource may include at least one set of channel measurement resources (CMRs). In some examples, the at least one second resource may include at least one set of interference measurement resources (IMRs).

[0258] In some examples, the set of CMRs may include at least one of a first periodic resource, a first semi-persistent resource, or a first aperiodic resource. In some examples, the set of IMRs may include at least one of a second periodic resource, a second semi-persistent resource, or a second aperiodic resource.

[0259] In some examples, a user equipment may receive at least one configuration specifying at least one set of single channel measurement resources (CMRs) for single transmit-receive point (TRP) measurement operations or at least one of a plurality of sets of CMRs for multi-TRP measurement operations. In some examples, performing layer 1 measurements may include measuring at least one signal on a single set of CMRs or a plurality of sets of CMRs, and generating a measurement report may include generating at least one layer 1 reference signal received power (L1-RSRP) measurement metric based on the layer 1 measurements.

[0260] In some examples, the single set of CMRs may include at least one of a first periodic resource, a first semi-persistent resource, or a first aperiodic resource. In some examples, the plurality of sets of CMRs may include at least one of a second periodic resource, a second semi-persistent resource, or a second aperiodic resource.

[0261] In some examples, a user equipment may receive a cell handover command from a second cell via a first layer 1 message or via a first layer 2 message, the cell handover command identifying a first cell for handover of the user equipment. In some examples, the user equipment may send a handover completion message to the first cell in response to the cell handover command, the handover completion message being sent via a second layer 1 message or via a second layer 2 message.

[0262] Figure 20 is a flow chart showing an example method 2000 for wireless communication in accordance with some aspects of the present disclosure. As described below, in certain implementations within the scope of the present disclosure, some or all of the illustrated features may be omitted, and some of the illustrated features may not be required for all implementations of the examples. In some examples, method 2000 (a method for wireless communication) may be performed byFigure 18 performed by the UE 1800 shown in Figure 18 . In some examples, method 2000 may be performed by any suitable device or unit for performing the functions or algorithms described below.

[0263] At block 2002, the user equipment may receive a sounding reference signal (SRS) configuration associated with layer 1 mobility measurements. In some examples, Figure 18 the measurement processing circuit 1842 shown and described in Figure 18 , together with the communication and processing circuit 1841 and the transceiver 1810, may provide a unit for receiving a sounding reference signal (SRS) configuration associated with layer 1 mobility measurements.

[0264] At block 2004, the user equipment may transmit an SRS transmission to a candidate cell based on the SRS configuration. In some examples, Figure 18 the measurement processing circuit 1842 shown and described in Figure 18 , together with the communication and processing circuit 1841 and the transceiver 1810, may provide a unit for transmitting an SRS transmission to a candidate cell based on the SRS configuration.

[0265] In some examples, the SRS transmission may include (e.g., may be) an inter-frequency SRS transmission. In some examples, the SRS transmission may include an intra-frequency SRS transmission.

[0266] In some examples, the SRS configuration specifies that the SRS transmission will be sent periodically, semi-persistently, or aperiodically.

[0267] In some examples, the SRS transmission may include a layer 1 inter-frequency SRS transmission, and the SRS configuration specifies at least one first SRS parameter associated with the serving cell of the user equipment and at least one second SRS parameter associated with the candidate cell. In some examples, at least one first SRS parameter is different from at least one second SRS parameter. In some examples, at least one second SRS parameter may include at least one of a center frequency, a subcarrier spacing (SCS), or a bandwidth part (BWP).

[0268] In some examples, the SRS configuration specifies at least one guard time between the SRS transmission and at least one other communication performed by the user equipment. In some examples, at least one guard time specifies at least one of a first number of symbols before the SRS transmission or a second number of symbols after the SRS transmission. In some examples, at least one of the first number of symbols or the second number of symbols is a fixed value. In some examples, at least one of the first number of symbols or the second number of symbols is based on the capabilities of the user equipment. In some examples, at least one of the first number of symbols or the second number of symbols is at least partially based on a first subcarrier spacing (SCS) of the serving cell of the user equipment or a second SCS of the candidate cell.

[0269] In some examples, the user equipment may perform radio frequency tuning during the protection time.

[0270] In some examples, the user equipment may receive a cell handover command from a serving cell via a layer 1 message or via a layer 2 message, the cell handover command identifying candidate cells for handover of the user equipment. In some examples, the user equipment may send a handover completion message to a candidate cell in response to the cell handover command, the handover completion message being sent via a layer 2 1 message or via a layer 2 2 message.

[0271] Referring again to Figure 18 , in one configuration, the user equipment 1800 includes: a unit for performing layer 1 measurements based on reference signals received from a first cell; a unit for generating a measurement report based on the layer 1 measurements; and a unit for sending the measurement report to a second cell via a layer 1 message. In one configuration, the user equipment 1800 includes: a unit for receiving a sounding reference signal (SRS) configuration associated with layer 1 mobility measurements; and a unit for sending an SRS transmission to a candidate cell based on the SRS configuration. In one aspect, the foregoing units may be Figure 18 the processor 1804 shown in

[0272] configured to perform the functions recited by the foregoing units (e.g., as discussed above). In another aspect, the foregoing units may be a circuit or any device configured to perform the functions recited by the foregoing units. Figures 1 - 4 、 Figures 7 - 12 、 Figures 14 - 16 、 Figure 18 、 Figure 21 、 Figure 24 、 Figure 29 and Figure 30 any other suitable device or unit described in any of the figures in Figures 19 - 20 and utilizing, for example, the methods and / or algorithms described herein with respect to

[0273] Figure 21 is a conceptual diagram illustrating an example of a hardware implementation of a network entity 2100 employing a processing system 2114. In some implementations, the network entity 2100 may correspond to a Figures 1 - 4 、 Figures 7 - 12 、 Figures 14 - 16 、 Figure 24 、 Figure 29 and Figure 30any one of the base stations, CUs, DUs, RUs, or scheduling entities shown in any of the figures.

[0274] According to various aspects of the present disclosure, an element or any part of an element or any combination of elements may be implemented using a processing system 2114. The processing system may include one or more processors (generally represented by processor 2104). The processing system 2114 may be substantially the same as Figure 18 the processing system 1814 shown, including a bus interface 2108, a bus 2102, one or more memories (for convenience, referred to herein as memory 2105), and one or more computer-readable media (generally represented by computer-readable medium 2106), a transceiver 2110, and an antenna array 2120. The memory 2105 may store handover information 2115 (e.g., measurement information) for communication operations as described herein, which is used by the processor 2104 in cooperation with the transceiver 2110. The memory 2105 and / or the computer-readable medium 2106 may store processor-executable code for the processor 2104. Additionally, the network entity 2100 may include an interface 2130 (e.g., a network interface), which provides means for communicating with the core network and at least one other device within at least one radio access network.

[0275] The network entity 2100 may be configured to perform any one or more of the operations described herein (e.g., one or more of the operations described in conjunction with Figures 1 - 17 , Figures 22 - 23 and Figures 27 - 28 ). In some aspects of the present disclosure, as used in the network entity 2100, the processor 2104 may include circuitry configured for various functions.

[0276] The processor 2104 may be configured to generate, schedule, and modify resource assignments or grants for time-frequency resources (e.g., a set of one or more resource elements). For example, the processor 2104 may schedule time-frequency resources within multiple time-division duplex (TDD) and / or frequency-division duplex (FDD) subframes, time slots, and / or mini-slots to carry user data traffic and / or control information to and from multiple scheduled entities. The processor 2104 may be configured to schedule resources for the transmission of downlink signals. The processor 2104 may also be configured to schedule resources for the transmission of uplink signals.

[0277] In some aspects of the present disclosure, the processor 2104 may include a communication and processing circuit 2141. The communication and processing circuit 2141 may be configured to communicate with a user equipment. The communication and processing circuit 2141 may include one or more hardware components that provide a physical structure for performing various processes related to communication as described herein (e.g., signal reception and / or signal transmission). The communication and processing circuit 2141 may also include one or more hardware components that provide a physical structure for performing various processes related to signal processing as described herein (e.g., processing received signals and / or processing signals for transmission). The communication and processing circuit 2141 may also be configured to execute communication and processing software 2151 included on a computer-readable medium 2106 to implement one or more functions described herein.

[0278] The communication and processing circuit 2141 may also be configured to receive an indication from the UE. For example, the indication may be included in a MAC-CE carried in a Uu PUSCH or PSCCH, or included in a Uu RRC message or an SL RRC message, or included in a dedicated Uu PUCCH or PUSCH. The communication and processing circuit 2141 may also be configured to receive a scheduling request from the UE for an uplink grant or a sidelink grant.

[0279] In some implementations where communication involves receiving information, the communication and processing circuit 2141 may obtain information from a component of the network entity 2100 (e.g., from a transceiver 2110 that receives information via radio frequency signaling or some other type of signaling suitable for the applicable communication medium), process (e.g., decode) the information, and output the processed information. For example, the communication and processing circuit 2141 may output the information to another component of the processor 2104, the memory 2105, or the bus interface 2108. In some examples, the communication and processing circuit 2141 may receive one or more of a signal, a message, other information, or any combination thereof. In some examples, the communication and processing circuit 2141 may receive information via one or more channels. In some examples, the communication and processing circuit 2141 may include the functionality of a unit for performing reception. In some examples, the communication and processing circuit 2141 may include the functionality of a unit for performing decoding.

[0280] In some implementations where communication involves transmitting (e.g., sending) information, the communication and processing circuitry 2141 can obtain information (e.g., from another component of the processor 2104, the memory 2105, or the bus interface 2108), process (e.g., encode) the information, and output the processed information. For example, the communication and processing circuitry 2141 can output information to the transceiver 2110 (e.g., to send the information via radio frequency signaling or some other type of signaling suitable for the applicable communication medium). In some examples, the communication and processing circuitry 2141 can send one or more of a signal, a message, other information, or any combination thereof. In some examples, the communication and processing circuitry 2141 can send information via one or more channels. In some examples, the communication and processing circuitry 2141 can include the functionality of a unit for performing transmission. In some examples, the communication and processing circuitry 2141 can include the functionality of a unit for performing encoding.

[0281] The processor 2104 can include measurement processing circuitry 2142, which is configured to perform measurement processing-related operations as discussed herein (e.g., one or more of the operations described herein in connection with Figures 1 - 17 , Figures 22 - 23 and Figures 27 - 28 ). The measurement processing circuitry 2142 can be configured to execute measurement processing software 2152 included on a computer-readable medium 2106 to implement one or more of the functions described herein.

[0282] The measurement processing circuitry 2142 can include the functionality of a unit for performing transmission (e.g., one or more of the transmission operations described herein in connection with Figures 1 - 17 , Figures 22 - 23 and Figures 27 - 28 ). For example, the measurement processing circuitry 2142 can cooperate with the communication and processing circuitry 2141 to send a measurement report configuration to the UE (e.g., via RRC signaling). As another example, the measurement processing circuitry 2142 can cooperate with the communication and processing circuitry 2141 to send a message to the UE (e.g., via PDSCH or PDCCH). As a further example, the measurement processing circuitry 2142 can cooperate with the communication and processing circuitry 2141 to send a handover command to the UE. As another example, the measurement processing circuitry 2142 can cooperate with the communication and processing circuitry 2141 to send MAC-CE and / or DCI to the UE. As another example, the measurement processing circuitry 2142 can cooperate with the communication and processing circuitry 2141 to send a configuration to the UE.

[0283] The measurement processing circuitry 2142 can include the functionality of a unit for performing reception (e.g., one or more of the reception operations described herein in connection with Figures 1 - 17 , Figures 22 - 23 and Figures 27 - 28One or more of the receiving operations described in the receiving operation). For example, the measurement processing circuit 2142 may cooperate with the communication and processing circuit 2141 to receive (e.g., receive non-periodically and / or receive periodically) measurement reports from the UE. For example, the measurement processing circuit 2142 may receive measurement reports from the UE based on RSRP measurements and / or CSI-RS measurements. As another example, the measurement processing circuit 2142 may cooperate with the communication and processing circuit 2141 to receive (e.g., via PUSCH or PUCCH) messages from the UE. As a further example, the measurement processing circuit 2142 may cooperate with the communication and processing circuit 2141 to receive capability information from the UE. In some examples, the measurement processing circuit 2142 may cooperate with the communication and processing circuit 2141 to receive SRS from the UE (e.g., via one or more beams).

[0284] The processor 2104 may include a handover processing circuit 2143 configured to perform handover processing related operations as discussed herein (e.g., as described herein in connection with Figures 1 - 17 , Figures 22 - 23 and Figures 27 - 28 one or more of the handover operations). The handover processing circuit 2143 may be configured to execute handover processing software 2153 included on a computer-readable medium 2106 to implement one or more functions described herein.

[0285] The handover processing circuit system 2143 may include the functions of a unit for sending messages (e.g., one or more of the sending operations described herein in connection with Figures 1 - 17 , Figures 22 - 23 and Figures 27 - 28 ). For example, the handover processing circuit 2143 may cooperate with the communication and processing circuit 2141 to send a message to the UE on a specified resource (e.g., for cell addition or cell activation). As another example, the handover processing circuit 2143 may cooperate with the communication and processing circuit 2141 to send a handover command to the user equipment. As an additional example, the measurement processing circuit 2142 may cooperate with the communication and processing circuit 2141 to send information to the UE based on SRS (e.g., configuration information).

[0286] The handover processing circuit 2143 may include the functions of a unit for receiving messages (e.g., one or more of the receiving operations described herein in connection with Figures 1 - 17 , Figures 22 - 23 and Figures 27 - 28 ). For example, the handover processing circuit 2143 may cooperate with the communication and processing circuit 2141 to receive a message from the UE on a specified resource.

[0287] In some examples, as described above in connection with Figure 21The network entity 2100 shown and described may be a split base station. For example, Figure 21 the network entity 2100 shown may include a CU and one or more DUs / RUs of an optional split base station. Other DUs / RUs associated with the network entity 2100 may be distributed throughout the network. In some examples, the DU / RU may correspond to a TRP associated with the network entity. In some examples, the CU and / or DU / RU of the split base station (e.g., within the network entity 2100) may generate handover information and provide information to the user equipment, as well as receive and process messages from the user equipment.

[0288] Figure 22 is a flowchart showing an example method 2200 for wireless communication according to some aspects of the present disclosure. As described below, in certain implementations within the scope of the present disclosure, some or all of the features shown may be omitted, and some of the features shown may not be required for all example implementations. In some examples, the method 2200 may be performed by Figure 21 the network entity 2100 shown in. In some examples, the method 2200 may be performed by any suitable device or unit for performing the functions or algorithms described below.

[0289] At block 2202, the network entity may send a measurement configuration to the user equipment. In some examples, Figure 21 the measurement processing circuit 2142 shown and described in, together with the communication and processing circuit 2141 and the transceiver 2110, may provide a unit for sending a measurement configuration to the user equipment.

[0290] At block 2204, the network entity may receive a measurement report from the user equipment. In some examples, Figure 21 the measurement processing circuit 2142 shown and described in, together with the communication and processing circuit 2141 and the transceiver 2110, may provide a unit for receiving a measurement report from the user equipment.

[0291] At block 2206, the network entity may send a cell handover command to the user equipment via a layer 1 message or via a layer 2 message. In some examples, Figure 21 the handover processing circuit 2143 shown and described in, together with the communication and processing circuit 2141 and the transceiver 2110, may provide a unit for sending a cell handover command to the user equipment via a layer 1 message or via a layer 2 message.

[0292] In some examples, the configuration specifies at least one first measurement metric for inter-frequency layer 1 measurements and at least one second measurement metric for intra-frequency layer 1 measurements. In some examples, the at least one first measurement metric may include at least one of layer 1 reference signal received power (L1-RSRP), layer 1 reference signal received quality (L1-RSRQ), layer 1 signal-to-interference-and-noise ratio (L1-SINR), or channel quality information. In some examples, the at least one second measurement metric may include at least one of layer 1 reference signal received power (L1-RSRP), layer 1 signal-to-interference-and-noise ratio (L1-SINR), or channel quality information.

[0293] In some examples, the measurement report may include measurement metrics associated with beam-level measurements. In some examples, the measurement report may include measurement metrics associated with cell-level measurements.

[0294] In some examples, the configuration specifies at least one first resource for channel measurement and at least one second resource for interference measurement. In some examples, performing layer 1 measurements may include measuring signals on the at least one first resource and the at least one second resource, and generating a measurement report may include generating a layer 1 signal-to-interference-and-noise ratio (L1-SINR) measurement metric based on the layer 1 measurements. In some examples, the at least one first resource may include at least one set of channel measurement resources (CMRs). In some examples, the at least one second resource may include at least one set of interference measurement resources (IMRs).

[0295] In some examples, the set of CMRs may include at least one of a first periodic resource, a first semi-persistent resource, or a first aperiodic resource. In some examples, the set of IMRs may include at least one of a second periodic resource, a second semi-persistent resource, or a second aperiodic resource.

[0296] In some examples, the configuration specifies at least one of a single set of channel measurement resources (CMRs) for single transmit-receive point (TRP) measurement operations or multiple sets of CMRs for multi-TRP measurement operations. In some examples, performing layer 1 measurements may include measuring signals on the single set of CMRs or the multiple sets of CMRs, and generating a measurement report may include generating a layer 1 reference signal received power (L1-RSRP) measurement metric based on the layer 1 measurements.

[0297] In some examples, the single set of CMRs may include at least one of a first periodic resource, a first semi-persistent resource, or a first aperiodic resource. In some examples, the multiple sets of CMRs may include at least one of a second periodic resource, a second semi-persistent resource, or a second aperiodic resource.

[0298] Figure 23 is a flow chart showing an example method 2300 for wireless communication according to some aspects of the present disclosure. As described below, in certain implementations within the scope of the present disclosure, some or all of the illustrated features may be omitted, and some of the illustrated features may not be required for all example implementations. In some examples, method 2300 may be performed by Figure 21 the network entity 2100 shown in. In some examples, method 2300 may be performed by any suitable device or unit for performing the functions or algorithms described below.

[0299] At block 2302, the network entity may receive a sounding reference signal (SRS) associated with an L1 or L2 handover from a UE. In some examples, Figure 21 the measurement processing circuitry 2142 shown and described in, together with the communication and processing circuitry 2141 and the transceiver 2110, may provide a unit for receiving an SRS associated with an L1 or L2 handover from a UE.

[0300] At block 2304, the network entity may transmit information based on the SRS. In some examples, Figure 21 the measurement processing circuitry 2142 shown and described in, together with the communication and processing circuitry 2141 and the transceiver 2110, may provide a unit for transmitting information based on the SRS.

[0301] In some examples, the SRS may include (e.g., may be) an inter-frequency SRS transmission. In some examples, the SRS may include an intra-frequency SRS transmission.

[0302] In some examples, the SRS configuration specifies that the SRS will be transmitted periodically, semi-persistently, or aperiodically.

[0303] In some examples, the SRS may include a layer 1 inter-frequency SRS transmission, and the SRS configuration specifies at least one first SRS parameter associated with the serving cell of the user equipment and at least one second SRS parameter associated with a candidate cell. In some examples, the at least one first SRS parameter is different from the at least one second SRS parameter. In some examples, the at least one second SRS parameter may include at least one of a center frequency, a subcarrier spacing (SCS), or a bandwidth part (BWP).

[0304] In some examples, the SRS configuration specifies at least one guard time between the SRS transmission and any other communication performed by the user equipment. In some examples, the at least one guard time specifies at least one of a first number of symbols before the SRS transmission or a second number of symbols after the SRS transmission. In some examples, at least one of the first number of symbols or the second number of symbols is a fixed value. In some examples, at least one of the first number of symbols or the second number of symbols is based on the capabilities of the user equipment. In some examples, at least one of the first number of symbols or the second number of symbols is based on a first subcarrier spacing (SCS) of the serving cell of the user equipment or a second SCS of a candidate cell.

[0305] Referring again to Figure 21 , in one configuration, the network entity 2100 includes: a unit for sending a measurement configuration to the user equipment; a unit for receiving a measurement report from the user equipment; and a unit for sending a cell handover command to the user equipment via a layer 1 message or via a layer 2 message. In one configuration, the network entity 2100 includes: a unit for receiving a sounding reference signal (SRS) configuration associated with layer 1 mobility measurements; and a unit for sending an SRS transmission to a candidate cell based on the SRS configuration. In one aspect, the foregoing units may be Figure 21 the processor 2104 configured to perform the functions recited by the foregoing units as shown in

[0306] (e.g., as discussed above). In another aspect, the foregoing units may be a circuit or any device configured to perform the functions recited by the foregoing units. Figures 1 - 4 Of course, in the above examples, the circuitry included in the processor 2104 is provided only as an example, and other units for performing the described functions may be included in various aspects of the present disclosure, including but not limited to instructions stored in a computer-readable medium 2106, or in Figures 7 - 12 、 Figures 14 - 16 、 Figure 18 、 Figure 21 、 Figure 24 、 Figure 29 and Figure 30 any other suitable device or unit described in any of the figures shown in Figures 22 - 23 and utilizing, for example, the methods and / or algorithms described herein with respect to

[0307] Figure 19 、 Figure 20 、 Figure 22 and Figure 23 The methods shown in may include additional aspects, such as any single aspect or any combination of aspects described below and / or in combination with one or more other processes described elsewhere herein.

[0308] In some examples, a user equipment may include a transceiver and a processor coupled to the transceiver. The processor may be configured to receive a sounding reference signal (SRS) configuration associated with layer 1 mobility measurements. The processor may also be configured to transmit an SRS transmission to a candidate cell based on the SRS configuration.

[0309] In some examples, a method for wireless communication at a user equipment is disclosed. The method may include: receiving a sounding reference signal (SRS) configuration associated with layer 1 mobility measurements. The method may also include: transmitting an SRS transmission to a candidate cell based on the SRS configuration.

[0310] In some examples, a user equipment may include: a unit for receiving a sounding reference signal (SRS) configuration associated with layer 1 mobility measurements. The user equipment may also include: a unit for transmitting an SRS transmission to a candidate cell based on the SRS configuration.

[0311] In some examples, a non-transitory computer-readable medium may have instructions stored therein that are executable by one or more processors of a user equipment to receive a sounding reference signal (SRS) configuration associated with layer 1 mobility measurements. The computer-readable medium may also have instructions stored therein that are executable by one or more processors of the user equipment to transmit an SRS transmission to a candidate cell based on the SRS configuration.

[0312] Beam Report

[0313] Aspects of the present disclosure relate to techniques for beam reporting. For example, beam reports may be sent in conjunction with beam switching. In some examples, the beam reporting may be performed in conjunction with the candidate cell measurements discussed above.

[0314] To support beam switching, a UE may be configured with beam reporting for candidate cells (such as candidate SpCells). Aspects provided herein provide different mechanisms for beam reporting, such as UE-triggered or network-triggered reporting. The different mechanisms for beam reporting may enable more efficient selection and reselection of beams for wireless communication, thereby improving the overall communication system. As used herein, the term "measurement result" or "measurement information" may refer to measurements of beams of a candidate SpCell, such as RSRP, SINR, RSRQ, block error rate (BLER), or other measurements for a beam. One candidate cell may be associated with N beams and N measurement results, where N may be a positive integer. The measurement result of a candidate SpCell may be indicated by an "Mn" information element (IE). The measurement result of a serving cell may be indicated by an "Mp" IE. If an example measurement result is RSRQ or SINR, it may be expressed in decibels (dB), or if an example measurement result is RSRP, it may be expressed in decibels-milliwatts (dBm). As used herein, the term "beam reporting" may refer to a report sent from a UE to a network that may carry information based on measurement results associated with one or more beams for one or more candidate cells, such that the network can perform various processes related to beams (e.g., beam selection, beam reselection, beam recovery, etc.). The beam reporting may be included in a CSI report, which may be an L1 inter-frequency CSI report or other type of CSI report. As used herein, the term "L1 inter-frequency CSI report" may refer to a report that reports L1 (physical layer) inter-frequency measurements (such as L1 RSRP, L1 RSRQ, L1 RSSI, or L1 SINR) to the network, such as a report in PUSCH. As an example, the L1 inter-frequency report may include a subset of measurement information. For example, measurement information based on the following may be included in the L1 inter-frequency report: inter-frequency RS across all measured frequencies or the top N inter-frequency RS across M UE-selected frequencies, or the top N inter-frequency RS for each measured frequency or each of the M UE-selected frequencies. For another example, the measurement information may be cell-specific, where the measurement result may be the linear average of the Y best beams for each candidate cell (Y is a positive integer greater than or equal to 1, which may be expressed as Y >= 1). As used herein, the term "configuration of inter-frequency RS reporting" may refer to the configuration of RSs for L1 inter-frequency RS reporting, such as one or more indices. In some aspects, in the beam reporting, the UE may identify those beams with the minimum path loss or those beams with the highest RSRP as "top beams". The beam reporting may be periodic, aperiodic, or semi-persistent. The beam reporting sent from the UE to the network may be configured to be triggered by the UE, triggered by the network, or triggered by both the UE and the network.As used herein, the term "trigger event" may refer to an event in which the UE may send a beam report accordingly if it occurs (e.g., determined by the UE). A trigger event may include an "initial event" (which may also be referred to as an "entry event"), where the UE may start the transmission of one or more beam reports based on the occurrence of the initial event (e.g., determined by the UE). A trigger event may include an "exit event", where the UE may stop the transmission of one or more beam reports based on the occurrence of the exit event (e.g., determined by the UE). A trigger event may be associated with a threshold parameter indicated by "Thresh" (e.g., used to determine whether an event occurs). As used herein, the term "hysteresis parameter" may be a parameter expressed in decibels (dB) and may be indicated by a "hys" IE. A "measurement object offset" may be an offset of a reference signal (e.g., associated with a beam) of a candidate SpCell or serving cell, expressed in dB. The measurement object offset of the reference signal of a candidate SpCell may be indicated by an "Ofn" IE. A reference signal may be associated with a beam associated with a candidate SpCell. The measurement object offset of the reference signal of the serving cell may be indicated by the "Ofp" IE. The "cell-specific offset" may be an offset of the candidate SpCell or the serving cell, expressed in dB. The cell-specific offset of the candidate SpCell may be indicated by the "Ocn" IE. The cell-specific offset of the serving cell may be indicated by the "Ocp" IE. The offset in dB associated with a triggering event may be indicated by the "Off" IE.

[0315] Figure 24 2400 is a diagram illustrating example communications between a network entity 2404 and a UE 2402. In some aspects, the network entity 2404 may be a network node. In some aspects, the network node may be implemented as a converged base station, a disaggregated base station, an integrated access and backhaul (IAB) node, a relay node, a sidelink node, etc. In some aspects, the network entity 2404 may be implemented in a converged or monolithic base station architecture, or alternatively, in a disaggregated base station architecture, and may include one or more of a CU, a DU, a RU, a near real-time (near-RT) RAN intelligent controller (RIC), or a non-real-time (non-RT) RIC. In some examples, the network entity 2404 may correspond to a Figures 1 - 4 , Figures 7 - 12 , Figures 14 - 16 , Figure 21 , Figure 29 and Figure 30 Any of the network entities, base stations, CUs, DUs, RUs, or scheduling entities shown in any of the figures. In some examples, UE 2402 may correspond to Figures 1 - 4 , Figures 7 - 12 , Figures 14 - 16 ,Figure 18 , Figure 29 and Figure 30 any one of the UEs or scheduled entities shown in any of the figures in

[0316] In some aspects, beam reporting may be initiated by network entity 2404. As Figure 24 shown, network entity 2404 may send DCI 2408, and DCI 2408 may trigger a candidate cell to send at least one beam report (such as an aperiodic CSI report) to UE 2402. In some aspects, measurements for a candidate cell (e.g., L1 measurements) may be periodic, aperiodic, or semi-persistent. For example, at block 2406, UE 2402 may generate a set of measurement results associated with one or more beams. In some aspects, one or more beams are associated with one or more candidate SpCells for L1 or L2 mobility. For example, a first subset of one or more beams may be associated with (e.g., belong to) a first candidate SpCell among one or more candidate SpCells, and a second subset of one or more beams may be associated with a second candidate SpCell among one or more candidate SpCells.

[0317] In some aspects, based on receiving DCI 2408 that can trigger a beam report, UE 2402 can send beam report 2410 to network entity 2404 (e.g., based on the measurement results generated at block 2406). In some aspects, beam report 2410 can be sent in an active serving cell or a candidate cell. In some aspects, beam report 2410 can be a CSI report. In some aspects, beam report 2410 can be included in the UCI and the UCI can be sent on the PUCCH, Dynamic Grant (DG) PUSCH, or Configured Grant (CG) PUSCH. In some aspects, beam report 2410 can be included in a single-part UCI that includes information indicating N beams for a candidate cell (e.g., beam identifiers respectively associated with the N beams) and N beam metrics (e.g., N measurement results respectively associated with the N beams, such as SINR, RSRP, RSRQ, BLER, or other metrics). In some aspects, beam report 2410 can be included in a two-part UCI that includes a first part and a second part. The first part can include a candidate cell identifier (ID) or a physical cell identifier (PCI) and the number of beams respectively associated with each candidate cell ID or PCI. The second part can include the corresponding beam identifiers and beam metrics (e.g., the associated measurement results respectively associated with the beam identifiers) for each candidate cell (e.g., identified by the candidate cell ID or PCI). In some aspects, beam report 2410 can cause the UCI to exceed the payload of the PUCCH or PUSCH. In some aspects of such aspects, UE 2402 can perform UCI omission based on one or more priorities of different UCIs included in the PUCCH or PUSCH. In some aspects, the UCI including beam report 2410 for a candidate cell can have the same priority as a second UCI including a beam report for a serving cell (which can be referred to as an "active serving cell"). In some aspects, the UCI including beam report 2410 for a candidate cell can have a lower priority compared to a second UCI including a beam report for a serving cell (which can be referred to as an "active serving cell"). In some aspects, beam report 2410 can be included in a MAC-CE and the MAC-CE can be sent on the PUSCH. In some aspects, the MAC-CE can include one or more candidate cell IDs or PCIs. In some aspects, the MAC-CE can further include N beams (e.g., beam identifiers respectively associated with the N beams) and N beam metrics (e.g., N measurement results respectively associated with the N beams, such as SINR, RSRP, RSRQ, BLER, or other metrics) for each candidate cell ID or PCI among the one or more candidate cell IDs or PCIs.

[0318] In some aspects, beam reporting can be initiated by UE 2402. As Figure 24 shown, UE 2402 can determine at block 2412 that a trigger event has occurred. In some aspects, beam metrics can be defined, such as L1-RSRP, L1-SINR, RSSI, channel quality indicator (CQI), or BLER. A trigger event can be defined based on the beam metrics. For example, UE 2402 can be configured to trigger beam reporting when the beam metrics are changed. In some aspects, the trigger event can be that the cell average RSRP for a candidate cell is higher than a threshold. For example, if the L1 measurement result Ms (e.g., cell average RSRP) for a candidate cell is higher than the threshold, then UE 2402 can determine at block 2412 that a trigger event has occurred. In some of such aspects, the entry event can be Ms > Thresh + Hys (the measurement result of the candidate cell is greater than the threshold plus the hysteresis parameter), and the exit event can be Ms < Thresh – Hys (the measurement result of the candidate cell is less than the threshold minus the hysteresis parameter).

[0319] In some aspects, the trigger event can be that the cell average RSRP of a candidate cell is greater than a threshold than the cell average RSRP of the active serving cell. For example, if the L1 measurement result Mn (e.g., cell average RSRP) of a candidate cell is greater than the L1 measurement result Mp of the active serving cell by the threshold, then UE 2402 can determine at block 2412 that a trigger event has occurred. For example, the entry event can be Mn + Ofn + Ocn – Hys > Mp + Ofp + Ocp + Off (e.g., the measurement result of the candidate cell plus the measurement object offset associated with the candidate cell plus the cell-specific offset associated with the candidate cell minus the hysteresis parameter is greater than the measurement result of the serving cell plus the measurement object offset associated with the serving cell plus the cell-specific offset associated with the serving cell plus the offset), and the exit event can be Mn + Ofn + Ocn + Hys < Mp + Ofp + Ocp + Off (e.g., the measurement result of the candidate cell plus the measurement object offset associated with the candidate cell plus the cell-specific offset associated with the candidate cell minus the hysteresis parameter is less than the measurement result of the serving cell plus the measurement object offset associated with the serving cell plus the cell-specific offset associated with the serving cell plus the offset).

[0320] In some aspects, based on determining a triggering event at block 2412, UE 2402 may send a beam report 2416 to network entity 2404 (e.g., based on measurement results generated at block 2406). In some aspects, the beam report 2416 may be sent in an active serving cell or a candidate cell. In some aspects, the beam report 2416 may be a CSI report. In some aspects, the beam report 2416 may be included in the UCI and the UCI may be sent on the PUCCH, dynamically granted PUSCH, or configured granted PUSCH. In some aspects, the beam report 2416 may be included in a single-part UCI that includes information indicating N beams (e.g., beam identifiers associated with the N beams respectively) for one candidate cell or for multiple candidate cells and N beam metrics (e.g., N measurement results associated with the N beams respectively, such as SINR, RSRP, RSRQ, BLER, or other metrics). In some aspects, the beam report 2416 may be included in a two-part UCI that includes a first part and a second part. The first part may include candidate cell identifiers (IDs) or physical cell identifiers (PCIs) and the number of beams associated with each candidate cell ID or PCI respectively. The second part may include corresponding beam identifiers and beam metrics (e.g., associated measurement results associated with the beam identifiers respectively) for each candidate cell (e.g., identified by the candidate cell ID or PCI). In some aspects, the beam report 2416 may cause the UCI to exceed the payload of the PUCCH or PUSCH. In some aspects of such aspects, UE 2402 may perform UCI omission based on one or more priorities of different UCIs included in the PUCCH or PUSCH. In some aspects, the UCI including the beam report 2416 for a candidate cell may have the same priority as a second UCI including a beam report for a serving cell (which may be referred to as an “active serving cell”). In some aspects, the UCI including the beam report 2416 for a candidate cell may have a lower priority compared to a second UCI including a beam report for a serving cell (which may be referred to as an “active serving cell”). In some aspects, the beam report 2416 may be included in a MAC-CE and the MAC-CE may be sent on the PUSCH. In some aspects, the MAC-CE may include one or more candidate cell IDs or PCIs. In some aspects, the MAC-CE may further include N beams (e.g., beam identifiers associated with the N beams respectively) and N beam metrics (e.g., N measurement results associated with the N beams respectively, such as SINR, RSRP, RSRQ, BLER, or other metrics) for each candidate cell ID or PCI among the one or more candidate cell IDs or PCIs.

[0321] In some aspects, the UE 2402 can be configured with a prohibition timer. For example, when transmitting a beam report 2416, the UE 2402 can start the prohibition timer. The prohibition timer can expire after a configured duration. While the prohibition timer is running (e.g., until the prohibition timer expires), the UE 2402 can avoid transmitting another beam report (as indicated by arrow 2418).

[0322] In some aspects, the UE 2402 can be configured with a dedicated scheduling request for beam reports of candidate cells. For example, to transmit a beam report 2410, the UE 2402 can send a dedicated scheduling request for the beam report to the network entity 2404.

[0323] In some aspects, both UE-initiated (e.g., based on a triggering event) and network entity-initiated periodic, semi-persistent, or aperiodic reporting can be configured for candidate cells. In some aspects of such aspects, the UE 2402 can avoid transmitting a triggering report during a duration (e.g., such as X symbols before, where X is a configured positive integer) before or after a network entity-initiated beam report.

[0324] Figure 25 is a flowchart 2500 of a method of wireless communication. The method can be performed by a first network entity (e.g., UE304, UE 2402, device 2904, or any other UE or scheduled entity described herein).

[0325] At block 2502, the first network entity can generate a set of measurement results associated with one or more beams, where the one or more beams are associated with one or more candidate SpCells for L1 or L2 mobility. For example, Figure 24 the UE 2402 can generate a set of measurement results associated with one or more beams at block 2406, where the one or more beams are associated with one or more candidate SpCells for L1 or L2 mobility. In some aspects, block 2502 can be performed by the reporting component 398.

[0326] At block 2504, the first network entity can send a beam report for one or more beams to a second network entity, where the beam report is based on the set of measurement results. For example, Figure 24 the UE 2402 can send a beam report for one or more beams (e.g., beam report 2410 or beam report 2416) to the second network entity 2404, where the beam report is based on the set of measurement results. In some aspects, block 2504 can be performed by the reporting component 398.

[0327] Figure 26 FIG. 2600 is a flowchart of a method of wireless communication. The method may be performed by a first network entity (e.g., UE 304, UE 2402, apparatus 2904, or any other UE or scheduled entity described herein).

[0328] At block 2602, the first network entity may generate a set of measurement results associated with one or more beams, where the one or more beams are associated with one or more candidate SpCells for L1 or L2 mobility. For example, Figure 24 UE 2402 of FIG. 2400 may generate a set of measurement results associated with one or more beams, where the one or more beams are associated with one or more candidate SpCells for L1 or L2 mobility. In some aspects, block 2602 may be performed by reporting component 398.

[0329] At block 2604, the first network entity may receive, from a second network entity, DCI triggering a beam report for one or more beams. For example, Figure 24 UE 2402 of FIG. 2400 may receive, from second network entity 2404, DCI (e.g., DCI 2408) triggering a beam report for one or more beams. In some aspects, block 2604 may be performed by reporting component 398. In some aspects, the beam report is non-periodic. In some aspects, the beam report is periodic or semi-persistent.

[0330] At block 2606, the first network entity may determine to transmit a beam report based on a triggering event, based on measurement results in the set of measurement results associated with one of the one or more candidate SpCells. For example, Figure 24 UE 2402 of FIG. 2400 may determine to transmit a beam report based on a triggering event, based on measurement results in the set of measurement results associated with one of the one or more candidate SpCells (e.g., at Figure 24at the frame 2412). In some aspects, the frame 2606 can be performed by the reporting component 398. In some aspects, the measurement result is one of L1 RSRP, L1 RSRQ, L1 SINR, or BLER. In some aspects, the triggering event is based on the measurement result being higher than the measurement threshold. In some aspects, the triggering event includes an initial event and an exit event, where the initial event is based on the measurement result being higher than the measurement threshold plus the hysteresis parameter, and where the exit event is based on the measurement result being lower than the measurement threshold minus the hysteresis parameter. In some aspects, the triggering event is based on the measurement result being higher than the second measurement result associated with the serving cell plus the measurement threshold. In some aspects, the triggering event includes an initial event and an exit event, where the initial event is based on Mn + Ofn + Ocn – Hys > Mp + Ofp + Ocp + Off, where the exit event is based on Mn + Ofn + Ocn + Hys < Mp + Ofp + Ocp + Off, where Mn indicates the measurement result, Ofn indicates the measurement object offset associated with the candidate SpCell, Ocn indicates the cell-specific offset associated with the candidate SpCell, Ofp indicates the measurement object offset associated with the serving cell, Ocp indicates the cell-specific offset associated with the serving cell, Mp indicates the second measurement result, Off indicates the offset parameter associated with the triggering event, and Hys indicates the hysteresis parameter.

[0331] At frame 2610, the first network entity can send a beam report for one or more beams to the second network entity, where the beam report is based on a set of measurement results. For example, Figure 24The UE 2402 can send beam reports for one or more beams (e.g., beam report 2410 or beam report 2416) to a second network entity 2404, where the beam reports are based on a set of measurement results. In some aspects, block 2610 can be performed by a reporting component 398. In some aspects, to send a beam report, the UE can send a scheduling request for the beam report to the second network entity. In some aspects, the beam reports are included in the UCI, where the UCI is included in a PUCCH transmission, a dynamically granted PUSCH transmission, or a CGPUSCH transmission. In some aspects, the UCI is a single-part UCI that includes information indicating one or more beams and information indicating a set of measurement results. In some aspects, the UCI includes a first part and a second part, where the first part indicates a cell identifier and a beam subset of one or more beams associated with each candidate SpCell among one or more candidate SpCells, and where the second part indicates at least one beam identifier associated with the beam subset and a subset of measurement results of a set of measurement results associated with each candidate SpCell among one or more candidate SpCells. In some aspects, the UCI is associated with a priority equal to a second priority of a second UCI that includes a second beam report associated with an active serving cell. In some aspects, the UCI is associated with a priority lower than a second priority associated with a second UCI that includes a second beam report associated with an active serving cell. In some aspects, the beam reports are included in a MAC-CE that indicates one or more candidate cell identifiers respectively associated with one or more candidate SpCells. In some aspects, the MAC-CE indicates a beam subset among one or more beams and a subset of measurement results of a set of measurement results for each candidate SpCell among one or more candidate SpCells.

[0332] At block 2612, the first network entity can start a prohibition timer after at least one processor is configured to send a beam report. For example, Figure 24 the UE 2402 can start a prohibition timer after at least one processor is configured to send a beam report. In some aspects, block 2612 can be performed by a reporting component 398.

[0333] At block 2614, the first network entity can avoid sending a second beam report while the prohibition timer is running. For example, Figure 24 the UE 2402 can avoid sending a second beam report while the prohibition timer is running. In some aspects, block 2614 can be performed by a reporting component 398.

[0334] Figure 27Flowchart 2700 of a method for wireless communication. The method can be performed by a network entity (e.g., base station 302, network entity 2404, network entity 2902, network entity 3002, or any other network entity described herein).

[0335] At block 2702, the network entity can establish a connection with a second network entity. For example, Figure 24 network entity 2404 can establish a connection with a second network entity (e.g., UE 2402). In some aspects, block 2702 can be performed by reporting component 399.

[0336] At block 2704, the network entity can receive a beam report for one or more beams associated with a second network entity, where the one or more beams are associated with one or more candidate SpCells for L1 or L2 mobility, where the beam report is based on a set of measurement results associated with the one or more beams, and where the one or more beams are associated with one or more candidate SpCells for L1 or L2 mobility. For example, Figure 24 network entity 2404 can receive a beam report (e.g., beam report 2410 or beam report 2416) for one or more beams associated with a second network entity (e.g., UE 2402), where the one or more beams are associated with one or more candidate SpCells for L1 or L2 mobility, where the beam report is based on a set of measurement results associated with the one or more beams, and where the one or more beams are associated with one or more candidate SpCells for L1 or L2 mobility. In some aspects, block 2704 can be performed by reporting component 399.

[0337] Figure 28 Flowchart 2800 of a method for wireless communication. The method can be performed by a network entity (e.g., base station 302, network entity 2404, network entity 2902, network entity 3002, or any other network entity described herein).

[0338] At block 2802, the network entity can establish a connection with a second network entity. For example, Figure 24 network entity 2404 can establish a connection with a second network entity (e.g., UE 2402). In some aspects, block 2802 can be performed by reporting component 399.

[0339] At 2803, the network entity can send DCI that triggers a beam report for one or more beams for the second network entity. For example, Figure 24The network entity 2404 may send DCI (e.g., DCI 2408) that triggers a beam report for one or more beams to a second network entity (e.g., UE 2402). In some aspects, block 2803 may be performed by the reporting component 399.

[0340] At block 2804, the network entity may receive a beam report for one or more beams associated with a second network entity, where the one or more beams are associated with one or more candidate SpCells for L1 or L2 mobility, where the beam report is based on a set of measurement results associated with the one or more beams, and where the one or more beams are associated with one or more candidate SpCells for L1 or L2 mobility. For example, Figure 24The network entity 2404 may receive beam reports (e.g., beam report 2410 or beam report 2416) for one or more beams associated with a second network entity (e.g., UE 2402), where the one or more beams are associated with one or more candidate SpCells for L1 or L2 mobility, where the beam report is based on a set of measurement results associated with the one or more beams, and where the one or more beams are associated with one or more candidate SpCells for L1 or L2 mobility. In some aspects, block 2804 may be performed by the reporting component 399. In some aspects, the beam report is included in the UCI, where the UCI is included in a PUCCH transmission, a dynamically granted PUSCH transmission, or a CG PUSCH transmission. In some aspects, the UCI is a single-part UCI that includes information indicating one or more beams and information indicating the set of measurement results. In some aspects, the UCI includes a first part and a second part, where the first part indicates the cell identifier and beam subset of one or more beams associated with each candidate SpCell among the one or more candidate SpCells, and where the second part indicates at least one beam identifier associated with the beam subset and a subset of the measurement results of the set of measurement results associated with each candidate SpCell among the one or more candidate SpCells. In some aspects, the UCI is associated with a priority equal to a second priority of a second UCI that includes a second beam report associated with an active serving cell. In some aspects, the UCI is associated with a priority lower than a second priority associated with a second UCI that includes a second beam report associated with an active serving cell. In some aspects, the beam report is included in a MAC-CE that indicates one or more candidate cell identifiers respectively associated with one or more candidate SpCells. In some aspects, the MAC-CE indicates a subset of the one or more beams and a subset of the measurement results of the set of measurement results for each candidate SpCell among the one or more candidate SpCells.

[0341] Figure 29 FIG. 2900 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a hardware implementation for device 2904. Device 2904 may be a UE, a component of a UE, or may implement UE functionality. In some examples, device 2904 may correspond to Figures 1 - 4 , Figures 8 - 12 , Figures 14 - 16 , Figure 18 , Figure 24 , Figure 29 and Figure 30either the UE shown in any of the figures or any of the scheduled entities. In some aspects, apparatus 2904 may include one or more cellular baseband processors (e.g., cellular baseband processor 2924), also referred to as a modem, coupled to one or more transceivers 2922 (e.g., cellular RF transceivers). The cellular baseband processor 2924 may include one or more on-chip memories (e.g., on-chip memory 2924'). In some aspects, apparatus 2904 may also include one or more subscriber identity module (SIM) cards 2920 and one or more application processors (e.g., application processor 2906) coupled to a secure digital (SD) card 2908 and a screen 2910. The application processor 2906 may include one or more on-chip memories (e.g., on-chip memory 2906'). In some aspects, apparatus 2904 may also include a Bluetooth module 2912, a WLAN module 2914, a satellite system module 2916 (e.g., GNSS module), one or more sensor modules 2918 (e.g., barometric pressure sensor / altimeter; motion sensors such as an inertial management unit (IMU), gyroscope, and / or accelerometer; light detection and ranging (LIDAR), radio assisted detection and ranging (RADAR), sound navigation and ranging (SONAR), magnetometer, audio, and / or other technologies for positioning), one or more additional memory modules 2926, a power supply 2930, and / or a camera 2932. The Bluetooth module 2912, the WLAN module 2914, and the satellite system module 2916 may include on-chip transceivers (TRX) / receivers (RX). The cellular baseband processor 2924 communicates with the UE 294 and / or the RU associated with the network entity 2902 via the transceiver 2922 via one or more antennas 2980. The cellular baseband processor 2924 and the application processor 2906 may each separately include computer-readable media / memories 2924', 2906'. The additional memory module 2926 may also be considered computer-readable media / memory. Each computer-readable media / memory 2924', 2906', 2926 may be non-transitory. The cellular baseband processor 2924 and the application processor 2906 are each responsible for general processing, including executing software stored on the computer-readable media / memory. The software, when executed by the cellular baseband processor 2924 / application processor 2906, causes the cellular baseband processor 2924 / application processor 2906 to perform the various functions described herein. The computer-readable media / memory may also be used to store data manipulated by the cellular baseband processor 2924 / application processor 2906 when executing the software. The cellular baseband processor 2924 / application processor 2906 may be components of the UE 450 and may include at least one of a memory 460 and / or a TX processor 468, an RX processor 456, and a controller / processor 459.In one configuration, the apparatus 2904 may be a processor chip (modem and / or application), and include only the cellular baseband processor 2924 and / or the application processor 2906, and in another configuration, the apparatus 2904 may be the entire UE (e.g., see Figure 4 UE 450) and include additional modules of the apparatus 2904.

[0342] As discussed herein, the reporting component 398 can be configured to generate a set of measurements associated with one or more beams, where the one or more beams are associated with one or more candidate serving cells (SpCells) for L1 or L2 mobility. In some aspects, the reporting component 398 can also be configured to send a beam report for the one or more beams to a second network entity, where the beam report is based on the set of measurements. The reporting component 398 can be within the cellular baseband processor 2924, the application processor 2906, or both the cellular baseband processor 2924 and the application processor 2906. The reporting component 398 can be one or more hardware components specifically configured to perform the processes / algorithms, implemented by one or more processors configured to perform the processes / algorithms, stored in a computer-readable medium for implementation by one or more processors, or some combination thereof. As shown, the apparatus 2904 can include various components configured for various functions. In one configuration, the apparatus 2904 (specifically, the cellular baseband processor 2924 and / or the application processor 2906) includes: a unit for generating a set of measurements associated with one or more beams, where the one or more beams are associated with one or more candidate SpCells for L1 or L2 mobility. In some aspects, the apparatus 2904 can also include: a unit for receiving downlink control information (DCI) from a second network entity that triggers a beam report for the one or more beams. In some aspects, the apparatus 2904 can also include: a unit for determining to send a beam report based on a triggering event, based on the measurements in the set of measurements associated with one of the one or more candidate SpCells. In some aspects, the apparatus 2904 can also include: a unit for sending a beam report for the one or more beams to a second network entity, where the beam report is based on the set of measurements. In some aspects, the apparatus 2904 can also include: a unit for starting a prohibition timer after at least one processor is configured to send a beam report. In some aspects, the apparatus 2904 can also include: a unit for avoiding sending a second beam report while the prohibition timer is running. In some aspects, the apparatus 2904 can also include: a unit for sending a scheduling request for the beam report to a second network entity. The unit can be the reporting component 398 of the apparatus 2904 configured to perform the functions recited by the unit. As described herein, the apparatus 2904 can include a TX processor 468, an RX processor 456, and a controller / processor 459. Thus, in one configuration, the unit can be the TX processor 468, the RX processor 456, and / or the controller / processor 459 configured to perform the functions recited by the unit.

[0343] Figure 30FIG. 3000 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a hardware implementation for network entity 3002. Network entity 3002 can be a BS, a component of a BS, or can implement BS functionality. In some examples, network entity 3002 can correspond to that in Figures 1 - 4 , Figures 8 - 12 , Figures 14 - 16 , Figure 21 , Figure 24 and Figure 29Any one of the network entities, base stations, CUs, DUs, RUs, or scheduling entities shown in any of the figures. The network entity 3002 may include at least one of the CU 3010, DU 3030, or RU 3040. For example, depending on the layer functions processed by the component 399, the network entity 3002 may include the CU 3010; the CU 3010 and the DU 3030; each of the CU 3010, DU 3030, and RU 3040; the DU 3030; both the DU 3030 and the RU 3040; or the RU 3040. The CU 3010 may include one or more CU processors (e.g., the CU processor 3012). The CU processor 3012 may include one or more on-chip memories (e.g., the on-chip memory 3012’ and the on-chip memory 3014’). In some aspects, the CU 3010 may also include one or more additional memory modules (e.g., the additional memory module 3014) and the communication interface 3018. The CU 3010 communicates with the DU 3030 via a mid-range link such as the F1 interface. The DU 3030 may include one or more DU processors (e.g., the DU processor 3032). The DU processor 3032 may include one or more on-chip memories (e.g., the on-chip memory 3032’). In some aspects, the DU 3030 may also include one or more additional memory modules (e.g., the additional memory module 3034) and the communication interface 3038. The DU 3030 communicates with the RU 3040 via a front-haul link. The RU 3040 may include one or more RU processors (e.g., the RU processor 3042). The RU processor 3042 may include one or more on-chip memories (e.g., the on-chip memory 3042’). In some aspects, the RU 3040 may also include one or more additional memory modules (e.g., the additional memory module 3044), one or more transceivers 3046, antennas 3080, and the communication interface 3048. The RU 3040 communicates with the UE 294. The on-chip memories 3012’, 3032’, 3042’ and the additional memory modules 3014, 3034, 3044 may each be considered a computer-readable medium / memory. Each computer-readable medium / memory may be non-transitory. Each of the processors 3012, 3032, 3042 is responsible for general processing, including executing software stored on the computer-readable medium / memory. The software, when executed by the corresponding processor, causes the processor to perform the various functions described herein. The computer-readable medium / memory may also be used to store data manipulated by the processor when executing the software.

[0344] As discussed herein, the reporting component 399 can be configured to establish a connection with a second network entity. In some aspects, the reporting component 399 can also be configured to receive beam reports for one or more beams associated with the second network entity, where the one or more beams are associated with one or more candidate SpCells for L1 or L2 mobility, where the beam reports are based on a set of measurement results associated with the one or more beams, and where the one or more beams are associated with one or more candidate SpCells for L1 or L2 mobility. The reporting component 399 can be within one or more processors of one or more of the CU 3010, DU 3030, and RU 3040. The reporting component 399 can be one or more hardware components specifically configured to perform the processes / algorithms, implemented by one or more processors configured to perform the processes / algorithms, stored in a computer-readable medium for implementation by one or more processors, or some combination thereof. The network entity 3002 can include various components configured for various functions. In one configuration, the network entity 3002 includes: a unit for establishing a connection with a second network entity. In some aspects, the network entity 3002 can also include: a unit for transmitting DCI that triggers a beam report for one or more beams for the second network entity. In some aspects, the network entity 3002 can also include: a unit for receiving beam reports for one or more beams from the second network entity, where the one or more beams are associated with one or more candidate SpCells for L1 or L2 mobility, where the beam reports are based on a set of measurement results associated with the one or more beams, and where the one or more beams are associated with one or more candidate SpCells for L1 or L2 mobility. The unit can be the reporting component 399 of the network entity 3002 configured to perform the functions recited by the unit. As described herein, the network entity 3002 can include a TX processor 416, an RX processor 470, and a controller / processor 475. Thus, in one configuration, the unit can be the TX processor 416, the RX processor 470, and / or the controller / processor 475 configured to perform the functions recited by the unit.

[0345] In one aspect of the present disclosure, a method, a computer-readable medium, and an apparatus at a first network entity (such as a user equipment (UE)) are provided. The apparatus may include a memory and at least one processor coupled to the memory. The at least one processor may be configured to generate a set of measurement results associated with one or more beams, where the one or more beams are associated with one or more candidate special cells (SpCells) for layer 1 (L1) or layer 2 (L2) mobility. The at least one processor may be configured to send a beam report for the one or more beams to a second network entity, where the beam report is based on the set of measurement results.

[0346] In another aspect of the present disclosure, a method, a computer-readable medium, and an apparatus at a first network entity (such as a network node (e.g., a base station)) are provided. The apparatus may include a memory and at least one processor coupled to the memory. The at least one processor may be configured to establish a connection with a second network entity. The at least one processor may be configured to receive a beam report for one or more beams associated with the second network entity, where the one or more beams are associated with one or more candidate SpCells for L1 or L2 mobility, where the beam report is based on a set of measurement results associated with the one or more beams, and where the one or more beams are associated with one or more candidate SpCells for L1 or L2 mobility.

[0347] An overview of several aspects of the present disclosure is provided below.

[0348] Aspect 1: A method for wireless communication at a user equipment, the method comprising: performing L1 measurements based on reference signals received from a first cell; generating a measurement report based on the L1 measurements; and sending the measurement report to a second cell via an L1 message.

[0349] Aspect 2: The method according to aspect 1, wherein the L1 message includes uplink control information (UCI).

[0350] Aspect 3: The method according to aspect 1 or 2, wherein the reference signal includes a channel state information-reference signal (CSI-RS) or a synchronization signal block (SSB) signal.

[0351] Aspect 4: The method according to any one of aspects 1 to 3, further comprising: receiving a configuration specifying at least one of the following: at least one first measurement metric for inter-frequency L1 measurements; and at least one second measurement metric for intra-frequency L1 measurements.

[0352] Aspect 5: The method according to aspect 4, wherein the configuration is based on at least one capability of the user equipment.

[0353] Aspect 6: The method according to any one of Aspects 4 to 5, wherein the at least one first measurement metric includes at least one of the following: layer 1 reference signal received power (L1-RSRP), layer 1 reference signal received quality (L1-RSRQ), or layer 1 signal-to-interference and noise ratio (L1-SINR).

[0354] Aspect 7: The method according to any one of Aspects 4 to 6, wherein the at least one second measurement metric includes at least one of the following: layer 1 reference signal received power (L1-RSRP) or layer 1 signal-to-interference and noise ratio (L1-SINR).

[0355] Aspect 8: The method according to any one of Aspects 1 to 7, wherein: the measurement report includes a measurement metric associated with beam-level measurement; or the measurement report includes a measurement metric associated with cell-level measurement.

[0356] Aspect 9: The method according to any one of Aspects 1 to 8, further comprising: receiving a cell handover command from the second cell via a first layer 1 message or via a first layer 2 message, the cell handover command identifying the first cell for handover of the user equipment; and in response to the cell handover command, sending a handover completion message to the first cell, the handover completion message being sent via a second layer 1 message or via a second layer 2 message.

[0357] Aspect 10: The method according to any one of Aspects 1 to 9, further comprising: receiving at least one configuration that specifies: at least one first resource for channel measurement; and at least one second resource for interference measurement.

[0358] Aspect 11: The method according to Aspect 10, wherein: performing the layer 1 measurement includes: measuring at least one first signal on the at least one first resource and at least one second signal on the at least one second resource; and generating the measurement report includes: generating a layer 1 signal-to-interference and noise ratio (L1-SINR) measurement metric based on the layer 1 measurement.

[0359] Aspect 12: The method according to any one of Aspects 10 to 11, wherein at least one of the following: the at least one first resource includes at least one set of channel measurement resources (CMR); or the at least one second resource includes at least one set of interference measurement resources (IMR).

[0360] Aspect 13: The method according to aspect 12, wherein at least one of the following: the CMR set includes at least one of a first periodic resource, a first semi-persistent resource, or a first aperiodic resource; or the IMR set includes at least one of a second periodic resource, a second semi-persistent resource, or a second aperiodic resource.

[0361] Aspect 14: The method according to any one of aspects 1 to 13, further comprising: receiving at least one configuration that specifies at least one of the following: a single set of channel measurement resources (CMRs) for single transmit receive point (TRP) measurement operations; or multiple sets of CMRs for multi-TRP measurement operations.

[0362] Aspect 15: The method according to aspect 14, wherein: performing the layer 1 measurement includes: measuring at least one first signal on the single CMR set or at least one second signal on the multiple CMR sets; and generating the measurement report includes: generating a layer 1 reference signal received power (L1-RSRP) measurement metric based on the layer 1 measurement.

[0363] Aspect 16: The method according to any one of aspects 14 to 15, wherein at least one of the following: the single CMR set includes at least one of a first periodic resource, a first semi-persistent resource, or a first aperiodic resource; or the multiple CMR sets includes at least one of a second periodic resource, a second semi-persistent resource, or a second aperiodic resource.

[0364] Aspect 17: A method for wireless communication at a user equipment, the method comprising: receiving a sounding reference signal (SRS) configuration associated with layer 1 mobility measurements; and transmitting an SRS transmission to a candidate cell based on the SRS configuration.

[0365] Aspect 18: The method according to aspect 17, wherein the SRS transmission includes: an inter-frequency SRS transmission; or an intra-frequency SRS transmission.

[0366] Aspect 19: The method according to any one of aspects 17 to 18, wherein the SRS configuration specifies that the SRS transmission will be sent periodically, semi-persistently, or aperiodically.

[0367] Aspect 20: The method according to aspect 17, wherein: the SRS transmission includes a layer 1 inter-frequency SRS transmission; and the SRS configuration specifies at least one first SRS parameter associated with the serving cell of the user equipment and at least one second SRS parameter associated with the candidate cell.

[0368] Aspect 21: The method according to aspect 20, wherein the at least one first SRS parameter is different from the at least one second SRS parameter.

[0369] Aspect 22: The method according to aspect 21, wherein the at least one second SRS parameter includes at least one of a center frequency, a subcarrier spacing (SCS), or a bandwidth part (BWP).

[0370] Aspect 23: The method according to any one of aspects 17 to 22, wherein the SRS configuration specifies at least one guard time between the SRS transmission and any other communication performed by the user equipment.

[0371] Aspect 24: The method according to aspect 23, wherein the at least one guard time specifies at least one of the following: a first number of symbols before the SRS transmission, or a second number of symbols after the SRS transmission.

[0372] Aspect 25: The method according to aspect 24, wherein: at least one of the first number of symbols or the second number of symbols is a fixed value; or at least one of the first number of symbols or the second number of symbols is based on the capabilities of the user equipment.

[0373] Aspect 26: The method according to aspect 24, wherein at least one of the first number of symbols or the second number of symbols is based on the subcarrier spacing (SCS) of any of the following: the serving cell of the user equipment; or the candidate cell.

[0374] Aspect 27: The method according to any one of aspects 23 to 26, further comprising: performing radio frequency tuning during the at least one guard time.

[0375] Aspect 28: The method according to any one of aspects 17 to 27, further comprising: receiving a cell handover command from a serving cell via a layer 1 message or via a layer 2 message, the cell handover command identifying the candidate cell for handover of the user equipment; and in response to the cell handover command, sending a handover completion message to the candidate cell, the handover completion message being sent via a layer 2 1 message or via a layer 2 message.

[0376] Aspect 29: A user equipment, comprising: a transceiver configured to communicate with a radio access network; one or more memories storing processor-executable code; and one or more processors configured to execute the processor-executable code and cause the user equipment to perform any one or more of aspects 1 to 16.

[0377] Aspect 30: A device configured for wireless communication, comprising at least one unit for performing any one or more of Aspects 1 to 16.

[0378] Aspect 31: A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-executable code, comprising code for causing a device to perform any one or more of Aspects 1 to 16.

[0379] Aspect 32: A user equipment, comprising: a transceiver configured to communicate with a radio access network; one or more memories storing processor-executable code; and one or more processors configured to execute the processor-executable code and cause a first network entity to perform any one or more of Aspects 17 to 28.

[0380] Aspect 33: A device configured for wireless communication, comprising at least one unit for performing any one or more of Aspects 17 to 28.

[0381] Aspect 34: A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-executable code, comprising code for causing a device to perform any one or more of Aspects 17 to 28.

[0382] Aspect 35: A first network entity for wireless communication, comprising: one or more memories storing processor-executable code; and one or more processors configured to execute the processor-executable code and cause the first network entity to: generate a set of measurement results associated with one or more beams, wherein the one or more beams are associated with one or more candidate special cells (SpCells) for layer 1 (L1) or layer 2 (L2) mobility; and send a beam report for the one or more beams to a second network entity, wherein the beam report is based on the set of measurement results.

[0383] Aspect 36: The first network entity according to Aspect 35, wherein the beam report is non-periodic, and wherein the one or more processors are further configured to execute the processor-executable code and cause the first network entity to: receive downlink control information (DCI) from the second network entity triggering the beam report for the one or more beams.

[0384] Aspect 37: The first network entity according to Aspect 35, wherein the beam report is periodic or semi-persistent.

[0385] Aspect 38: The first network entity according to aspect 35, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to execute the processor-executable code and cause the first network entity to perform the following operations: determine to send the beam report based on a triggering event, based on the measurement result in the set of measurement results associated with one of the one or more candidate SpCells.

[0386] Aspect 39: The first network entity according to aspect 38, wherein the measurement result is one of the following: L1 reference signal received power (RSRP), L1 reference signal received quality (RSRQ), L1 signal-to-interference and noise ratio (SINR), or block error rate (BLER).

[0387] Aspect 40: The first network entity according to any one of aspects 38-39, wherein the triggering event is based on the measurement result being higher than a measurement threshold.

[0388] Aspect 41: The first network entity according to any one of aspects 38-40, wherein the triggering event includes an initial event and an exit event, wherein the initial event is based on the measurement result being higher than the measurement threshold plus a hysteresis parameter, and wherein the exit event is based on the measurement result being lower than the measurement threshold minus the hysteresis parameter.

[0389] Aspect 42: The first network entity according to any one of aspects 38-39, wherein the triggering event is based on the measurement result being higher than a second measurement result associated with the serving cell plus a measurement threshold.

[0390] Aspect 43: The first network entity according to any one of aspects 38-39 or 42, wherein the triggering event includes an initial event and an exit event, wherein the initial event is based on Mn + Ofn + Ocn – Hys > Mp + Ofp + Ocp + Off, and wherein the exit event is based on Mn + Ofn + Ocn + Hys < Mp + Ofp + Ocp + Off, where: Mn indicates the measurement result, Ofn indicates the measurement object offset associated with the candidate SpCell, Ocn indicates the cell-specific offset associated with the candidate SpCell, Ofp indicates the measurement object offset associated with the serving cell, Ocp indicates the cell-specific offset associated with the serving cell, Mp indicates the second measurement result, Off indicates the offset parameter associated with the triggering event, and Hys indicates the hysteresis parameter.

[0391] Aspect 44: The first network entity according to any one of aspects 35 - 43, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to execute the processor-executable code and cause the first network entity to perform the following operations: after the at least one processor is configured to send the beam report, start a prohibition timer; and when the prohibition timer is running, avoid sending a second beam report.

[0392] Aspect 45: The first network entity according to any one of aspects 35 - 44, wherein, in order to send the beam report, the one or more processors are further configured to execute the processor-executable code and cause the first network entity to perform the following operations: send a scheduling request for the beam report to the second network entity.

[0393] Aspect 46: The first network entity according to any one of aspects 35 - 45, wherein the beam report is included in uplink control information (UCI), and wherein the UCI is included in a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) transmission, a dynamic grant (DG) physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) transmission, or a configured grant (CG) PUSCH transmission.

[0394] Aspect 47: The first network entity according to aspect 46, wherein the UCI is a single-part UCI, and the single-part UCI includes information indicating the one or more beams and information indicating the set of measurement results.

[0395] Aspect 48: The first network entity according to aspect 46, wherein the UCI includes a first part and a second part, wherein the first part indicates the cell identifier and beam subset of the one or more beams associated with each candidate SpCell among the one or more candidate SpCells, and wherein the second part indicates at least one beam identifier associated with the beam subset and a subset of the measurement results of the set of measurement results associated with each candidate SpCell among the one or more candidate SpCells.

[0396] Aspect 49: The first network entity according to any one of aspects 46 - 48, wherein the UCI is associated with a priority equal to a second priority of a second UCI, and the second UCI includes a second beam report associated with an active serving cell.

[0397] Aspect 50: The first network entity according to any one of aspects 46 - 48, wherein the UCI is associated with a priority lower than a second priority associated with a second UCI, and the second UCI includes a second beam report associated with an active serving cell.

[0398] Aspect 51: The first network entity according to any one of aspects 35 - 45, wherein the beam report is included in a Medium Access Control (MAC) Control Element (MAC-CE), and the MAC-CE indicates one or more candidate cell identifiers respectively associated with the one or more candidate SpCells.

[0399] Aspect 52: The first network entity according to aspect 51, wherein the MAC-CE indicates a beam subset of the one or more beams and a measurement result subset of the set of measurement results for each of the one or more candidate SpCells.

[0400] Aspect 53: A first network entity for wireless communication, comprising: one or more memories storing processor-executable code; and one or more processors configured to execute the processor-executable code and cause the first network entity to perform the following operations: establish a connection with a second network entity; and receive a beam report for one or more beams associated with the second network entity, wherein the one or more beams are associated with one or more candidate Special Cells (SpCells) for Layer 1 (L1) or Layer 2 (L2) mobility, wherein the beam report is based on a set of measurement results associated with the one or more beams, and wherein the one or more beams are associated with the one or more candidate SpCells for the L1 or L2 mobility.

[0401] Aspect 54: The first network entity according to aspect 53, wherein the beam report is aperiodic, and wherein the one or more processors are further configured to execute the processor-executable code and cause the first network entity to perform the following operation: for the second network entity, send Downlink Control Information (DCI) triggering the beam report for the one or more beams.

[0402] Aspect 55: The first network entity according to aspect 53, wherein the beam report is periodic or semi-persistent.

[0403] Aspect 56: The first network entity according to any one of aspects 53 - 55, wherein the beam report is included in Uplink Control Information (UCI), and wherein the UCI is included in a Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH) transmission, a Dynamic Grant (DG) Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH) transmission, or a Configured Grant (CG) PUSCH transmission.

[0404] Aspect 57: The first network entity according to aspect 56, wherein the UCI is a single-part UCI, and the single-part UCI includes information indicating the one or more beams and information indicating the set of measurement results.

[0405] Aspect 58: The first network entity according to aspect 56, wherein the UCI includes a first part and a second part, wherein the first part indicates the cell identifier and beam subset of the one or more beams associated with each candidate SpCell among the one or more candidate SpCells, and wherein the second part indicates at least one beam identifier associated with the beam subset and a subset of the measurement results of the set of measurement results associated with each candidate SpCell among the one or more candidate SpCells.

[0406] Aspect 59: The first network entity according to any one of aspects 56 - 58, wherein the UCI is associated with a priority equal to a second priority of a second UCI, and the second UCI includes a second beam report associated with an active serving cell.

[0407] Aspect 60: The first network entity according to any one of aspects 56 - 58, wherein the UCI is associated with a priority lower than a second priority associated with a second UCI, and the second UCI includes a second beam report associated with an active serving cell.

[0408] Aspect 61: The first network entity according to any one of aspects 53 - 55, wherein the beam report is included in a medium access control (MAC) control element (MAC-CE), and the MAC-CE indicates one or more candidate cell identifiers respectively associated with the one or more candidate SpCells.

[0409] Aspect 62: The first network entity according to aspect 61, wherein the MAC-CE indicates a beam subset of the one or more beams and a subset of the measurement results of the set of measurement results for each candidate SpCell among the one or more candidate SpCells.

[0410] Aspect 63: A method for wireless communication for implementing any one of aspects 35 to 52.

[0411] Aspect 64: A device for wireless communication, including units for implementing any one of aspects 35 to 52.

[0412] Aspect 65: A computer-readable medium (e.g., a non-transitory computer-readable medium) storing computer-executable code, wherein the code, when executed by a processor, causes the processor to implement any one of aspects 35 to 52.

[0413] Aspect 66: A method for wireless communication for implementing any one of Aspects 53 to 62.

[0414] Aspect 67: An apparatus for wireless communication, comprising units for implementing any one of Aspects 53 to 62.

[0415] Aspect 68: A computer-readable medium (e.g., a non-transitory computer-readable medium) storing computer-executable code, wherein the code, when executed by a processor, causes the processor to implement any one of Aspects 53 to 62.

[0416] Certain aspects of a wireless communication network have been presented with reference to example implementations. As will be readily appreciated by those skilled in the art, the various aspects described throughout this disclosure may be extended to other telecommunication systems, network architectures, and communication standards.

[0417] By way of example, the various aspects may be implemented within other systems defined by the 3GPP, such as Long Term Evolution (LTE), Evolved Packet System (EPS), Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS), and / or Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM). The various aspects may also be extended to systems defined by the Third Generation Partnership Project 2 (3GPP2), such as CDMA2000 and / or Evolution-Data Optimized (EV-DO). Other examples may be implemented within systems employing Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 (Wi-Fi), IEEE 802.16 (WiMAX), IEEE 802.20, Ultra Wide Band (UWB), Bluetooth, and / or other suitable systems. The actual telecommunication standards, network architectures, and / or communication standards employed will depend on the particular application and the overall design constraints imposed on the system.

[0418] Within this disclosure, the word "exemplary" is used to mean "serving as an example, instance, or illustration". Any implementation or aspect described herein as "exemplary" is not necessarily to be construed as preferred or more advantageous than other aspects of the disclosure. Similarly, the term "aspect" does not require that all aspects of the disclosure include the described feature, advantage, or mode of operation. The term "coupled" is used herein to refer to a direct or indirect coupling between two objects. For example, if object A physically contacts object B, and object B contacts object C, then objects A and C can still be considered to be coupled to each other, even if they do not directly physically contact each other. For example, a first object can be coupled to a second object even if the first object has never physically contacted the second object directly. The terms "circuit" and "electronic circuit" are used broadly and are intended to include both hardware implementations of electronic devices and conductors (wherein these electronic devices and conductors, when connected and configured, implement the performance of the functions described in this disclosure, with no limitation as to the type of electronic circuit) and software implementations of information and instructions (wherein these information and instructions, when executed by a processor, implement the performance of the functions described in this disclosure). As used herein, the term "determine" can include, for example, ascertaining, resolving, selecting, choosing, establishing, calculating, computing, processing, deriving, investigating, looking up (e.g., looking up in a table, database, or other data structure), and so on. Additionally, "determine" can include receiving (e.g., receiving information), accessing (e.g., accessing data in a memory), and so on.

[0419] One or more of the components, steps, features, and / or functions shown in Figures 1 - 30 can be rearranged and / or combined into a single component, step, feature, or function, or embodied in several components, steps, or functions. Additionally, additional elements, components, steps, and / or functions can be added without departing from the novel features disclosed herein. Figures 1 - 4 、 Figures 7 - 12 、 Figures 14 - 16 、 Figure 18 、 Figure 21 、 Figure 24 、 Figure 29 and Figure 30 The apparatus, devices, and / or components shown in can be configured to perform one or more of the methods, features, or steps described herein. The novel algorithms described herein can also be effectively implemented in software and / or embedded in hardware.

[0420] It should be understood that the specific order or hierarchy of steps in the methods disclosed herein is illustrative of example processes. It should be appreciated that based on design preferences, the specific order or hierarchy of steps in these methods may be rearranged. The appended method claims present elements of the various steps in an example order, but are not meant to be limited to the specific order or hierarchy presented, unless expressly recited herein.

[0421] The foregoing description is provided to enable any person skilled in the art to practice the various aspects described herein. Various modifications to these aspects will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the generic principles defined herein may be applied to other aspects. Thus, the claims are not intended to be limited to the aspects shown herein, but are to be accorded the full scope consistent with the language of the claims, wherein the reference to an element in the singular is not intended to mean "one and only one" unless explicitly so stated, but rather "one or more". Unless specifically stated otherwise, the term "some" means one or more. The phrase referring to "at least one" of a list of items refers to any combination of those items, including a single member. For example, "at least one of a, b, or c" is intended to cover: a; b; c; a and b; a and c; b and c; and a, b, and c. As used herein, the phrase "based on" should not be construed as a reference to a closed set of information, one or more conditions, one or more factors, etc. In other words, unless otherwise specifically stated, the phrase "based on A" (where "A" may be information, a condition, a factor, etc.) should be construed as "at least based on A". All structural and functional equivalents of the elements of the various aspects described throughout this disclosure are expressly incorporated herein by reference and are intended to be encompassed by the claims, which are known or will be known to those skilled in the art. Additionally, nothing disclosed herein is intended to be dedicated to the public, whether or not such disclosure is expressly recited in the claims.

Claims

1. A first network entity, comprising: one or more memories that store processor-executable code; and one or more processors configured to execute the processor-executable code and cause the first network entity to perform the following operations: generate a set of measurement results associated with one or more beams, wherein the one or more beams are associated with one or more candidate special cells (SpCells) for layer 1 (L1) or layer 2 (L2) mobility; and send a beam report for the one or more beams to a second network entity, wherein the beam report is based on the set of measurement results.

2. The first network entity according to claim 1, wherein, the beam report is included in uplink control information (UCI).

3. The first network entity according to claim 2, wherein, the UCI is included in a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) transmission.

4. The first network entity according to claim 2, wherein, the UCI is included in a dynamic grant (DG) physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) transmission.

5. The first network entity according to claim 2, wherein, the UCI is included in a configured grant (CG) PUSCH transmission.

6. The first network entity according to claim 2, wherein, the UCI is single-part UCI, and the single-part UCI includes information indicating the one or more beams and information indicating the set of measurement results.

7. The first network entity according to claim 2, wherein, the UCI includes a first part and a second part, wherein the first part indicates the cell identifier and beam subset of the one or more beams associated with each candidate SpCell among the one or more candidate SpCells, and wherein the second part indicates at least one beam identifier associated with the beam subset and a subset of measurement results of the set of measurement results associated with each candidate SpCell among the one or more candidate SpCells.

8. The first network entity according to claim 2, wherein, the UCI is associated with a priority equal to a second priority of a second UCI, and the second UCI includes a second beam report associated with an active serving cell.

9. The first network entity according to claim 2, wherein, the UCI is associated with a priority lower than a second priority associated with a second UCI, and the second UCI includes a second beam report associated with an active serving cell.

10. The first network entity according to claim 2, wherein, the beam report is included in a media access control (MAC) control element (MAC-CE), and the MAC-CE indicates one or more candidate cell identifiers respectively associated with the one or more candidate SpCells.

11. The first network entity according to claim 10, wherein, The MAC-CE indicates a beam subset of the one or more beams and a measurement result subset of the set of measurement results for each candidate SpCell of the one or more candidate SpCells.

12. The first network entity according to claim 1, wherein, the first network entity is configured as a user equipment.

13. A method for wireless communication at a first network entity, the method comprising: generating a set of measurement results associated with one or more beams, wherein the one or more beams are associated with one or more candidate special cells (SpCells) for layer 1 (L1) or layer 2 (L2) mobility; and sending a beam report for the one or more beams to a second network entity, wherein the beam report is based on the set of measurement results.

14. A user equipment, comprising: one or more memories storing processor-executable code; and one or more processors configured to execute the processor-executable code and cause the user equipment to: perform L1 measurements based on a reference signal received from a first cell; generate a measurement report based on the L1 measurements; and send the measurement report to a second cell via an L1 message.

15. The user equipment according to claim 14, wherein, the L1 message includes uplink control information (UCI).

16. The user equipment according to claim 14, wherein, the reference signal includes a channel state information-reference signal (CSI-RS) or a synchronization signal block (SSB) signal.

17. The user equipment according to claim 14, wherein, the one or more processors are further configured to execute the processor-executable code and cause the user equipment to receive a configuration specifying at least one of the following: at least one first measurement metric for inter-frequency L1 measurements; or at least one second measurement metric for intra-frequency L1 measurements.

18. The user equipment according to claim 17, wherein, the configuration is based on at least one capability of the user equipment.

19. The user equipment according to claim 17, wherein, the at least one first measurement metric includes at least one of L1 reference signal received power (L1-RSRP), L1 reference signal received quality (L1-RSRQ), or L1 signal-to-interference and noise ratio (L1-SINR).

20. The user equipment according to claim 17, wherein, the at least one second measurement metric includes at least one of L1 reference signal received power (L1-RSRP) or L1 signal-to-interference and noise ratio (L1-SINR).

21. The user equipment according to claim 14, wherein: the measurement report includes a measurement metric associated with beam-level measurements; or the measurement report includes a measurement metric associated with cell-level measurements.

22. The user equipment according to claim 14, wherein, The one or more processors are further configured to execute the processor-executable code and cause the user equipment to perform the following operations: Receive a cell handover command from the second cell via a layer 1 message or via a layer 2 message, the cell handover command identifying the first cell for handover of the user equipment; and In response to the cell handover command, send a handover completion message to the first cell, the handover completion message being sent via a layer 2 1 message or via a layer 2 2 message.

23. The user equipment according to claim 14, wherein, The one or more processors are further configured to execute the processor-executable code and cause the user equipment to receive at least one configuration that specifies: At least one first resource for channel measurement; and At least one second resource for interference measurement.

24. The user equipment according to claim 23, wherein: For performing the layer 1 measurement, the one or more processors are further configured to execute the processor-executable code and cause the user equipment to perform the following operations: measure at least one first signal on the at least one first resource and at least one second signal on the at least one second resource; and For generating the measurement report, the one or more processors are further configured to execute the processor-executable code and cause the user equipment to perform the following operations: generate a layer 1 signal-to-interference-and-noise ratio (L1-SINR) measurement metric based on the layer 1 measurement.

25. The user equipment according to claim 23, wherein, At least one of the following: The at least one first resource includes at least one set of channel measurement resources (CMRs); or The at least one second resource includes at least one set of interference measurement resources (IMRs).

26. The user equipment according to claim 25, wherein, At least one of the following: The set of CMRs includes at least one of a first periodic resource, a first semi-persistent resource, or a first aperiodic resource; or The set of IMRs includes at least one of a second periodic resource, a second semi-persistent resource, or a second aperiodic resource.

27. The user equipment according to claim 14, wherein, The one or more processors are further configured to execute the processor-executable code and cause the user equipment to receive at least one configuration specifying at least one of the following: A single set of channel measurement resources (CMRs) for single transmit-receive point (TRP) measurement operations; or Multiple sets of CMRs for multi-TRP measurement operations.

28. The user equipment according to claim 27, wherein: For performing the layer 1 measurement, the one or more processors are further configured to execute the processor-executable code and cause the user equipment to perform the following operations: measure at least one first signal on the single set of CMRs or at least one second signal on the multiple sets of CMRs; and To generate the measurement report, the one or more processors are further configured to execute the processor-executable code and cause the user equipment to: generate a layer 1 reference signal received power (L1-RSRP) measurement metric based on the layer 1 measurements.

29. The user equipment according to claim 27, wherein at least one of the following: the single CMR set includes at least one of a first periodic resource, a first semi-persistent resource, or a first aperiodic resource; or the plurality of CMR sets includes at least one of a second periodic resource, a second semi-persistent resource, or a second aperiodic resource.

30. A method for wireless communication at a user equipment, the method comprising: performing layer 1 measurements based on a reference signal received from a first cell; generating a measurement report based on the layer 1 measurements; and transmitting the measurement report to a second cell via a layer 1 message.

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