Component chip for wireless communication

Abstract

Various aspects of the present disclosure are generally related to wireless communications. For example, a wireless communication device (WCD) may include a plurality of component chips configurable to work together as a partitioned chip having the ability to communicate using a number of spatial streams that exceed the capacity of any of the plurality of component chips when operating independently. More specifically, some aspects relate to a component chip having a frequency domain component that supports a first number of spatial streams in the frequency domain and a time domain component that supports a second number of spatial streams in the time domain. In some examples, a first number of spatial streams may correspond to a number of spatial streams transmitted or received by a plurality of component chips, and a second number of spatial streams may correspond to a number of spatial streams transmitted or received by a single component chip.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0001] This patent application claims priority to U.S. non-provisional patent application No. 18 / 166,350, filed on February 8, 2023, entitled “COMPONENT CHIP FORWIRELESS COMMUNICATION,” which is hereby expressly incorporated herein by reference. Technical Field

[0002] Aspects of the present disclosure relate generally to wireless communications and, more particularly, to techniques and apparatus for communicating using multiple component chips as a combined effective chip capable of communicating using a number of spatial streams that exceeds the capacity of any one of the multiple component chips when operating independently. Background Art

[0003] A wireless local area network (WLAN) can be formed by one or more wireless access points (APs), which provide a shared wireless communication medium for multiple client devices (also known as wireless stations (STAs)). A fundamental component of a WLAN that complies with the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 family of standards is the Basic Service Set (BSS), which is managed by the AP. Each BSS is identified by a Basic Service Set Identifier (BSSID) advertised by the AP. The AP periodically broadcasts beacon frames, enabling any STA within the AP's wireless range to establish or maintain a communication link with the WLAN.

[0004] In some WLANs, a wireless communication device (WCD) (such as an access point) may be configured with a communication chip (e.g., including a modem, a set of antennas, or a set of processing components) to communicate over the air with another WCD. The communication chip may be configured with multiple antennas based on the WCD's planned usage, cost constraints, or the throughput gain desired by the WCD. For example, an 8x8 configuration (e.g., where the communication chip is configured to use up to 8 antennas to communicate with another WCD having up to 8 antennas) improves diversity gain and range compared to a 4x4 configuration. Additionally or alternatively, an 8x8 configuration may improve multi-user (MU)-multiple input, multiple output (MIMO) throughput (for downlink (DL) or uplink (UL)) compared to a 4x4 configuration. However, the cost of an 8x8 configuration may be significantly higher than that of a 4x4 configuration.

[0005] For these reasons, some enterprise users who prioritize performance may prefer an 8x8 configuration. However, some retail or carrier users who prioritize cost reduction may prefer a 4x4 configuration. Manufacturers of communication chips can choose to manufacture only an 8x8 configuration (an unnecessarily expensive option for retail and carrier users), only a 4x4 configuration (which fails to meet the performance preferences of enterprise customers), or both 4x4 and 8x8 configurations (with increased engineering and manufacturing costs, multiple tapeouts, and multiple rewind processes for manufacturing). Summary of the Invention

[0006] The systems, methods and devices of the present disclosure each have several innovative aspects, no single one of which is solely responsible for the desirable attributes disclosed herein.

[0007] Some aspects described herein relate to a component chip for wireless communications. The component chip may include a set of one or more frequency-domain components that may be configured to process a set of spatial streams in the frequency domain and select a proper subset of spatial streams from the set of spatial streams. The component chip may also include a frequency-domain to time-domain mapping component that may be configured to map the proper subset of spatial streams from the frequency domain to the time domain. The component chip may also include a set of one or more time-domain components that may be configured to receive the proper subset of spatial streams in the time domain from the frequency-domain to time-domain mapping component and transmit the proper subset of spatial streams.

[0008] Some aspects described herein relate to a system comprising a component chip and one or more additional component chips configured to transmit respective subsets of spatial streams. The system may also include a chip-to-chip bus configured to couple the set of one or more frequency-domain components to an additional set of frequency-domain components of the one or more additional component chips. The system may include or may be included in a wireless communication device (WCD), such as an access point (AP) or a wireless station (STA).

[0009] Some aspects described herein relate to a component chip for wireless communications. The component chip may include a set of one or more time-domain components configured to receive a first proper subset of a set of spatial streams in the time domain. The component chip may also include a time-domain to frequency-domain mapping component configured to receive the first proper subset of the set of spatial streams in the time domain from the set of one or more time-domain components and provide the first proper subset of the set of spatial streams in the frequency domain to a component in the set of one or more frequency-domain components. The component chip may also include a component in the set of one or more frequency-domain components configured to receive the first proper subset of the set of spatial streams in the frequency domain from the time-domain to frequency-domain mapping component of the component chip and receive a second proper subset of the set of spatial streams in the frequency domain from one or more additional component chips.

[0010] Some aspects described herein relate to a system including a component chip and one or more additional component chips. The system may also include a chip-to-chip bus configured to couple a set of one or more frequency-domain components to an additional set of frequency-domain components of the one or more additional component chips. The system may include or be included in a WCD (such as an AP or STA).

[0011] Some aspects described herein relate to a method of wireless communication performable at a wireless communication device (WCD). The method may include transmitting an indication of a total number of spatial streams supported by the WCD, the total number of spatial streams being the sum of a first number of spatial streams supported by a first component chip of the WCD and a second number of spatial streams supported by a second component chip of the WCD. The method may include communicating using one or more of the first component chip or the second component chip.

[0012] Some aspects described herein relate to a wireless communication device (WCD) for wireless communication. The WCD may include at least one memory and at least one processor communicatively coupled to the at least one memory. The at least one processor is operable to cause the WCD to transmit an indication of a total number of spatial streams supported by the WCD, the total number of spatial streams being the sum of a first number of spatial streams supported by a first component chip of the WCD and a second number of spatial streams supported by a second component chip of the WCD. The at least one processor is operable to cause the WCD to communicate using one or more of the first component chip or the second component chip.

[0013] Some aspects described herein relate to a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing an instruction set for wireless communication by a wireless communication device (WCD). The instruction set, when executed by one or more processors of the WCD, may cause the WCD to send an indication of a total number of spatial streams supported by the WCD, the total number of spatial streams being the sum of a first number of spatial streams supported by a first component chip of the WCD and a second number of spatial streams supported by a second component chip of the WCD. The instruction set, when executed by the one or more processors of the WCD, may cause the WCD to communicate using one or more of the first component chip or the second component chip.

[0014] Some aspects described herein relate to an apparatus for wireless communication. The apparatus may include means for transmitting an indication of a total number of spatial streams supported by the WCD, the total number of spatial streams being the sum of a first number of spatial streams supported by a first component chip of the WCD and a second number of spatial streams supported by a second component chip of the WCD. The apparatus may include means for communicating using one or more of the first component chip or the second component chip.

[0015] In summary, aspects include methods, apparatuses, systems, computer program products, non-transitory computer-readable media, user equipment (UE), STA, AP, network node, network entity, wireless communication device, or processing system as fully described with reference to and as illustrated by the accompanying drawings and description.

[0016] The details of one or more implementations of the subject matter described in this disclosure are set forth in the accompanying drawings and the description below. Other features, aspects, and advantages will become apparent from the description, drawings, and claims. It should be noted that the relative dimensions of the following figures may not be drawn to scale. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0017] In order that the above-mentioned features of the present disclosure may be fully understood, a more particular description of the content briefly summarized above may be obtained by reference to various aspects (some of which are shown in the accompanying drawings). It should be noted, however, that the drawings illustrate only certain typical aspects of the present disclosure and are therefore not to be considered as limiting the scope thereof, as the description may admit of other equally effective aspects. The same reference numerals in different drawings may identify the same or similar elements.

[0018] Figure 1 A block diagram of an example wireless communication network is shown.

[0019] Figure 2 An example of a transmitting component chip and an example of a receiving component chip are shown.

[0020] Figure 3 An example of a wireless communication device (WCD) is shown having a first component chip and a second component chip coupled to form a partitioned component chip.

[0021] Figure 4 An example of component chips coupled to function as a partitioned component chip that supports a greater number of spatial streams than supported by any of the component chips individually is shown.

[0022] Figure 5 An example of component chips coupled to function as a partitioned component chip that supports transmission of a greater number of spatial streams than supported by one of the component chips alone is shown.

[0023] Figure 6 An example of component chips coupled to function as a partitioned component chip that supports transmission of a greater number of spatial streams than supported by one of the component chips alone is shown.

[0024] Figure 7An example of component chips coupled to function as a partitioned component chip that supports transmission of a greater number of spatial streams than supported by one of the component chips alone is shown.

[0025] Figure 8 An example of component chips coupled to function as a partitioned component chip that supports reception of a greater number of spatial streams than supported by one of the component chips alone is shown.

[0026] Figure 9 An example of component chips coupled to function as a partitioned component chip that supports reception of a greater number of spatial streams than supported by one of the component chips alone is shown.

[0027] Figure 10 An example of component chips coupled to function as a partitioned component chip that supports reception of a greater number of spatial streams than supported by one of the component chips alone is shown.

[0028] Figure 11 A protocol for providing data between component chips is shown, as described in the context of various aspects described herein.

[0029] Figure 12 An example of component chips coupled to function as a partitioned component chip that supports reception of a greater number of spatial streams than supported by one of the component chips alone is shown.

[0030] Figure 13 An example of component chips coupled to function as a partitioned component chip that supports reception of a greater number of spatial streams than supported by one of the component chips alone is shown.

[0031] Figure 14 An example of component chips coupled to function as a partitioned component chip that supports transmission of a greater number of spatial streams than supported by one of the component chips alone is shown.

[0032] Figure 15 is a diagram of an example associated with using multiple component chips to communicate as a combined effective chip capable of communicating using a number of spatial streams that exceeds the capacity of any one of the multiple component chips when operating independently, according to the present disclosure.

[0033] Figure 16is a flow chart illustrating an example process, performed, for example, by a WCD, that supports communication using multiple component chips as a combined effective chip capable of communicating using a number of spatial streams that exceeds the capacity of any one of the multiple component chips when operating independently, in accordance with the present disclosure.

[0034] Figure 17 is a diagram of an example apparatus for wireless communications that supports communicating using multiple component chips as a combined effective chip capable of communicating using a number of spatial streams that exceeds the capacity of any one of the multiple component chips when operating independently, in accordance with the present disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0035] The following description refers to some specific examples for the purpose of describing the innovative aspects of the present disclosure. However, those skilled in the art will readily recognize that the teachings herein can be applied in a variety of different ways. Some or all of the described examples can be implemented in any device, system, or network capable of sending and receiving radio frequency (RF) signals in accordance with one or more of the following: the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 standard, the IEEE 802.15 standard, the Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG), or any other standard defined by the Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG). Standards, or Long Term Evolution (LTE), 3G, 4G or 5G (New Radio (NR)) standards promulgated by the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), and other standards. The described examples can be implemented in any device, system or network capable of sending and receiving RF signals according to one or more of the following technologies or techniques: Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA), Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA), Orthogonal FDMA (OFDMA), Single Carrier FDMA (SC-FDMA), Spatial Division Multiplexing (SDMA), Rate Splitting Multiple Access (RSMA), Multi-User Shared Access (MUSA), Single User (SU) Multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO) and Multi-User (MU) MIMO. The described examples can also be implemented using other wireless communication protocols or RF signals that are suitable for use in one or more networks of a Wireless Personal Area Network (WPAN), a Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN), a Wireless Wide Area Network (WWAN), a Wireless Metropolitan Area Network (WMAN) or an Internet of Things (IoT) network.

[0036] Various aspects generally relate to a wireless communication device (WCD), such as a wireless access point (AP) or a wireless station (STA), that includes multiple component chips that can be configured to work together as a partitioned chip, the partitioned chip having the ability to communicate using a number of spatial streams that exceeds the capacity of any of the multiple component chips when operating independently. More specifically, some aspects relate to a component chip having a frequency-domain component that supports a first number of spatial streams in the frequency domain and a time-domain component that supports a second number of spatial streams in the time domain. The first number can be greater than the second number. In some examples, the first number of spatial streams can correspond to the number of spatial streams transmitted or received collectively by the multiple component chips, and the second number of spatial streams can correspond to the number of spatial streams transmitted or received individually by each component chip. In this way, the frequency-domain component of a component chip (e.g., a master chip, a primary chip, a secondary chip, a slave chip) can support processing all spatial streams transmitted by the WCD, while the time-domain component can only process a subset of the spatial streams.

[0037] Based on a time-domain component including a radio frequency (RF) antenna (RFA) that processes only a subset of spatial streams, the component chip can have reduced complexity, reduced manufacturing costs, and can be used in additional implementations when compared to a component chip that supports processing of all spatial streams in both the time and frequency domains. For example, the component chip can be a 4x4 component chip that can be used in a device designed to support only four spatial streams, or the component chip can be used with one or more additional 4x4 component chips to support additional spatial streams. The component chip and the one or more additional component chips can be configured to communicate on the same frequency channel so that the additional WCDs perceive the WCD as a single 8x8 WCD, a single 12x12 WCD, a single 16x16 WCD, and so on.

[0038] Certain aspects of the subject matter described in this disclosure can be implemented to realize one or more of the following potential advantages. In some examples, by supporting coupling multiple component chips together, the described techniques and component chips can be used to reduce manufacturing costs associated with manufacturing multiple types of component chips with different numbers of antennas. Additionally or alternatively, by supporting coupling multiple component chips together, the described techniques can allow a single configuration of component chips with N antennas to be used in applications with N, 2N, 3N, etc. combination antennas. In this way, a single configuration can be used to meet the needs of different types of consumers and use cases, such as for retail customers, carrier customers, and enterprise customers with different cost and performance priorities.

[0039] In this way, a WCD with more than one component chip (e.g., a 4x4 chip) can combine two component chips (e.g., an AP or STA) to achieve the performance of a 2Nx2N component chip (also known as a partitioned component chip). Compared to a standard NxN architecture, a 2Nx2N component chip can provide customers with increased transmit beamforming and MU-MIMO gain, increased range, reduced silicon and tape-out costs, and reduced manufacturing, modularity, or increased flexibility to select a preferred configuration based on the deployment scenario. In some aspects, a user can choose between increased transmit beamforming and MU-MIMO gain on a given frequency band with a 2Nx2N configuration or increased frequency bands with a two NxN configuration (e.g., a first NxN component chip on a first frequency band or frequency channel and a second NxN component chip on a second frequency band or frequency channel).

[0040] Figure 1 A block diagram of an example wireless communication network 100 is shown. According to some aspects, the wireless communication network 100 may be an example of a wireless local area network (WLAN) such as a Wi-Fi network (and will be referred to as WLAN 100 hereinafter). For example, the WLAN 100 may be a network that implements at least one of the IEEE 802.11 family of wireless communication protocol standards (such as those defined by the IEEE 802.11-2020 specification or amendments thereto, which include, but are not limited to, 802.11ay, 802.11ax, 802.11az, 802.11ba, 802.11bd, 802.11be, 802.11bf, and 802.11 modifications associated with Wi-Fi 8). The WLAN 100 may include a plurality of wireless communication devices, such as a wireless AP 102 and a plurality of wireless STAs 104. Although in Figure 1 Only one AP 102 is shown in FIG. 1 , but the WLAN network 100 may also include multiple APs 102 . Figure 1 The AP 102 shown can represent various types of APs, including but not limited to enterprise-class APs, single-band APs, dual-band APs, standalone APs, software-enabled APs (soft APs), and multi-link APs. The coverage area and capacity of cellular networks (such as LTE, 5G NR, etc.) can be further improved by small cells supported by APs that act as micro base stations. In addition, private cellular networks can also be established by using wireless area networks of small cells.

[0041] Each of the STAs 104 may also be referred to as a mobile station (MS), a mobile device, a mobile phone, a wireless phone, an access terminal (AT), a user equipment (UE), a subscriber station (SS), or a subscriber unit, among other examples. The STAs 104 may represent various devices, such as mobile phones, personal digital assistants (PDAs), other handheld devices, netbooks, notebook computers, tablet computers, laptop computers, Chromebooks, extended reality (XR) headsets, wearable devices, display devices (e.g., TVs (including smart TVs), computer monitors, navigation systems, etc.), music or other audio or stereo equipment, remote control devices (“remote controls”), printers, kitchen appliances (including smart refrigerators) or other home appliances, remote control keys (e.g., for keyless passive entry and start (PKES) systems), Internet of Things (IoT) devices, and vehicles, among others. The various STAs 104 in the network are able to communicate with each other through the AP 102.

[0042] A single AP 102 and the associated set of STAs 104 may be referred to as a basic service set (BSS), which is managed by the respective AP 102 . Figure 1 Also shown is an example coverage area 108 of the AP 102, which may represent a basic service area (BSA) of the WLAN 100. A BSS may be identified or indicated to users by a service set identifier (SSID), and to other devices by a basic service set identifier (BSSID), which may be the media access control (MAC) address of the AP 102. The AP 102 may periodically broadcast a beacon frame ("beacon") including the BSSID to enable any STA 104 within wireless range of the AP 102 to "associate" or re-associate with the AP 102 to establish or maintain a respective communication link 106 (hereinafter also referred to as a "Wi-Fi link") with the AP 102. For example, the beacon may include an identification or indication of a primary channel used by the respective AP 102 and a timing synchronization function for establishing or maintaining timing synchronization with the AP 102. The AP 102 may provide access to external networks to the respective STAs 104 in the WLAN via their respective communication links 106.

[0043] To establish a communication link 106 with the AP 102, each of the STAs 104 is configured to perform passive or active scanning operations ("scans") on frequency channels in one or more frequency bands (e.g., the 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, 6 GHz, or 60 GHz bands). To perform passive scanning, the STAs 104 listen for beacons transmitted by their respective APs 102 at periodic time intervals called target beacon transmission times (TBTTs) (measured in time units (TUs), where one TU may be equal to 1024 microseconds (μs)). To perform active scanning, the STAs 104 generate and sequentially transmit probe requests on each channel to be scanned and listen for probe responses from the APs 102. Each STA 104 may identify, determine, ascertain, select an AP 102 with which to associate based on the scanning information obtained through the passive or active scanning, and perform authentication and association operations to establish a communication link 106 with the selected AP 102. At the end of the association operation, the AP 102 assigns the STA 104 an association identifier (AID) that the AP 102 uses to track the STA 104 .

[0044] As wireless networks become increasingly popular, a STA 104 may have the opportunity to select one of many BSSs within its range, or to select from multiple APs 102 that collectively form an extended service set (ESS) comprising multiple connected BSSs. Extended network stations associated with a WLAN 100 may be connected to a wired or wireless distribution system that allows multiple APs 102 to connect in such an ESS. Thus, a STA 104 may be covered by more than one AP 102 and may associate with different APs 102 at different times for different transmissions. Furthermore, after associating with an AP 102, a STA 104 may also periodically scan its surroundings to find a more suitable AP 102 with which to associate. For example, a STA 104 that is moving relative to its associated AP 102 may perform a "roaming" scan to find another AP 102 with more desirable network characteristics, such as a greater received signal strength indicator (RSSI) or reduced traffic load.

[0045] In some cases, STAs 104 may form a network without an AP 102 or other devices other than the STAs 104 themselves. One example of such a network is an ad hoc network (or wireless ad hoc network). An ad hoc network may alternatively be referred to as a mesh network or a peer-to-peer (P2P) network. In some cases, an ad hoc network may be implemented within a larger wireless network, such as WLAN 100. In such an example, while STAs 104 may be able to communicate with each other via AP 102 using communication link 106, STAs 104 may also communicate directly with each other via direct wireless communication link 110. In addition, two STAs 104 may communicate via direct wireless communication link 110, regardless of whether both STAs 104 are associated with and served by the same AP 102. In such an ad hoc system, one or more of the STAs 104 may assume the roles that AP 102 would have in a BSS. Such STAs 104 may be referred to as group owners (GOs) and may coordinate transmissions within the ad hoc network. Examples of direct wireless communication links 110 include Wi-Fi direct connections, connections established by using a Wi-Fi Tunneled Direct Link Setup (TDLS) link, and other P2P group connections.

[0046] The AP 102 and the STA 104 may operate and communicate (via corresponding communication links 106) in accordance with one or more of the IEEE 802.11 family of wireless communication protocol standards. These standards define WLAN radio and baseband protocols for the physical (PHY) layer and the medium access control (MAC) layer. The AP 102 and the STA 104 send and receive wireless communications (hereinafter also referred to as "Wi-Fi communications" or "wireless packets") in the form of PHY protocol data units (PPDUs) to and from each other. The AP 102 and the STA 104 in the WLAN 100 may send PPDUs over an unlicensed spectrum, which may be a portion of the spectrum that includes frequency bands traditionally used by Wi-Fi technology, such as the 2.4 GHz band, the 5 GHz band, the 60 GHz band, the 3.6 GHz band, and the 900 MHz band. Some examples of the AP 102 and the STA 104 described herein may also communicate in other frequency bands, such as the 5.9 GHz and 6 GHz bands, which may support both licensed and unlicensed communications. The AP 102 and STAs 104 may also communicate on other frequency bands, such as shared licensed bands, where multiple operators may have licenses to operate in the same or overlapping frequency band or bands.

[0047] Each frequency band may include multiple sub-bands or multiple frequency channels. For example, PPDUs compliant with IEEE 802.11n, 802.11ac, 802.11ax, and 802.11be standard revisions may be sent on 2.4, 5, or 6 GHz frequency bands, each of which is divided into multiple 20 MHz channels. Thus, these PPDUs are sent on a physical channel with a minimum bandwidth of 20 MHz, but larger channels may be formed through channel bonding. For example, a PPDU may be sent on a physical channel with a bandwidth of 40 MHz, 80 MHz, 160 MHz, or 320 MHz by bonding multiple 20 MHz channels together.

[0048] Each PPDU is a composite structure comprising a PHY preamble and a payload in the form of a PHY service data unit (PSDU). The information provided in the preamble can be used by the receiving device to decode subsequent data in the PSDU. In an example where the PPDU is sent on a bonded channel, the preamble field can be copied and sent in each component channel of a plurality of component channels. The PHY preamble may include both a traditional part (or "transmit preamble") and a non-traditional part (or "non-traditional preamble"). Traditional preambles can be used for packet detection, automatic gain control, and channel estimation, among other purposes. Traditional preambles can also typically be used to maintain compatibility with legacy devices. The format of the non-traditional part of the preamble, the encoding of the non-traditional part of the preamble, and the information provided in the non-traditional part of the preamble are associated with the specific IEEE 802.11 protocol used to transmit the payload.

[0049] Figure 2 Example 200 shows a first component chip 202 for transmitting and a second component chip 204 for transmitting, as well as an example 250 of a third component chip 252 for receiving and a fourth component chip 254 for receiving. First component chip 202 and second component chip 204 can be included in a WCD (such as an AP or STA). Similarly, third component chip 202 and fourth component chip 254 can be included in a WCD (such as an AP or STA). Component chip 202 and component chip 252 can be a single component chip, and component chip 204 and component chip 254 can be a single component chip, so that each component chip can perform both transmitting and receiving operations.

[0050] As shown in example 200, the WCD may include a host 206 capable of executing one or more applications including applications for wireless communication. For example, the host 206 may include a storage device, such as a double data rate (DDR) random access memory (RAM), which is shown as DDR in the figures. The memory may include a computer readable medium that can be used to store data for transmitting to the WCD. Figure 2The component chip 202, 204, 252, or 254 provides information or receives instructions for information therefrom.

[0051] Host 206 can be connected to first component chip 202 using a first bus, such as a Peripheral Component Interconnect Express (PCIe) bus. In the following figures, any suitable bus can be used to couple host 206 to component chips. In example 200, host 206 can be coupled to first component chip and second component chip using respective buses that each support 15 Gigabits per second (Gbps) transmission.

[0052] The first component chip and the second component chip include a medium access control (MAC) component 208. In example 200, the MAC component 208 of the first component chip supports four spatial streams with a bandwidth of 320 MHz and a throughput of 11.5 Gbps. The MAC component 208 of the second component chip also supports four spatial streams with a bandwidth of 320 MHz and a throughput of 11.5 Gbps. The MAC component 208 of the first component chip and the MAC component 208 of the second component chip can be synchronized via a wireless serial interface (WSI).

[0053] The first component chip and the second component chip include a MAC to physical layer (PHY) interface (MPI) component 210. The MPI component 210 can pass information bits for communication from the MAC layer to the PHY layer or from the PHY layer to the MAC layer. In some examples, the MPI component 210 can insert lower layer (PHY layer) elements for the data packet before passing the information bits to the PHY component 212, or can remove lower layer elements from the data packet before passing the information bits to the MAC component 208.

[0054] The PHY component 212 of each of the first component chip and the second component chip may include a frequency domain (FD) transmission (TxFD) component (hereinafter also referred to as "TxFD"). The TxFD may perform encoding (e.g., low-density parity check (LDPC) encoding or binary convolutional coding (BCC) encoding), interleaving, stream parsing, etc. In example 200, each TxFD may support four spatial streams at 320 MHz.

[0055] The PHY component 212 may include a transmit beamformer (TxBF). The TxBF may perform beamforming weight calculations. In this manner, the TxBF may apply weights to different antennas to improve the steering of the beam toward the receiving WCD (e.g., the direction of the beam). In example 200, the TxFD may support four spatial streams (4x4) at 320 MHz.

[0056] The PHY component 212 may include an inverse discrete Fourier transform (iDFT) block or a discrete Fourier transform (DFT) block (such as an inverse fast Fourier transform (iFFT) block or a fast Fourier transform (FFT) block). The iDFT may convert a signal from the frequency domain to the time domain for antenna transmission. The DFT may convert a signal from the time domain to the frequency domain for decoding. In example 200, the iDFT or DFT may support four spatial streams at 320 MHz.

[0057] The PHY component 212 may include a time domain (TD) transmission (TxTD) component. The TxTD component may perform transmit time domain processing. In example 200, the TxTD may support 4 spatial streams (4x4) at 320 MHz.

[0058] The PHY component 212 may include a PHY radio frequency (PHYRF) component. The PHYRF component may perform transmit power control (TPC) or Cals. In example 200, the PHYRF may support 4 spatial streams (4x4) at 320 MHz.

[0059] The first component chip and the second component chip include a mixed signal component (MSC) and a radio frequency (RF) analog (RFA) component (MSC / RFA component) 210. The MSC / RFA component 214 may include an MSC configured to process signals in the digital domain and the analog domain, such as an analog-to-digital converter or a digital-to-analog converter. The MSC / RFA component 214 also includes a set of transmit chains and RFAs. In example 200, the MSC / RFA component 214 includes four transmit chains and associated RFAs. The four transmit chains can transmit or receive four streams for the associated component chip.

[0060] In example 200, the first component chip and the second component chip can be configured to transmit the same four streams, or can be configured to transmit on different respective frequency channels. However, the first component chip and the second component chip are not configured to transmit different streams on the same frequency channel without causing excessive interference to be decoded at the receiving WCD.

[0061] As shown in example 250, component chip 252 and component chip 254 can be configured to receive four spatial streams. In example 250, the first component chip and the second component chip can be configured to receive on different frequency channels. However, the first component chip and the second component chip are not configured to receive different streams on the same frequency channel based on the fact that the different streams would cause excessive interference to be decoded at the WCD.

[0062] Example 250 shows a WCD including a host 256 configured with an application for communication. For example, the host 256 may include a storage device, such as DDR RAM, which is shown as DDR in the figure. The memory may include a computer readable medium that can be used to store data for transmitting to the host. Figure 2 The component chip 202, 204, 252, or 254 provides information or receives instructions for information therefrom.

[0063] Among other examples, host 256 can be connected to first component chip 202 using a first bus. Any suitable bus, such as a Peripheral Component Interconnect Express (PCIe) bus, can be used to couple the host to the component chip. In example 250, host 256 can be coupled to the first component chip and the second component chip using respective buses that each support 15 Gbps transmission.

[0064] The first component chip and the second component chip include a MAC component 258. In example 250, the MAC component 258 of the first component chip supports four spatial streams with a bandwidth of 320 MHz and a throughput of 11.5 Gbps. The MAC component 208 of the second component chip also supports four spatial streams with a bandwidth of 320 MHz and a throughput of 11.5 Gbps. The MAC component 208 of the first component chip and the MAC component 208 of the second component chip can be synchronized via the WSI.

[0065] The first component chip and the second component chip include an MPI component 260. The MPI component 260 passes information bits for communication from the MAC layer to the PHY layer or from the PHY layer to the MAC layer. In some examples, the MPI component 260 can insert lower layer (PHY layer) elements of the data packet before passing the information bits to the PHY component 262, or can remove lower layer elements from the data packet before passing the information bits to the MAC component 258.

[0066] The PHY components 262 of the first component chip and the second component chip may include a frequency domain processor (in Figure 2 250 is shown as a decoder or deinterleaver (referred to herein as a decoder and is intended to include decoders, deinterleavers, or both; however, other frequency domain processors may be used). The frequency domain processor may perform decoding (e.g., LDPC or uplink decoding), deinterleaving, or stream inverse parsing, etc. In example 250, the frequency domain processor may support four spatial streams at 320 MHz.

[0067] The PHY component 262 may include a demodulator (in Figure 22. The demodulator is shown as a demodulator front end (DEMF); however, other demodulators may be used. The demodulator may perform demodulation or channel estimation, etc. In example 250, the demodulator may support 4 spatial streams (4x4) at 320 MHz.

[0068] PHY component 262 may include an iDFT or DFT. The iDFT may convert a signal from the frequency domain to the time domain for antenna transmission. The DFT may convert a signal from the time domain to the frequency domain for decoding. In example 250, the iDFT or DFT may support four spatial streams at 320 MHz.

[0069] The PHY component 262 may include a receive time domain (RxTD) component. The RxTD component may perform receive time domain processing. In example 250, the RxTD may support 4 spatial streams at 320 MHz.

[0070] The PHY component 262 may include a PHYRF component. The PHYRF component may perform transmit power control (TPC) or Cals. In example 200, the PHYRF may support 4 spatial streams (4x4) at 320 MHz.

[0071] The first component chip and the second component chip include an MSC / RFA assembly 264. MSC / RFA assembly 264 includes an MSC configured to process signals in the digital and analog domains, such as an analog-to-digital converter or a digital-to-analog converter. MSC / RFA assembly 264 also includes a set of transmit chains and RFAs. In example 200, MSC / RFA assembly 264 includes four transmit chains and associated RFAs. The four transmit chains can transmit or receive four streams for the associated component chip.

[0072] As described herein, Figure 2 As an example. Figure 2 Other examples with more, fewer, or different components than those shown in FIG may be used to perform similar operations.

[0073] Typically, a WCD (such as an AP or STA) includes only a single communication chip (e.g., including a modem, a set of antennas, or a set of processing components) for WLAN communications. Some higher-end WCDs may include multiple communication chips capable of communicating with one or more WCDs over the air. The communication chip may be configured with multiple antennas based on the planned use of the WCD, cost constraints, or throughput gain required by the WCD. For example, an 8x8 configuration (e.g., where the communication chip is configured to use up to 8 antennas to communicate with another WCD having up to 8 antennas) improves diversity gain and range compared to a 4x4 configuration. Additionally or alternatively, the 8x8 configuration may improve multi-user (MU)-multiple input multiple output (MIMO) throughput (for the uplink (UL)) compared to a 4x4 configuration. However, the cost of an 8x8 configuration may be significantly higher than that of a 4x4 configuration. As Figure 2 As shown, some WCDs may include multiple component chips that are configured to communicate using different frequency channels or to transmit copies of the same set of streams. However, the multiple component chips are not configured to transmit different streams on the same frequency channel. In this way, the WCD is limited to transmitting a number of streams for communicating with a single other WCD that is less than or equal to the number of antennas of the WCD's single communication chip.

[0074] For these reasons, some enterprise users who prioritize performance may prefer an 8x8 configuration. However, some retail or carrier users who prioritize cost reduction may prefer a 4x4 configuration. Manufacturers of communication chips can choose to manufacture only an 8x8 configuration (an unnecessarily expensive option for retail and carrier users), only a 4x4 configuration (which fails to meet the performance preferences of enterprise customers), or both 4x4 and 8x8 configurations (with increased engineering and manufacturing costs, multiple tapeouts, and multiple rewind processes for manufacturing).

[0075] Various aspects generally relate to a wireless communication device (WCD), such as a wireless access point (AP) or a wireless station (STA), that includes multiple component chips that can be configured to work together as a partitioned chip capable of communicating using a number of spatial streams that exceeds the capacity of any of the multiple component chips when operating independently. More specifically, some aspects relate to a component chip having a frequency-domain component that supports a first number of spatial streams in the frequency domain and a time-domain component that supports a second number of spatial streams in the time domain. The first number can be greater than the second number. In some examples, the first number of spatial streams can correspond to the number of spatial streams transmitted or received collectively by the multiple component chips, and the second number of spatial streams can correspond to the number of spatial streams transmitted or received individually by each component chip. In this manner, the frequency-domain component of a component chip (e.g., a master chip, primary chip, secondary chip, or slave chip) can support processing of all spatial streams transmitted by the WCD, while the time-domain component can process only a subset of the spatial streams.

[0076] Based on time-domain components (including RF antennas) that only process a subset of spatial streams, the component chip can have reduced complexity, reduced manufacturing costs, and can be used in additional implementations compared to component chips that support processing for all spatial streams in both the time and frequency domains. For example, the component chip can be a 4x4 component chip that can be used in a device designed to support only four spatial streams, or the component chip can be used with one or more additional 4x4 component chips to support additional spatial streams. The component chip and the one or more additional component chips can be configured to communicate on the same frequency channel so that the additional WCDs perceive the WCD as a single 8x8 WCD, a single 12x12 WCD, a single 16x16 WCD, and so on.

[0077] Certain aspects of the subject matter described in this disclosure can be implemented to realize one or more of the following potential advantages. In some examples, by supporting coupling multiple component chips together, the described techniques can be used to reduce manufacturing costs associated with manufacturing multiple types of component chips with different numbers of antennas. Additionally or alternatively, by supporting coupling multiple component chips together, the described techniques can allow a single configuration of component chips with N antennas to be used in applications with N, 2N, 3N, etc. combination antennas. In this way, a single configuration can be used to meet the needs of different types of consumers and use cases, such as for retail customers, carrier customers, and enterprise customers with different cost and performance priorities.

[0078] In this way, a WCD with more than one component chip (e.g., a 4x4 chip) can combine two component chips (e.g., an AP or STA) to achieve the performance of a 2Nx2N component chip (also known as a partitioned component chip). Compared to a standard NxN architecture, a 2Nx2N component chip can provide customers with increased transmit beamforming and MU-MIMO gain, increased range, reduced silicon and tape-out costs, and reduced manufacturing, modularity, or increased flexibility to select a preferred configuration based on the deployment scenario. In some aspects, a user can choose between increased TxBF and MU-MIMO gain on a given frequency band with a 2Nx2N configuration or increased frequency bands with a two NxN configuration (e.g., a first NxN component chip on a first frequency band or frequency channel and a second NxN component chip on a second frequency band or frequency channel).

[0079] The accompanying drawings describe details of the transmitter and receiver designs for a partitioned multi-component chip architecture. Various options offer different levels of performance, complexity, and cost. Although for ease of description, the following figures may describe the component chips in the context of a 4x4 component chip, each component chip should be interpreted as an NxN component chip, where 4 is an example value for N, but where N can be another positive integer. For example, the component chip can be used to form an effective 16x16 component chip (e.g., an AP or STA) using two 8x8 component chips (e.g., an AP or STA). Additionally or alternatively, although for ease of description, the following figures may describe the partitioned component chip as having a first component chip and a second component chip, another integer a number of component chips may be used in the partitioned component chip to achieve an effective aN×aN configuration. For example, an effective 12x12 component chip can be formed from three 4x4 component chips. In some other examples, one or more component chips may have a different number of antennas than another component chip. In some examples, the partitioned component chip can be configured to operate in a first aN×aN configuration for uplink communication and a second bN×bN configuration for downlink communication.

[0080] The following figures also illustrate modifications and buses that can be used to facilitate combining component chips into partitioned component chips that can communicate via a number of streams in a single frequency channel, where the number of streams is greater than the number of antennas of any individual component chip in the component chips. For example, the modifications and buses can support an 8x8 component chip design from two 4x4 component chips (e.g., APs or STAs) with additional modifications to support partitioning functionality.

[0081] Figure 3An example 300 of a WCD is illustrated having a first component chip 302 and a second component chip 304 coupled to form a partitioned component chip 306 that supports a number of spatial streams greater than the number supported by either first component chip 302 or second component chip 304 individually.

[0082] like Figure 3 As shown, the WCD includes a host 308 capable of executing one or more applications including applications for wireless communication. For example, the host 308 may include a storage device, such as DDR RAM, which is shown as DDR in the figure. The memory may include a computer readable medium that can be used to store data for transmitting data to the host. Figure 3 The component chip provides information or Figure 3 The component chip receives the information instructions.

[0083] Host 308 can be connected to partitioned chip 306 (shown as a partitioned 8x8 chip) including first component chip 302 (shown as a 4x4 component chip) and second component chip 304 (shown as a 4x4 component chip). Host 308 can be connected to first component chip 302 using a first bus and to second component chip 304 using a second bus. The first bus and the second bus can be buses, or other examples. Any suitable bus, such as a PCIe bus, can be used to couple host 308 to component chips 302 and 304.

[0084] First component chip 302 and second component chip 304 can be coupled to each other using an additional bus. For example, first component chip 302 and second component chip 304 can be coupled to each other using a chip-to-chip (C2C) bus. First component chip 302 and second component chip 304 can communicate synchronization (sync) information and data via the additional bus. In this way, first component chip 302 and second component chip 304 can coordinate to form a partition chip 306 that supports a greater number of spatial streams than could be supported independently by first component chip 302 or second component chip 304.

[0085] As described herein, Figure 3 As an example. Figure 3 Other examples with more, fewer, or different components than those shown in FIG may be used to perform similar operations.

[0086] Figure 4-14 Examples of component chips that may be used in the WCD of example 300 are provided.

[0087] Figure 4An example 400 is shown of a first component chip 402 and a second component chip 404 coupled to function as a partitioned component chip that supports a greater number of spatial streams than would be supported by one of the component chips alone. Component chips 402 and 404 may be included in a WCD such as an AP or STA.

[0088] As shown in example 400, the WCD may include a host 406 capable of executing one or more applications including applications for wireless communication. For example, the host 406 may include a storage device such as DDR RAM, which is shown in the figure as DDR 408. The memory may include a computer readable medium that can be used to store data for transmitting to the host. Figure 4 The component chip provides information or Figure 3 The component chip receives the information instructions.

[0089] Host 406 can be connected to component chip 402 via bus 410. In example 400, host 406 can be coupled to component chip 402 using a bus that supports approximately 15 Gbps or 30 Gbps transmission.

[0090] The component chip 402 may include a frequency domain component 412, one or more frequency-to-time (F-to-T) or time-to-frequency (T-to-F) domain mapping components 414, and a time domain component 416. In this manner, the component chip 402 can process spatial streams in the frequency domain, convert the spatial streams for processing in the time domain, and then process the spatial streams in the time domain (for transmitted spatial streams). Similarly, the component chip 402 can process spatial streams in the time domain, convert the spatial streams for processing in the frequency domain, and then process the spatial streams in the frequency domain (for received spatial streams).

[0091] The frequency domain component 412 of the component chip 402 may include a MAC component 418. In example 400, the MAC component 418 of the component chip 402 may support 2N spatial streams with a bandwidth of 2M MHz. Additionally or alternatively, the component chip 402 may support N spatial streams with a bandwidth of 2M MHz. In some aspects, the component chip may switch between operating with 2N spatial streams and a bandwidth of 2M MHz and operating with N spatial streams and a bandwidth of 2M MHz.

[0092] The frequency domain component 412 of the component chip 402 may include a MAC to PHY interface (MPI) 420 for interfacing between the MAC 418 and the TxFD 422 for transmitting spatial streams. The TxFD 422 may support 2N spatial streams. For example, the TxFD 422 may process 2N spatial streams, where the component chip 402 includes only N antennas and may only transmit N spatial streams.

[0093] The frequency-domain components 412 of the component chip 402 may include a TxBF 424 configured as an Nx2N TxBF. In this manner, the TxBF 424 may convert 2N spatial streams into groups of two N streams. The time-domain components 416 of the component chip 402 may process the first group of N spatial streams. In some aspects, the TxFD 422 and TxBF 424 may be configured to support 2N spatial streams and a bandwidth of 2M MHz or to support N spatial streams and a bandwidth of 2M MHz. If N spatial streams are to be transmitted, a single component chip (component chip 402 or component chip 404) may be used to transmit the N spatial streams. This is possible based on each of the component chips having a time-domain component 416 that supports all spatial streams to be transmitted. The MPI 420, TxFD 422, and TxBF 424 may be referred to as transmit frequency-domain components.

[0094] The first set of N spatial streams may be provided to an F-to-T domain mapping component 414 of the component chip 402. The F-to-T domain mapping component may include an iDFT / DFT 426 configured to map the N spatial streams from the frequency domain to the time domain before passing them to the time domain component 416. The time domain component 416 may include a TxTD 428, a PHY / RF 430, an MSC 432, and an N-chain RFA 434 for transmitting the N spatial streams. The TxTD 428, the PHY / RF 430, the MSC 432, and the N-chain RFA 434 may be referred to as a transmit time domain component.

[0095] The component chip 402 can also be configured to receive N spatial streams. The component chip 402 can use a time domain component 416 to receive the N spatial streams. For example, the time domain component 416 for receiving the N spatial streams can include a PHY / RF 430, an MSC 432, an N-chain RFA 434, and an RxTD 436. The PHY / RF 430, the MSC 432, the N-chain RFA 434, and the RxTD 436 can be referred to as a receive time domain component. The time domain component 416 can process the N spatial streams before providing them to the T-to-F domain mapping component 414 (iDFT / DFT 426).

[0096] The T-to-F domain mapping component 414 can map spatial streams from time-domain resources to frequency-domain resources for processing by the frequency-domain component 412. The frequency-domain component 412 can include receive-based components such as a demodulator (shown as DEMF) 438, a decoder 440, a PHY-to-MAC interface (PMI) 470, and a MAC 418. In some aspects, the demodulator 438 can be configured to perform channel estimation based on all 2N spatial streams, based on receiving information associated with the second set of N spatial streams, and select only the N spatial streams received via the time-domain component 416 of the component chip 402. The decoder 440 can process the N spatial streams and provide the N spatial streams to the PMI 442, which is configured to provide the N spatial streams to the MAC 418. The demodulator 438, decoder 440, PMI 442, and MAC 418 can be referred to as receive frequency-domain components.

[0097] The components described may be included in component chip 402. Component chip 402 may coordinate with component chip 404 to operate as a partitioning chip configured to transmit 2N spatial streams. Component chip 402 may function as a primary or master chip, and component chip 404 may function as a secondary or slave chip. Component chip 404 may include components similar to those described in conjunction with component chip 402.

[0098] In some examples, host 406 can be connected to component chip 404 using bus 444. For example, host 406 can be coupled to component chip 404 using a bus that supports approximately 15 Gbps or 30 Gbps transmission. In some other examples, the bus can be disabled or omitted, and component chip 404 can receive spatial streams from component chip 402 (the same 2N spatial streams provided to component chip 402) or can provide spatial streams to component chip 402.

[0099] The component chip 404 may include a frequency domain component 412, one or more F to T or T to F mapping components 414, and a time domain component 416. In this manner, the component chip 404 can also process spatial streams in the frequency domain (if necessary), convert the spatial streams for processing in the time domain, and then process the spatial streams in the time domain (for transmitted spatial streams). Similarly, the component chip 404 can process spatial streams in the time domain, convert the spatial streams for processing in the frequency domain, and then process the spatial streams in the frequency domain (if necessary, for received spatial streams).

[0100] Frequency domain component 412 of component chip 404 may include MAC component 446. In example 400, MAC component 446 of component chip 404 may support 2N spatial streams with a bandwidth of 2M MHz. Additionally or alternatively, component chip 404 may support N spatial streams with a bandwidth of 2M MHz. In some aspects, the component chip may switch between operating with 2N spatial streams and a bandwidth of 2M MHz and operating with N spatial streams and a bandwidth of 2M MHz.

[0101] The frequency domain component 412 of the component chip 404 may include an MPI 448 for interfacing between the MAC component 446 and the TxFD 450 for transmission of spatial streams. The TxFD 450 may support 2N spatial streams. For example, the TxFD 450 may process 2N spatial streams, where the component chip 404 includes only N antennas and may only transmit N spatial streams.

[0102] The frequency domain components 412 of the component chip 404 may include a TxBF 452 configured as an Nx2N TxBF. In this manner, the TxBF 452 may convert 2N spatial streams into two sets of N streams. The time domain components 416 of the component chip 404 may process the second set of N spatial streams. In some aspects, the TxFD 450 and TxBF 452 may be configured to support 2N spatial streams and a bandwidth of M MHz or to support N spatial streams and a bandwidth of 2M MHz.

[0103] The first set of N spatial streams may be provided to an F-to-T domain mapping component 414 of the component chip 404. The F-to-T domain mapping component may include an iDFT / DFT 454 configured to map the N spatial streams from the frequency domain to the time domain before passing them to a time domain component 416. The time domain component 416 may include a TxTD 456, a PHY / RF 458, an MSC 460, and an N-chain RFA 462 for transmitting the N spatial streams.

[0104] The component chip 404 can also be configured to receive N spatial streams. The component chip 404 can use a time domain component 416 to receive the N spatial streams. For example, the time domain component 416 for receiving the N spatial streams can include a PHY / RF 458, an MSC 460, an N-chain RFA 462, and an RxTD 464. The time domain component 416 can process the N spatial streams before providing them to the T-to-F domain mapping component 414 (iDFT / DFT 454).

[0105] The T-to-F domain mapping component 414 can map spatial streams from time-domain resources to frequency-domain resources for processing by the frequency-domain component 412. The frequency-domain component 412 can include receive-based components such as a demodulator (shown as DEMF) 466, a decoder 468, a PMI, and a MAC component 446. In some aspects, the demodulator 466 can be configured to perform channel estimation based on all 2N spatial streams, based on receiving information associated with the second set of N spatial streams, and select only the N spatial streams received via the time-domain component 416 of the component chip 402. The decoder 468 can process the N spatial streams and provide the N spatial streams to the PMI 470, which is configured to provide the N spatial streams to the MAC component 446.

[0106] like Figure 4 As shown, component chip 402 can be coupled to component chip 404 using one or more buses or other connections. For example, N-chain RFA 434 of component chip 402 can be coupled to N-chain RFA 462 of component chip 404 to perform local oscillator (LO) synchronization 472. For example, component chip 402 can use the connection to provide information or commands for LO synchronization 472 to N-chain RFA 462. LO synchronization 472 can improve the alignment of frequency mappings used to transmit and receive multiple streams on the same frequency channel.

[0107] Additionally or alternatively, MSC 432 can be coupled to MSC 460 for component chip 402 to provide information for phase-locked loop (PLL) synchronization 474 to component chip 404. PLL synchronization 474 can improve the alignment of time resources used to determine time resource boundaries. Furthermore, component chip 402 can provide information for timestamp synchronization 476 to component chip 404. Timestamp synchronization 476 can improve timing synchronization between time-domain components 416.

[0108] In some aspects, component chip 402 and component chip 404 can be coupled using bus 478. In some aspects, bus 478 can include a C2C bus. Bus 478 can support providing the output of iDFT / DFT 454 to demodulator 438 or providing the output of iDFT / DFT 426 to demodulator 466 for processing, such as estimating channels for 2N spatial streams. In some aspects where both frequency-domain components process spatial streams, bus 478 can carry data from component chip 402 to component chip 404 and vice versa. In some aspects where only frequency-domain component 412 of component chip 402 processes spatial streams, bus 478 can only carry data from component chip 404 to component chip 402.

[0109] In some aspects, component chip 402 and component chip 404 can be coupled using bus 480. In some aspects, bus 480 can include a C2C bus. Bus 480 can support providing the output of MAC 418 to MPI 448 or providing the output of PMI 470 to MAC 418. MAC 418 and MAC 446 can be synchronized using WSI 482.

[0110] As described herein, providing Figure 4 As an example. Figure 4 Other examples with more, fewer, or different components than those shown in FIG may be used to perform similar operations.

[0111] Figure 5 An example 500 is illustrated of a first component chip 502 and a second component chip 516 coupled to function as a partitioned component chip that supports transmission of a number of spatial streams greater than the number supported individually by one of the component chips. Component chip 502 and component chip 504 can be included in a WCD, such as an AP or STA.

[0112] As shown in example 500, the WCD may include a host 506 capable of executing one or more applications including applications for wireless communication. For example, the host 506 may include a storage device such as DDR RAM, which is shown as DDR 508. The memory may include a computer readable medium that may be used to store data for transmitting to the WCD. Figure 5 The component chip provides information or Figure 3 The component chip receives the information instructions.

[0113] Host 506 can be connected to component chip 502 using bus 510. In example 500, host 506 can be coupled to component chip 502 using a bus that supports approximately 30 Gbps transmission.

[0114] The component chip 502 may include a frequency domain component 512 that processes 2N spatial streams, one or more F-to-T or T-to-F domain mapping components 514, and a time domain component 546 that processes N spatial streams. In this manner, the component chip 502 is able to process a full set of spatial streams in the frequency domain, convert a subset of the spatial streams for processing in the time domain, and then process the subset of spatial streams (the spatial streams for transmission) in the time domain before transmitting the subset of spatial streams.

[0115] Host 506 can be connected to component chip 516 via bus 518. In example 500, host 506 can be coupled to component chip 516 using a bus that supports approximately 30 Gbps transmission.

[0116] The component chip 516 may include a frequency domain component 520, one or more F-to-T or T-to-F domain mapping components 522, and a time domain component 524. In this manner, the component chip 516 can process spatial streams in the frequency domain, convert the spatial streams for processing in the time domain, and then process a subset of the spatial streams (the spatial streams for transmission) in the time domain before transmitting the subset of spatial streams.

[0117] Component chip 502 and component chip 516 can be coupled using a set of one or more buses. For example, component chip 502 can use a set of one or more buses to provide information for LO synchronization, PLL synchronization, timestamp synchronization, or WSI, among other examples.

[0118] In example 500, host 506 can provide all 2N spatial streams (shown as 8ss) to each of component chips 502 and 516. Frequency-domain components 512 and 520 of component chips 502 and 516 can process all 2N spatial streams, including using TxBFs (shown as 4x8 TxBFs) to transmit different subsets of size N from the 2N spatial streams to corresponding time-domain components 514. For example, the TxBF of component chip 502 can transmit a first subset {1, 2, ..., N}, and the TxBF of component chip 516 can transmit a second subset {N+1, N+2, ..., 2N} from the set of 2N spatial streams to the time-domain components 514 of component chips 502 and 516. The TxBF of each of component chips 502 and 516 provides a corresponding subset of the 2N spatial streams to F-to-T domain mapping components 514 and 522. The F-to-T domain mapping component 514 is configured to provide a first subset of the 2N spatial streams to a time domain component 516 that processes N spatial streams (the number of spatial streams of the first subset). The F-to-T domain mapping component 522 is configured to provide a second subset of the 2N spatial streams to a time domain component 524 that processes N spatial streams (the number of spatial streams of the second subset).

[0119] In example 500, each of component chip 502 and component chip 516 can perform data generation and beamforming weight calculations for all 2N (e.g., 8) spatial streams. For example, each chip can generate all 2N data streams in the frequency domain and calculate a 4x8 weight matrix to pass a corresponding subset of the 2N spatial streams to be provided to the iDFT (F-to-T domain mapping components 504 and 522, respectively) as input. Component chip 502 (e.g., the master or primary chip) can pass the upper 4 spatial streams (e.g., chain) at the iDFT input (F-to-T domain mapping component 504), and component chip 516 (e.g., the slave or secondary chip) can pass the lower 4 spatial streams (F-to-T domain mapping component 522). TxTD and PHYRF synchronization can be achieved through timestamp synchronization, PLL synchronization, and LO synchronization between the two chips.

[0120] In some examples, each MAC component of component chips 502 and 516 may operate at approximately 23.1 Gbps, which may be lower than the MAC components supported by buses 510 and 518. However, component chips 502 and 516 may each operate at 2M bandwidth.

[0121] Based on coordination (e.g., with WSI, timestamp synchronization, PLL synchronization, or LO synchronization) between component chip 502 and component chip 516, each component chip can operate as if it were in a 2Nx2N configuration in the frequency domain and as if it were in an NxN configuration in the time domain. This can allow the associated WCDs to communicate using more streams than if each component chip were used alone.

[0122] Figure 6 An example 600 is shown of a first component chip 602 and a second component chip 604 coupled to function as a partitioned component chip that supports transmission of a number of spatial streams greater than the number independently supported by one of the component chips 602 and 604. The component chip may be included in a WCD, such as an AP or a STA.

[0123] As shown in example 600, a WCD may include Figure 2-5 For example, the WCD may include a host 606, a DDR 608, a bus 610, a frequency domain component 612, an F to T or T to F domain mapping component 614, a time domain component 616, a bus 618, a frequency domain component 620, an F to T or T to F domain mapping component 622, and a time domain component 624. The component chips 602 and 604 may be implemented using a processor such as a processor. Figure 3-5 A collection of one or more buses described in the context of coupling.

[0124] In example 600, host 606 can be coupled to component chip 602 and component chip 604 using respective buses supporting approximately 15 Gbps transmission. This is approximately half the throughput supported in example 500. Frequency-domain components 612 and 620 can each process 2N or N spatial streams. F-to-T or T-to-F domain mapping component 614 and time-domain component 616 process N spatial streams. In this way, component chips 602 and 604 can process a full set of spatial streams in the frequency domain, convert a subset of the spatial streams for processing in the time domain, and then process the subset of spatial streams (for the transmitted spatial streams) in the time domain before transmitting the subset of spatial streams.

[0125] In example 600, host 606 can provide all 2N spatial streams (shown as 8ss) to each of component chips 602 and 604. Frequency-domain components 612 and 620 of component chips 602 and 604 can process all 2N spatial streams, including using TxBF (shown as 4x8 TxBF) to select different subsets of size N from the 2N spatial streams. For example, the TxBF of component chip 602 can select a first subset {1, 2, ..., N}, and the TxBF of component chip 604 can select a second subset {N+1, N+2, ..., 2N} from the set of 2N spatial streams. The TxBF of each of component chips 602 and 604 provides a corresponding subset of the 2N spatial streams to F-to-T domain mapping components 614 and 622. The F-to-T domain mapping component 614 is configured to provide a first subset of 2N spatial streams to a time domain component 616 that processes N spatial streams (the number of spatial streams of the first subset). The F-to-T domain mapping component 622 is configured to provide a second subset of 2N spatial streams to a time domain component 624 that processes N spatial streams (the number of spatial streams of the second subset) that are different from the N spatial streams processed by the time domain component 616.

[0126] In example 600, each of component chip 602 and component chip 604 can perform data generation and beamforming weight calculation for all 2N (e.g., 8) spatial streams. For example, each chip can generate all 2N data in the frequency domain and calculate a 4x8 weight matrix to select a corresponding subset of the 2N spatial streams to provide to the iDFT as input. Component chip 602 (e.g., a master chip or primary chip) can select the upper 4 spatial streams (e.g., chain) at the iDFT input, and component chip 604 (e.g., a slave chip or secondary chip) can select the lower 4 spatial streams. TxTD and PHYRF synchronization can be achieved through timestamp synchronization, PLL synchronization, and LO synchronization between the two chips.

[0127] As an example, each MAC component of component chips 602 and 604 can operate at approximately 11.5 Gbps, which is lower than Figure 5In some aspects, the component chips 602 and 604 can be configured to operate as independent NxN chips with a bandwidth of 2M, or can be configured to each operate at a bandwidth of M when operating as partitioned chips that operate collectively as a 2Nx2N chip.

[0128] In this way, each component chip can operate as a 2Nx2N configuration in the frequency domain and as an NxN configuration in the time domain.However, compared to example 500, the component chips can have lower complexity and cost.

[0129] Figure 7 An example 700 illustrates a first component chip 702 and a second component chip 704 coupled to function as a partitioned component chip that supports transmission of a number of spatial streams greater than the number supported individually by one of the component chips. Component chips 702 and 704 can be included in a WCD, such as an AP or STA.

[0130] As shown in example 700, a WCD may include Figure 2-5 For example, the WCD may include a host 706, a DDR 708, a bus 710, a frequency domain component 712, an F to T or T to F domain mapping component 714, a time domain component 716, a bus 718, a frequency domain component 720, an F to T or T to F domain mapping component 722, and a time domain component 724. The component chips 702 and 704 may be implemented using a processor such as a processor. Figure 3-5 A collection of one or more buses described in the context of coupling.

[0131] In example 700 , host 706 can be coupled to component chip 702 and component chip 704 using respective buses that support approximately 15 Gbps transmission.

[0132] Example 700 is similar to example 600, except that a bus 728 (shown as C2C bus 728) is added that couples the MAC component of frequency domain component 712 to the MPI component of frequency domain component 720. In example 700, host 706 may not be connected to a host computer such as Figure 5 and 6Component chip 704, or bus 718, may be inactive as shown. Additionally or alternatively, MAC component 726 of component chip 704 may be inactive or omitted from component chip 704. Instead, the MAC component of component chip 702 performs MAC processing for both component chip 702 and component chip 704. The MAC of component chip 702 may provide spatial streams to the MPI of component chip 704. Alternatively, the MPI of component chip 702 may provide spatial streams to the TxFD of component chip 704, among other examples. Component chip 702 may provide spatial streams via bus 728 (shown as C2C bus 728).

[0133] In example 700, each of component chip 702 and component chip 704 can perform data generation and beamforming weight calculations for all 2N (e.g., 8) spatial streams using only one MAC component (at component chip 702). The MAC component of component chip 702 shares data to be processed and transmitted by the PHY component of component chip 704. To share data, bus 728 can include a high-speed C2C bus. Bus 728 can use a C2C or Qlink interface for both transmit and receive operations.

[0134] In this manner, the processing or complexity load on host 706 can be reduced by using only one active bus to provide spatial streams for transmission. Additionally, since the MAC of component chip 704 is inactive, no additional MAC synchronization may be required. In some aspects, each component chip can operate in the frequency domain as if in a 2Nx2N configuration and in the time domain as if in an NxN configuration. However, the component chips can have lower complexity and cost compared to example 500.

[0135] As an example, the MAC component of component chip 702 can be operated at a lower Figure 5 In some aspects, the component chips 702 and 704 can be configured to operate as independent NxN chips with a bandwidth of 2M, or can be configured to each operate at a bandwidth of M when operating as partitioned chips that operate collectively as a 2Nx2N chip.

[0136] Figure 8 An example 800 illustrates a first component chip 802 and a second component chip 804 coupled to function as a partitioned component chip that supports reception of a greater number of spatial streams than would be supported individually by one of the component chips. Component chips 802 and 804 may be included in a WCD, such as an AP or STA.

[0137] As shown in example 800, the WCD may include a host 806, a DDR 808, a bus 810, a frequency domain component 812 that processes 2N spatial streams, one or more F-to-T or T-to-F domain mapping components 814, and a time domain component 816 that processes N spatial streams. In this manner, the component chip 802 is capable of processing a subset of the spatial streams received via the time domain component 816, converting the subset of spatial streams for processing in the frequency domain, and processing the full set of spatial streams in the frequency domain after receiving an additional subset of spatial streams from the component chip 804.

[0138] The component chip 804 may include a bus 818, a frequency domain component 820, one or more F-to-T or T-to-F domain mapping components 822, and a time domain component 824. If operating independently of the component chip 802, the component chip 804 can process spatial streams in the frequency domain, convert the spatial streams for processing in the time domain, and then process a subset of the spatial streams (the spatial streams used for transmission) in the time domain.

[0139] In example 800, host 806 may not be connected to Figure 5 and 6 Component chip 804, or bus 818, may be inactive as shown. In this manner, the frequency domain components of component chip 804 may be inactive or omitted from component chip 804. In contrast, frequency domain components 812 of component chip 802 perform frequency domain processing for both component chip 802 and component chip 804, and frequency domain components 820 may be inactive or omitted. Frequency domain components 812 may receive a subset of spatial streams from time domain components 816 of component chip 802 and a different subset of spatial streams from time domain components 824 of component chip 802. For example, the demodulator of frequency domain components 812 may receive a subset of spatial streams from component chip 804 via F-to-T domain mapping components 822, as received via time domain components 824 of component chip 804. In some aspects, frequency domain components 812 may receive the subset of spatial streams from component chip 804 via bus 826 (shown as C2C bus 826).

[0140] Component chip 802 and component chip 804 may be coupled using a set of one or more additional buses for LO synchronization, PLL synchronization, timestamp synchronization, or WSI, among other examples.

[0141] In example 800, frequency-domain components 812 of component chip 802 may process all 2N spatial streams, and time-domain components 916 and 924 of each of component chips 802 and 804 may receive and process only a subset of the 2N spatial streams, and each component chip need not be manufactured with 2N receive chains and antennas.

[0142] In example 800, two NxN PHYs configured to operate at a 2M bandwidth with a 2Nx2N (e.g., 8x8) null projection and 8 spatial stream demodulators on component chip 802 are configured as a master chip or a primary chip and a slave chip. In example operation, the DFT output of the T-to-F domain mapping component 822 is shared from component chip 804 to component chip 802 for processing in the frequency domain. In example applications, bus 826 can have a desired bus throughput (e.g., 28.1 Gbps with one 3 / 4 lane PCIe 4.0 or equivalent for unidirectional data sharing from component chip 804 to component chip 802). Component chip 802 implements a 2Nx2N null projection, followed by a 2NxN maximum likelihood detector (ML) and a 2N decoder.

[0143] In some aspects, the WCD can be configured to operate component chip 802 and component chip 804 as independent NxN chips, or to operate component chip 802 and component chip 804 as independent 2Nx2N chips. In some aspects, the WCD can be reconfigurable to change between NxN operation and 2Nx2N operation.

[0144] As an example, the MAC component of component chip 802 may operate at approximately 23.1 Gbps, which is lower than what bus 810 supports.

[0145] Figure 9 An example 900 illustrates a first component chip 902 and a second component chip 904 coupled to function as a partitioned component chip that supports reception of a greater number of spatial streams than would be supported individually by one of the component chips. Component chips 902 and 904 may be included in a WCD, such as an AP or STA.

[0146] As shown in example 900, the WCD may include a host 906, a DDR 908, a bus 910 (e.g., supporting approximately 30 Gbps transmission), a frequency domain component 912 that processes 2N spatial streams, one or more F-to-T or T-to-F domain mapping components 914, and a time domain component 916 that processes N spatial streams. In this manner, the component chip 902 is capable of processing a subset of the spatial streams received via the time domain component 916, converting the subset of spatial streams for processing in the frequency domain, and processing the full set of spatial streams in the frequency domain after receiving an additional subset of spatial streams from the component chip 904.

[0147] The component chip 904 may include a bus 918, a frequency domain component 920, one or more F-to-T or T-to-F domain mapping components 922, and a time domain component 924. If operating independently of the component chip 902, the component chip 904 can process spatial streams in the frequency domain, convert the spatial streams for processing in the time domain, and then process a subset of the spatial streams (the spatial streams for transmission) in the time domain.

[0148] like Figure 9 As shown in , the demodulator can process all spatial streams to perform channel estimation and demodulation for the selected subset of the set of spatial streams. The demodulator can be configured to provide the selected subset of the set of spatial streams to a decoder that processes the selected subset of the set of spatial streams. In this way, the frequency domain component 912 can process 2N spatial streams without requiring each of the frequency domain components 912 to be configured to process all 2N spatial streams.

[0149] In example 900, host 906 may not be connected to Figure 5 and 6 Component chip 904, or bus 918, may be inactive as shown. In this manner, MAC component 930 of component chip 904 may be inactive or omitted from component chip 904. Instead, the MAC component of component chip 902 may be configured to perform MAC processing for both component chip 902 and component chip 904. The MAC component of component chip 902 may receive a subset of spatial streams from the PMI of frequency-domain component 920 of component chip 904, which subset is a different subset of spatial streams than the PMI of frequency-domain component 912. In some aspects, the MAC component of component chip 902 may receive the subset of spatial streams from component chip 904 via bus 926 (shown as C2C bus 926). In some aspects, an additional bus 928 (shown as C2C bus 928) may be configured to provide bidirectional outputs of the DFTs of component chips 902 and 904 to support demodulation and decoding on both component chips 902 and 904. For example, based on providing the output of the DFT to each component chip, the component chips can perform improved channel estimation and demodulation.

[0150] In example 900, two NxN PHYs can operate at a 2M bandwidth with a 2Nx2N null projection and N spatial stream demodulators on each chip. The DFT output can be shared bidirectionally between the two component chips to support demodulation and decoding on both component chips. In the example scenario, the bus 926 can have a required bus throughput (e.g., 2×28.1 Gbps with two 3 / 4 lanes of PCIe 4.0 or equivalent). Each component chip can implement a 2Nx2N null projection and select a subset of the spatial stream set (e.g., upper N link or lower N link). In some aspects, the bus 926 can have a required throughput (e.g., 11.5 Gbps with one 1-lane PCIe 4.0 or equivalent).

[0151] Figure 10 An example 1000 illustrates a first component chip 1002 and a second component chip 1004 coupled to function as a partitioned component chip that supports reception of a greater number of spatial streams than would be supported individually by one of the component chips. Component chips 1002 and 1004 may be included in a WCD, such as an AP or STA.

[0152] As shown in example 1000, the WCD may include a host 1006, a DDR 1008, a bus 1010 (e.g., supporting approximately 15 Gbps transmission), a frequency domain component 1012 that processes 2N spatial streams, one or more F-to-T or T-to-F domain mapping components 1014, and a time domain component 1016 that processes N spatial streams. In this manner, the component chip 1002 is capable of processing a subset of the spatial streams received via the time domain component 1016, converting the subset of spatial streams for processing in the frequency domain, and processing the full set of spatial streams in the frequency domain after receiving an additional subset of spatial streams from the component chip 1004.

[0153] The component chip 1004 may include a bus 1018, a frequency domain component 1020, one or more F-to-T or T-to-F domain mapping components 1022, and a time domain component 1024. If operating independently of the component chip 1002, the component chip 1004 can process spatial streams in the frequency domain, convert the spatial streams for processing in the time domain, and then process a subset of the spatial streams (the spatial streams for transmission) in the time domain.

[0154] Compared to example 900, when operating in conjunction with component chip 1004, the supported bandwidth can be reduced (e.g., from 320 MHz to 160 MHz) for processing by the MAC of frequency domain component 1012. In some aspects, additional bus 1026 can be configured to provide bidirectional outputs of the DFTs of component chips 1002 and 1004 to support demodulation and decoding on both component chips 1002 and 1004. Additional bus 1026 can have a reduced bandwidth (e.g., a bidirectional bandwidth of 14.1 Gbps) for sharing the DFT outputs between component chips 902 and 904.

[0155] In an example scenario, bus 1028 (similar to bus 926) may have a desired bus throughput (e.g., 2x14.1 Gbps with two 3 / 4 lanes of PCIe 4.0 or equivalent). Each component chip may implement a 2Nx2N null projection and select a subset of the set of spatial streams (e.g., upper N links or lower N links). In some aspects, bus 1026 may have a desired throughput (e.g., 5.76 Gbps with one 1-lane PCIe 4.0 or equivalent).

[0156] As an example, the MAC component of component chip 1002 may operate at approximately 11.5 Gbps, which is lower than what bus 1010 supports and lower than Figure 9 However, compared to example 900, the component chips may have lower complexity and cost.

[0157] Figure 11 A protocol 1100 is shown for providing data between component chips, as described in the context of various aspects described herein. Figure 11 In the context of , a STA can communicate with an AP in a wireless network.

[0158] like Figure 11 As shown, and by reference numeral 1102, an arbitration interframe space (AIFS) backoff may separate a previous frame from a current frame. The AP may send an uplink multi-user (MU)-multiple-input, multiple-output (MIMO) trigger 1104, which indicates that messages are to be sent from K STAs to the AP. A short interframe space (SIFS) 1106 may separate the UL MU-MIMO trigger 1104 from the responses from the K STAs.

[0159] The responses from the K STAs may include a physical layer convergence protocol (PLCP) portion 1108 (e.g., an 801.11be PLCP header). The PLCP portion 1108 may be followed by an aggregated MAC protocol data unit (A-MPDU) communication for the K STAs 1110 and a packet extension (PE) portion 1112. The responses from the K STAs may include a SIFS 1114.

[0160] Based on the AP's use of partitioned chips, as described herein, the DFT output can share latency between the chips. The AP can compensate for the shared latency by pre-filling the acknowledgment message. For example, before indicating a block acknowledgment (BA) 1118 (such as a MAC BA), the AP can include an empty delimiter (empty branch) 1116 as dummy data. In this way, the acknowledgment message can begin without delay after SIFS 1114, which may follow the configuration of the associated network (e.g., in the communication standard). For example, the IEEE specification may require that the MAC BA 1118 must be sent immediately after SIFS 1114 after receiving an uplink packet, but due to the increased latency from receiving using a partitioned chip, the AP may not be able to generate and prepare a MAC BA for sending after SIFS 1114, so the AP can start sending dummy data until the actual data is ready for the BA 1118.

[0161] Figure 12 An example 1200 illustrates a first component chip 1202 and a second component chip 1204 coupled to function as a partitioned component chip that supports reception of a greater number of spatial streams than would be supported individually by one of the component chips. Component chips 1202 and 1204 may be included in a WCD, such as an AP or STA.

[0162] As shown in example 1200, the WCD may include a host 1206, which may include storage such as DDR 1208, a bus 1210 (e.g., which supports approximately 15 Gbps transmission), a frequency domain component 1212 that processes 2N spatial streams for an uplink or downlink, one or more F-to-T or T-to-F domain mapping components 1214, and a time domain component 1216 that processes N spatial streams in an uplink or downlink.

[0163] In some aspects, the frequency domain components 1212 may include a set of uplink components (e.g., MPI, TxFD, or TxBF) and a second downlink component (e.g., PMI, decoder, or demodulator). In some aspects, the time domain components 1216 may include a downlink component (e.g., TxTD) and an uplink component (RxTD). Figure 12 As shown, even when the frequency domain component 1212 processes 2N (shown as 8) spatial streams, the decoder can only operate on N spatial streams (shown as 4 spatial streams). Figure 12 As further shown in FIG. 1 , the frequency domain component 1212 can be configured to communicate using 2N spatial streams in an M bandwidth or using N spatial streams in a 2M bandwidth.

[0164] The WCD may include a bus 1218 (e.g., supporting approximately 15 Gbps transmission), a frequency domain component 1220 that processes 2N spatial streams for an uplink or downlink, one or more F-to-T or T-to-F domain mapping components 1222, and a time domain component 1224 that processes N spatial streams in an uplink or downlink.

[0165] In some aspects, the frequency domain components 1220 may include a set of uplink components (e.g., MPI, TxFD, or TxBF) and a second downlink component (e.g., PMI, decoder, or demodulator). In some aspects, the time domain components 1224 may include a downlink component (e.g., TxTD) and an uplink component (RxTD). Figure 12 As shown, even when the frequency domain component 1220 processes 2N (shown as 8) spatial streams, the decoder can only operate on N spatial streams (shown as 4 spatial streams). Figure 12 As further shown in FIG. 1 , the frequency domain component 1220 can be configured to communicate using 2N spatial streams in an M bandwidth or using N spatial streams in a 2M bandwidth.

[0166] The MAC component of component chip 1202 can receive a subset of spatial streams from the PMI of frequency-domain component 1220 of component chip 1204, which is a subset of spatial streams that is different from the PMI of frequency-domain component 1212. In some aspects, the MAC component of component chip 1202 can receive the subset of spatial streams from component chip 1204 via bus 1226 (shown as C2C bus 1226). In some aspects, additional bus 1228 (shown as C2C bus 1228) can be configured to provide bidirectional outputs of the DFTs of component chips 1202 and 1204 to support demodulation and decoding on both component chips 1202 and 1204. For example, based on providing the outputs of the DFTs to each component chip, the component chips can perform improved channel estimation and demodulation. In an example scenario, bus 1228 can have a desired bus throughput (e.g., 2×14.1 Gbps with two 3 / 4 lanes of PCIe 4.0 or equivalent). Each component chip can implement a 2Nx2N null projection and select a subset of the spatial stream set (e.g., upper N links or lower N links). In some aspects, bus 1226 can have a desired throughput (e.g., 5.76 Gbps with one 1-lane PCIe 4.0 or equivalent).

[0167] Figure 13Example 1300 illustrates a first component chip 1302 and a second component chip 1304 coupled to function as a partitioned component chip that supports receiving a greater number of spatial streams than one of the component chips individually supports. Component chips 1302 and 1304 may be included in a WCD, such as an AP or STA. In example 1300, the component chips may be configured to transmit using 2N spatial streams and receive using only N spatial streams. In this manner, the WCD may have reduced cost or complexity relative to manufacturing a WCD with multiple buses (e.g., a C2C bus with relatively high throughput requirements).

[0168] As shown in example 1300, the WCD may include a host 1306, a DDR 1308, a bus 1310 (e.g., which supports approximately 15 Gbps transmission), a frequency domain component 1312 that processes 2N spatial streams for an uplink or downlink, one or more F-to-T or T-to-F domain mapping components 1314, and a time domain component 1316 that processes N spatial streams in an uplink or downlink.

[0169] In some aspects, the frequency domain components 1312 may include a set of uplink components (e.g., MPI, TxFD, or TxBF) and a second downlink component (e.g., PMI, decoder, or demodulator). In some aspects, the time domain components 1316 may include a downlink component (e.g., TxTD) and an uplink component (RxTD). Figure 13 As shown, even when the frequency domain component 1312 processes 2N (shown as 8) spatial streams, the decoder can only operate on N spatial streams (shown as 4 spatial streams). Figure 13 As further shown in FIG, the frequency domain component 1312 can be configured to communicate using 2N spatial streams in an M bandwidth or using N spatial streams in a 2M bandwidth.

[0170] The host 1306 can be connected to the component chip 1304 via a bus 1318. In the example 1300, the host 1306 can be coupled to the component chip 1304 using a bus that supports approximately 15 Gbps transmission.

[0171] The component chip 1304 may include a frequency domain component 1320 that processes 2N spatial streams for uplink or downlink, one or more F-to-T or T-to-F domain mapping components 1322, and a time domain component 1324 that processes N spatial streams in uplink or downlink.

[0172] In some aspects, the frequency domain component 1320, the one or more F to T or T to F domain mapping components 1322, and the time domain component 1324 may include components similar to those described in the context of the frequency domain component 1312, the one or more F to T or T to F domain mapping components 1314, and the time domain component 1316 of the component chip 1302.

[0173] Figure 14 An example 1400 is shown of a first component chip 1402, a second component chip 1404, and a third component chip 1406 coupled to function as a partitioned component chip supporting communication for a number of spatial streams greater than that supported by any of the component chips individually. The component chips may be included in a WCD, such as an AP or a STA. In example 1400, the component chips 1402, 1404, and 1406 may be configured to communicate using aN spatial streams based on forming a partitioned component chip by coordinating and transmitting data and information for synchronization between the component chips.

[0174] Example 1400 illustrates how more than two component chips can be used as component chips to communicate using a number of spatial streams greater than the number supported by one of the component chips alone. Figure 14 As shown, a primary or master component chip can provide information (such as data or synchronization information) to other component chips or receive information from other component chips to coordinate communications.

[0175] As shown in example 1400, a WCD may include a host 1408, a DDR 1410, and component chips 1402, 1404, and 1406. Example 1400 shows only three component chips; however, more than three component chips may be used in a similar arrangement. In some aspects, component chip 1402 may be a primary or master component chip that provides synchronization information to the other component chips 1404 and 1406. Similarly, component chip 1402 may receive information from the other component chips 1404 and 1406, or may provide information to the other component chips 1404 or 1406.

[0176] Although each component chip is shown coupled to host 1408 via a bus, some configurations and arrangements may reduce the number of active buses between host 1408 and component chips 1402, 1404, and 1406. For example, Figure 7 、 Figure 8 、 Figure 9 and Figure 10As shown, one or more of the component chips 1404 or 1406 may have an inactive or omitted bus between the component chip 1404 or 1406 and the host 1408. In some aspects, the one or more component chips 1404 or 1406 may instead rely on providing or receiving information via a bus between the one or more component chips 1404 or 1406 and the component chip 1402, which maintains the bus for transferring information between the component chip 1402 and the host 1408.

[0177] Component chips 1402, 1404, and 1406 may include a frequency domain component 1412 that processes 3N (or aN, if component chips are used) spatial streams, one or more F-to-T or T-to-F domain mapping components 1414, and a time domain component 1416 that processes N spatial streams. In this way, component chips 1402, 1404, and 1406 are capable of processing a full set of spatial streams in the frequency domain, converting a subset of the spatial streams for processing in the time domain, and then processing the subset of spatial streams in the time domain (for transmitted spatial streams) before transmitting the subset of spatial streams. Similarly, component chips 1402, 1404, and 1406 are capable of processing spatial streams in the time domain, converting the spatial streams for processing in the frequency domain, and then processing the spatial streams in the frequency domain (for received spatial streams).

[0178] In example 1400, host 1408 can provide all 3N spatial streams to each of component chips 1402, 1404, and 1406. Frequency domain component 1412 of component chips 1402, 1404, and 1406 can process all 3N spatial streams, including using TxBFs (illustrated as Nx3N TxBFs) to select different subsets of size N from the 3N spatial streams. For example, the TxBF of component chip 1402 can select a first subset {1, 2, ..., N}, the TxBF of component chip 1404 can select a second subset {N+1, N+2, ..., 2N}, and the TxBF of component chip 1406 can select a third subset {2N+1, 2N+2, ..., 3N} from the set of 3N spatial streams. The TxBF of each of the component chips 1402, 1404, and 1406 can provide a respective subset of the 3N spatial streams to an F-to-T domain mapping component 1414. The F-to-T domain mapping component 1414 of the component chip 1402 is configured to provide a first subset of the 3N spatial streams to a time domain component 1416 that processes a first set of N spatial streams. The F-to-T domain mapping component 1414 of the component chip 1404 is configured to provide a second subset of the 3N spatial streams to the time domain component 1416 of the component chip 1404 that processes a second set of N spatial streams. The F-to-T domain mapping component 1414 of the component chip 1406 is configured to provide a third subset of the 3N spatial streams to the time domain component 1416 of the component chip 1406 that processes a third set of N spatial streams.

[0179] In example 1400, each of component chips 1402, 1404, and 1406 can perform data generation and beamforming weight calculations for all 3N spatial streams. For example, each chip can generate all 3N spatial data streams in the frequency domain and calculate an N×3N weight matrix to select a corresponding subset of the 3N spatial streams to provide to the iDFT as input. Component chip 1402 (e.g., a master chip or primary chip) can select the upper N spatial streams (e.g., chain) at the iDFT input, component chip 1404 can select the middle N spatial streams, and component chip 1406 can select the lower N spatial streams. TxTD and PHYRF synchronization can be achieved through timestamp synchronization, PLL synchronization, and LO synchronization between the three chips.

[0180] In this way, each component chip can operate in a 3N×3N configuration in the frequency domain and an NxN configuration in the time domain. This can reduce the cost and complexity of each component chip by not reducing the number of antennas, transmit chains, and receive chains of the component chip.

[0181] Figure 15 is a diagram of an example 1500 associated with communicating using multiple component chips as a combined effective chip capable of communicating using a number of spatial streams that exceeds the capacity of any one of the multiple component chips when operating independently, according to the present disclosure. Figure 15 As shown, a first WCD (e.g., an AP) can communicate with a second WCD (e.g., a second AP or STA). In some aspects, the first WCD and the second WCD can be part of a wireless network (e.g., the wireless communication network 100). Figure 15 Prior to the illustrated operations, the first WCD and the second WCD may have established a wireless connection.

[0182] As indicated by reference numeral 1505, the first WCD may transmit, and the second WCD may receive, an indication of a total number of spatial streams supported by the first WCD. In some aspects, the total number of spatial streams is the sum of a first number of spatial streams supported by a first component chip of the first WCD and a second number of spatial streams supported by a second component chip of the first WCD.

[0183] As shown in reference numeral 1510, a first WCD may transmit, and a second WCD may receive, indications of supported bandwidths for different numbers of spatial streams. For example, the first WCD may transmit an indication of a first supported frequency bandwidth for communicating via a first number of spatial streams and a second supported frequency bandwidth for communicating via a second number of spatial streams.

[0184] As shown at reference numeral 1515, the first WCD may receive an indication to communicate using a first number of spatial streams associated with only one component chip or a second number of spatial streams associated with multiple component chips, and the second WCD may send an indication. In some aspects, the indication may be based on the number of spatial streams supported by the second WCD. In some aspects, the indication may be based on the amount of data buffered for transmission at the second WCD or expected to be communicated between the first WCD and the second WCD.

[0185] As shown at reference numeral 1520, the first WCD may select a communication mode for communicating using the spatial streams. In some aspects, the first WCD may select the communication mode based on receiving an indication to communicate using the first number of spatial streams or the second number of spatial streams as described in conjunction with reference numeral 1515. Alternatively, the first WCD may select the communication mode independently of (e.g., in the absence of) the indication to communicate using the first number of spatial streams or the second number of spatial streams as described in conjunction with reference numeral 1515.

[0186] In some aspects, the communication mode can be associated with a number of spatial streams for communication, a configuration for communicating via a single frequency channel using a first component chip and a second component chip, or a configuration for communicating via a first frequency band using a first component chip and a second frequency band using a second component chip. In some aspects, the first WCD can select the number of spatial streams based on the amount of data buffered for transmission to the second WCD, the type of communication expected between the first WCD and the second WCD, or the device type of the second WCD, among other examples.

[0187] As indicated by reference numeral 1525, the first WCD may send, and the second WCD may receive, an indication to communicate using a first number of spatial streams associated with only one component chip or using a second number of spatial streams associated with multiple component chips. In some aspects, the first WCD may send the indication in a communication scheduling resources for communication between the first WCD and the second WCD. In some aspects, the first WCD may send the indication in a communication requesting communication from the second WCD.

[0188] As shown at reference numeral 1530, the first WCD and the second WCD may communicate using a single component chip or multiple component chips. In some aspects, communicating using multiple component chips may include using a combination of Figure 3-14 One or more configurations or arrangements described.

[0189] In some aspects, communicating using one or more of the first component chip or the second component chip includes providing a set of spatial streams to the first component chip and the second component chip. The WCD may then transmit a first proper subset of the set of spatial streams via the first component chip and a second proper subset of the set of spatial streams via the second component chip. In some aspects, the WCD may provide the set of spatial streams to the second component chip via the first component chip. For example, the WCD may provide the set of spatial streams to the first component chip, perform MAC layer processing on the set of spatial streams at the first component chip, and provide the set of spatial streams to the second component chip after performing the MAC layer processing.

[0190] In some aspects, when multiple component chips are used to communicate with a second WCD, a first component chip can provide synchronization information from the first component chip to the second component chip. For example, the first component chip can provide first synchronization information from a first frequency-domain component of the first component chip to a second frequency-domain component of the second component chip, or provide first synchronization information from a first time-domain component of the first component chip to a second time-domain component of the second component chip. In this way, the first component chip and the second component chip can be synchronized in time and frequency to provide a consistent transmit signal to the second WCD or a receive signal to the frequency-domain component.

[0191] To communicate using a single component chip or multiple component chips, a first WCD may include a first component chip having a set of one or more frequency-domain components configurable to process a set of spatial streams in the frequency domain and select a first proper subset of spatial streams from the set of spatial streams. The first component chip may also include a frequency-domain to time-domain mapping component (such as an iDFT or DFT) configured to map the first proper subset of spatial streams from the frequency domain to the time domain. The first component chip may also include a set of one or more time-domain components configured to receive the first proper subset of spatial streams in the time domain from the frequency-domain to time-domain mapping component and transmit the proper subset of spatial streams.

[0192] The first component chip can be configured to provide synchronization information or one or more additional proper subsets of the set of spatial streams not selected for the first proper subset of spatial streams to one or more additional component chips among the plurality of component chips. To transmit the remaining spatial streams not selected for the first proper subset of spatial streams, each of the one or more additional component chips can be configured to transmit a corresponding subset of spatial streams.

[0193] In some aspects, the first component chip includes a set of one or more receive time-domain components configured to process a first proper subset of receive spatial streams, the number of the first proper subset of receive spatial streams being equal to the number of spatial streams in the proper subset of spatial streams. The first component chip may also include a set of one or more receive frequency-domain components configurable to receive, from the second component chip, a set of receive spatial streams comprising the first proper subset of receive spatial streams and a second proper subset of receive spatial streams.

[0194] In some aspects, the set of one or more frequency-domain components includes a transmit beamformer configured to receive a set of spatial streams from a frequency-domain component in the set of one or more frequency-domain components and provide a proper subset of the spatial streams to a frequency-domain to time-domain mapping component.

[0195] In some aspects, communicating using multiple component chips can include: the multiple component chips collectively using the same frequency channel to transmit or receive a set of spatial streams. In some aspects, communicating using a single component chip can include configuring a set of one or more frequency-domain components of a first component chip to process a reduced set of spatial streams, where the reduced set of spatial streams is equal to the number of spatial streams supported by one or more time-domain components of the first component chip. In this manner, the first component chip can operate independently of the one or more additional component chips.

[0196] In some aspects, a first WCD may include a chip-to-chip bus configured to couple a set of one or more frequency-domain components of the first component chip to a corresponding set of one or more frequency-domain components of each of one or more additional component chips. When the first WCD is communicating using multiple component chips, the set of one or more frequency-domain components of the first component chip may be configured to provide a corresponding subset of a set of spatial streams to each of the one or more additional component chips for transmission via the chip-to-chip bus.

[0197] In some aspects, a chip-to-chip bus can be configured to couple a MAC layer processor of a first component chip with a corresponding PHY layer processor (e.g., an MPI) of each of one or more additional component chips. In some aspects, the chip-to-chip bus is configured to couple a MAC layer processor of a first component chip with a corresponding MAC layer processor of each of one or more additional component chips. In some aspects, the MAC layer processor of the first component chip can be configured to perform clear channel assessment for a set of spatial streams (e.g., for each of the spatial streams to be sent by the first component chip and the one or more additional component chips to obtain resources in an associated network), scheduling for the component chip and the one or more additional component chips, or identification of MAC protocol data unit (MPDU) information for the set of spatial streams, among other examples. In this manner, MAC processing can be performed only once by the first component chip, rather than consuming processing resources of one or more additional component chips to replicate MAC processing.

[0198] In some aspects, a first component chip can be configurable to operate with a first frequency bandwidth associated with a set of one or more frequency-domain components configured to process a number of spatial streams greater than the number of spatial streams that can be transmitted or received via the set of one or more time-domain components of the first component chip. For example, the first frequency bandwidth can be associated with communicating using multiple component chips. Additionally or alternatively, the first component chip can be configured to operate with a second frequency bandwidth associated with a set of one or more frequency-domain components configured to process a set of spatial streams equal to the number of spatial streams that the set of one or more time-domain components is configured to receive or transmit.

[0199] To receive communications using a single component chip or multiple component chips, the first WCD may configure the first component chip with: a set of one or more time-domain components configured to receive a first proper subset of the set of spatial streams in the time domain. The first component chip may also include a time-domain to frequency-domain mapping component configured to receive the first proper subset of the set of spatial streams in the time domain from the set of one or more time-domain components and provide the first proper subset of the set of spatial streams in the frequency domain to a component in the set of one or more frequency-domain components. The first component chip may also include a component in the set of one or more frequency-domain components configured to receive the first proper subset of the set of spatial streams in the frequency domain from the time-domain to frequency-domain mapping component of the component chip and receive a second proper subset of the set of spatial streams in the frequency domain from one or more additional component chips.

[0200] The first component chip may include a bus configured to couple the set of one or more frequency-domain components to one or more additional component chips. The bus may include a symmetric bus (e.g., supporting information transmission to and from the first component chip) or an asymmetric bus (e.g., supporting information transmission in only one direction or unbalanced throughput in different directions).

[0201] In some aspects, a first component chip may include a demodulator that may, for example, be configured to receive a first proper subset of the set of spatial streams from a time-frequency mapping component and a second proper subset of the set of spatial streams from one or more additional component chips.

[0202] In some aspects, a first component chip may include a MAC layer processor as a frequency domain component, which may be configured, for example, to receive a first proper subset of a set of spatial streams from a set of one or more frequency domain components and a second proper subset of the set of spatial streams from one or more additional component chips via a bus.

[0203] In some aspects, the first component chip may be configurable to operate with a first frequency bandwidth associated with processing a set of spatial streams having a first number that is greater than the number of spatial streams that the set of one or more time-domain components is configured to receive. The component chip may alternatively be configurable to operate with a second frequency bandwidth associated with a set of one or more frequency-domain components configured to process a set of spatial streams having a second number that is equal to the number of spatial streams that the set of one or more time-domain components is configured to receive.

[0204] Based on the first WCD supporting the use of a single component chip or multiple component chips (with different antennas) to communicate with a second WCD, where the multiple component chips can be configured to transmit or receive different spatial streams on a single frequency channel, the component chip can have reduced complexity, reduced manufacturing cost, and can be used in additional implementations compared to component chips that support processing for all spatial streams in the time and frequency domains. The component chip and one or more additional component chips can be configured to communicate on the same frequency channel so that the additional WCD can perceive the WCD as having more antennas than the single component chip.

[0205] As pointed out above, Figure 15 is provided as an example. Other examples may differ from those described in relation to Figure 15 Examples described.

[0206] Figure 16is a flow chart illustrating an example process 1600 performed, for example, by a WCD, in accordance with the present disclosure, that supports communication using multiple component chips as a combined effective chip capable of communicating using a number of spatial streams that exceeds the capacity of any of the multiple component chips when operating independently. The example process 1600 is one in which a WCD (e.g., implementing Figure 3-14 One or more of the component chips shown in the WCD or Figure 15 An example of a first WCD) shown in FIG. 1 performing operations associated with a component chip for wireless communication.

[0207] like Figure 16 As shown, in some aspects, process 1600 may include sending an indication of a total number of spatial streams supported by the WCD, the total number of spatial streams being the sum of a first number of spatial streams supported by a first component chip of the WCD and a second number of spatial streams supported by a second component chip of the WCD (block 1610). Figure 17 1708 or transmit component 1704 depicted in , can send an indication of a total number of spatial streams supported by the WCD, the total number of spatial streams being the sum of a first number of spatial streams supported by a first component chip of the WCD and a second number of spatial streams supported by a second component chip of the WCD, as described above.

[0208] like Figure 16 As further shown, in some aspects, process 1600 may include communicating using one or more of the first component chip or the second component chip (block 1620). For example, as described above, the WCD (such as by using Figure 17 The communication manager 1708, the receiving component 1702, or the sending component 1704 depicted in the figure can communicate using one or more of the first component chip or the second component chip.

[0209] Process 1600 may include additional aspects, such as any single aspect or any combination of aspects described below or in conjunction with one or more other processes described elsewhere herein.

[0210] In a first additional aspect, process 1600 includes sending an indication of a first supported frequency bandwidth for communication via a first number of spatial streams and a second supported frequency bandwidth for communication via a second number of spatial streams.

[0211] In a second additional aspect, alone or in combination with the first aspect, communicating using one or more of the first component chip or the second component chip comprises communicating using the first component chip and the second component chip via a same frequency channel.

[0212] In a third additional aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first and second aspects, communicating using one or more of the first component chip or the second component chip includes providing a set of spatial streams to the first component chip and the second component chip, sending a first proper subset of the set of spatial streams via the first component chip, and transmitting a second proper subset of the set of spatial streams via the second component chip.

[0213] In a fourth additional aspect, either alone or in combination with one or more of the first to third aspects, providing the set of spatial streams to the second component chip comprises providing the set of spatial streams to the first component chip, performing MAC layer processing on the set of spatial streams, and providing the set of spatial streams to the second component chip after performing the MAC layer processing.

[0214] In a fifth additional aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first to fourth aspects, process 1600 includes providing synchronization information from a first component chip to a second component chip.

[0215] In a sixth additional aspect, either alone or in combination with one or more of the first to fifth aspects, providing synchronization information comprises providing one or more of: first synchronization information from a first frequency domain component of a first component chip to a second frequency domain component of a second component chip, or second synchronization information from a first time domain component of a first component chip to a second time domain component of a second component chip.

[0216] In a seventh additional aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first to sixth aspects, process 1600 includes selecting a communication mode for communicating using spatial streams, wherein the communication mode is associated with one or more of a number of spatial streams for communication, a configuration for communicating using a first component chip and a second component chip via a single frequency channel, or a configuration for communicating using a first component chip via a first frequency band and using a second component chip via a second frequency band.

[0217] In an eighth additional aspect, communicating using one or more of the first component chip or the second component chip, alone or in combination with one or more of the first to seventh aspects, includes: receiving a first proper subset of the set of spatial streams having a first number of spatial streams via the first component chip; receiving a second proper subset of the set of spatial streams having a second number of spatial streams via the second component chip; and providing the second proper subset of the set of spatial streams from the second component chip to the first component chip.

[0218] In a ninth additional aspect, either alone or in combination with one or more of the first to eighth aspects, providing the second proper subset of the set of spatial streams to the first component chip comprises one or more of: providing the second proper subset of the set of spatial streams after performing a discrete Fourier transform (DFT) on the second proper subset of the set of spatial streams, or providing the second proper subset of the set of spatial streams before performing demodulation on the second proper subset of the set of spatial streams.

[0219] In a tenth additional aspect, either alone or in combination with one or more of the first to ninth aspects, providing the second proper subset of the set of spatial streams to the first component chip comprises one or more of: providing the second proper subset of the set of spatial streams after performing decoding on the second proper subset of the set of spatial streams, or providing the second proper subset of the set of spatial streams before performing MAC layer processing on the second proper subset of the set of spatial streams.

[0220] In an eleventh additional aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first to tenth aspects, process 1600 includes performing demodulation on a first proper subset of the set of spatial streams and a second proper subset of the set of spatial streams.

[0221] In a twelfth additional aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first to eleventh aspects, process 1600 includes sending one or more of: an indication to communicate using a first component chip via a first number of spatial streams on a first frequency band, or an indication to communicate using a second component chip via a second number of spatial streams on a second frequency band different from the first frequency band.

[0222] In a thirteenth additional aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first to twelfth aspects, process 1600 includes receiving one or more of: an indication to communicate using a first component chip via a first number of spatial streams on a first frequency band, or an indication to communicate using a second component chip via a second number of spatial streams on a second frequency band different from the first frequency band.

[0223] Although Figure 16 Example blocks of process 1600 are shown, but in some aspects, Figure 16 Process 1600 may include additional blocks, fewer blocks, different blocks, or a different arrangement of blocks than those shown. Additionally or alternatively, two or more blocks of process 1600 may be performed in parallel.

[0224] Figure 1717 is a diagram of an example apparatus 1700 for wireless communication that supports communication using multiple component chips as a combined effective chip, capable of communicating using a number of spatial streams that exceeds the capacity of any of the multiple component chips when operating independently, in accordance with the present disclosure. Apparatus 1700 may be a WCD, or a WCD may include apparatus 1700. In some aspects, apparatus 1700 includes a receiving component 1702, a transmitting component 1704, and a communication manager 1708, which may communicate with each other (e.g., via one or more buses). As shown, apparatus 1700 may communicate with another apparatus 1706 (such as a UE, a network node, or another wireless communication device) using receiving component 1702 and transmitting component 1704.

[0225] In some aspects, apparatus 1700 may be configured to perform the Figure 3-Figure 15 Additionally or alternatively, the apparatus 1700 may be configured to perform one or more of the processes described herein, such as Figure 16 In some aspects, the apparatus 1700 may include the above combined Figure 3-14 Describe one or more components of a WCD.

[0226] The receiving component 1702 can receive communications, such as reference signals, control information, or data communications, from the apparatus 1706. The receiving component 1702 can provide the received communications to one or more other components of the apparatus 1700 (e.g., the communications manager 1708). In some aspects, the receiving component 1702 can perform signal processing (such as filtering, amplification, demodulation, analog-to-digital conversion, demultiplexing, deinterleaving, demapping, equalization, interference cancellation, or decoding) on ​​the received communications and can provide the processed signals to one or more other components. In some aspects, the transmitting component 1702 can include one or more antennas, a modem, a demodulator, a MIMO detector, a receive processor, a controller / processor, or a memory of the WCD.

[0227] Transmit component 1704 may transmit communications, such as reference signals, control information, or data communications, to device 1706. In some aspects, communication manager 1708 may generate communications and may transmit the generated communications to transmit component 1704 for transmission to device 1706. In some aspects, transmit component 1704 may perform signal processing (such as filtering, amplification, modulation, digital-to-analog conversion, multiplexing, interleaving, mapping, or encoding, among other examples) on the generated communications and may transmit the processed signals to device 1706. In some aspects, transmit component 1704 may include one or more antennas, a modem, a modulator, a transmit MIMO processor, a transmit processor, a controller / processor, or memory of a WCD. In some aspects, transmit component 1704 may be collocated with receive component 1702 in a transceiver.

[0228] The communication manager 1708 may send, or may cause the sending component 1704 to send, an indication of a total number of spatial streams supported by the WCD, the total number of spatial streams being the sum of a first number of spatial streams supported by a first component chip of the WCD and a second number of spatial streams supported by a second component chip of the WCD. The communication manager 1708 may communicate using one or more of the first component chip or the second component chip. In some aspects, the communication manager 1708 may perform one or more operations described elsewhere herein as being performed by one or more components of the communication manager 1708.

[0229] The communication manager 1708 may include a controller / processor, memory, scheduler, or communication unit of the WCD. In some aspects, the communication manager 1708 includes a component collection, such as a processor, a transmit controller, or a receive controller. Alternatively, the component collection may be separate and distinct from the communication manager 1708. In some aspects, one or more components in the component collection may include or be implemented within a controller / processor, memory, scheduler, or communication unit of the WCD. Additionally or alternatively, one or more components in the component collection may be implemented at least in part as software stored in memory. For example, a component (or portion of a component) may be implemented as instructions or code stored in a non-transitory computer-readable medium and executable by a controller or processor to perform the function or operation of the component.

[0230] Transmitting component 1704 can transmit an indication of a total number of spatial streams supported by the WCD, the total number of spatial streams being the sum of a first number of spatial streams supported by a first component chip of the WCD and a second number of spatial streams supported by a second component chip of the WCD. Receiving component 1702, transmitting component 1704, or communication manager 1708 can communicate using one or more of the first component chip or the second component chip.

[0231] Transmitting component 1704 can transmit an indication of a first supported frequency bandwidth for communicating via a first number of spatial streams and a second supported frequency bandwidth for communicating via a second number of spatial streams.

[0232] The communication manager may cause the first component chip to provide synchronization information from the first component chip to the second component chip.

[0233] The communication manager 1708 may select a communication mode for communicating using spatial streams, wherein the communication mode is associated with one or more of: a number of spatial streams for communication, a configuration for communicating using a first component chip and a second component chip via a single frequency channel, or a configuration for communicating using a first component chip via a first frequency band and using a second component chip via a second frequency band.

[0234] The receiving component 1702 (eg, a first component chip) can perform demodulation on a first proper subset of the set of spatial streams and a second proper subset of the set of spatial streams.

[0235] Transmitting component 1704 may transmit one or more of an indication to communicate using a first component chip via a first number of spatial streams on a first frequency band, or an indication to communicate using a second component chip via a second number of spatial streams on a second frequency band different from the first frequency band.

[0236] Receiving component 1702 can receive one or more of an indication to communicate via a first number of spatial streams using a first component chip on a first frequency band, or an indication to communicate via a second number of spatial streams using a second component chip on a second frequency band different from the first frequency band.

[0237] exist Figure 17 The number and arrangement of components shown in are provided as examples. In practice, there may be Figure 17 Components may be additional, fewer, different, or arranged differently than those shown in FIG. Figure 17 Two or more components shown in may be implemented within a single component, or in Figure 17A single component shown in can be implemented as multiple distributed components. Additionally or alternatively, Figure 17 The assembly of components (one or more components) shown in FIG can perform the operations described as being performed by Figure 17 One or more functions performed by another set of components shown in .

[0238] The following provides a summary of some aspects of the disclosure:

[0239] Aspect 1: A component chip for wireless communication, comprising: a set of one or more frequency domain components configurable to process a set of spatial streams in the frequency domain and select a proper subset of spatial streams from the set of spatial streams; a frequency domain to time domain mapping component configured to map the proper subset of spatial streams from the frequency domain to the time domain; and a set of one or more time domain components configured to receive the proper subset of spatial streams in the time domain from the frequency domain to the time domain mapping component and transmit the proper subset of spatial streams.

[0240] Aspect 2: The component chip according to Aspect 1, wherein the component chip is configured to provide one or more of the following to one or more additional component chips: synchronization information, or one or more additional true subsets of the set of spatial streams that are not selected for the true subset of the spatial streams, wherein each of the one or more additional component chips is configured to send a corresponding subset of spatial streams.

[0241] Aspect 3: The component chip according to aspect 2, wherein the component chip and the one or more additional component chips are configured to jointly transmit the set of spatial streams using the same frequency channel.

[0242] Aspect 4: A component chip according to any one of Aspects 1-3, wherein the set of one or more frequency domain components includes a transmit beamformer, and wherein the transmit beamformer is configured to receive the set of spatial streams from a frequency domain component in the set of one or more frequency domain components and provide a true subset of the spatial streams to the frequency domain to time domain mapping component.

[0243] Aspect 5: A component chip according to any one of Aspects 1-4, wherein the set of one or more frequency domain components can also be configured to process a reduced set of spatial streams, wherein the number of spatial streams in the reduced set of spatial streams is equal to the number of spatial streams in the proper subset of spatial streams.

[0244] Aspect 6: The component chip according to any one of Aspects 1-5 further includes a chip-to-chip bus, wherein the chip-to-chip bus is configured to couple the set of one or more frequency domain components to a corresponding set of one or more frequency domain components of each additional component chip in one or more additional component chips, wherein the set of one or more frequency domain components is configured to provide a corresponding subset of the spatial stream set to each additional component chip in the one or more additional component chips via the chip-to-chip bus.

[0245] Aspect 7: The component chip according to Aspect 6, wherein the chip-to-chip bus is configured to couple the media access control (MAC) layer processor of the component chip with the corresponding physical (PHY) layer processor of each additional component chip in the one or more additional component chips, or wherein the chip-to-chip bus is configured to couple the MAC layer processor of the component chip with the corresponding MAC layer processor of each additional component chip in the one or more additional component chips.

[0246] Aspect 8: A component chip according to any one of Aspect 7, wherein the component chip is configured to perform one or more of the following: clear channel assessment for the set of spatial streams, scheduling for the component chip and the one or more additional component chips, or identification of medium access control (MAC) protocol data unit (MPDU) information for the set of spatial streams.

[0247] Aspect 9: The component chip according to any one of Aspects 1-8 further includes: a set of one or more receiving time domain components, which are configured to process a first proper subset of received spatial streams, the first proper subset of received spatial streams having a number equal to the number of spatial streams in the proper subset of spatial streams; and a set of one or more receiving frequency domain components, which can be configured to receive a set of received spatial streams including the first proper subset of received spatial streams and a second proper subset of received spatial streams from a second component chip.

[0248] Aspect 10: A component chip according to any one of Aspects 1-9, wherein the set of one or more frequency domain components can be configured to process a number of spatial streams equal to the number of spatial streams in a proper subset of spatial streams that the set of one or more time domain components is configured to receive.

[0249] Aspect 11: A component chip according to any one of Aspects 1-10, wherein the component chip can be configured to operate with a first frequency bandwidth associated with the set of one or more frequency domain components, the set of one or more frequency domain components being configured to process a set of spatial streams having a first number, the first number being greater than the number of spatial streams in a true subset of spatial streams that the set of one or more time domain components is configured to receive, wherein the component chip can be configured to operate with a second frequency bandwidth associated with the set of one or more frequency domain components, the set of one or more frequency domain components being configured to process a set of spatial streams having a second number of spatial streams, the second number being equal to the number of spatial streams in a true subset of spatial streams that the set of one or more time domain components is configured to receive, and the second frequency bandwidth being greater than the first frequency bandwidth.

[0250] Aspect 12: A system comprising: a component chip of any of Aspects 1-11; one or more additional component chips configured to transmit corresponding subsets of spatial streams; and a chip-to-chip bus configured to couple a set of one or more frequency-domain components to an additional set of frequency-domain components of the one or more additional component chips.

[0251] Aspect 13: A component chip for wireless communication, comprising: a set of one or more time domain components, which are configured to receive a first true subset of a spatial stream set in the time domain; a time domain to frequency domain mapping component, which is configured to receive the first true subset of the spatial stream set from the set of one or more time domain components in the time domain, and provide the first true subset of the spatial stream set to a component in the set of one or more frequency domain components in the frequency domain; and the component in the set of one or more frequency domain components, which is configured to receive the first true subset of the spatial stream set in the frequency domain from the time domain to frequency domain mapping component of the component chip, and receive the second true subset of the spatial stream set in the frequency domain from one or more additional component chips.

[0252] Aspect 14: The component chip of aspect 13, further comprising a bus configured to couple the set of one or more frequency domain components to the one or more additional component chips.

[0253] Aspect 15: The component chip of Aspect 14, wherein the bus comprises: a symmetric bus or an asymmetric bus.

[0254] Aspect 16: The component chip according to any one of aspects 13-15, wherein the component in the set of one or more frequency-domain components comprises a demodulator.

[0255] Aspect 17: A component chip according to any one of Aspect 16, wherein the demodulator is configured to: receive the first proper subset of the set of spatial streams from the time-frequency domain mapping component, and receive the second proper subset of the set of spatial streams from one or more additional component chips.

[0256] Aspect 18: A component chip according to any one of Aspects 13-17, wherein the set of one or more frequency domain components includes a medium access control (MAC) layer processor, wherein the MAC layer processor is configured to: receive the first true subset of the spatial stream set from the set of one or more frequency domain components, and receive the second true subset of the spatial stream set from the one or more additional component chips via a bus.

[0257] Aspect 19: The component chip according to any one of aspects 13-18, wherein the set of one or more frequency domain components is configurable to process a first proper subset of the set of spatial streams rather than a second proper subset of the set of spatial streams.

[0258] Aspect 20: A component chip according to Aspect 19, wherein the component chip can be configured to operate with a first frequency bandwidth associated with the set of one or more frequency domain components, the set of one or more frequency domain components is configured to process a set of spatial streams having a first number, the first number being greater than the number of spatial streams in a first proper subset of the set of spatial streams that the set of one or more time domain components is configured to receive, wherein the component chip can be configured to operate with a second frequency bandwidth associated with the set of one or more frequency domain components, the set of one or more frequency domain components is configured to process a set of spatial streams having a second number of spatial streams, the second number being equal to the number of spatial streams in the first proper subset of the spatial streams that the set of one or more time domain components is configured to receive, and the second frequency bandwidth is greater than the first frequency bandwidth.

[0259] Aspect 21: A system comprising: the component chip of claim 13; the one or more additional component chips; and a chip-to-chip bus configured to couple the set of one or more frequency domain components to an additional set of frequency domain components of the one or more additional component chips.

[0260] Aspect 22: A method for wireless communication performable at a wireless communication device (WCD), comprising: sending an indication of a total number of spatial streams supported by the WCD, the total number of spatial streams being the sum of a first number of spatial streams supported by a first component chip of the WCD and a second number of spatial streams supported by a second component chip of the WCD; and communicating using one or more of the first component chip or the second component chip.

[0261] Aspect 23: The method of aspect 22, further comprising transmitting an indication of a first supported frequency bandwidth for communication via the first number of spatial streams and a second supported frequency bandwidth for communication via the second number of spatial streams.

[0262] Aspect 24: The method according to any one of aspects 22-23, wherein communicating using one or more of the first component chip or the second component chip comprises communicating using the first component chip and the second component chip via a same frequency channel.

[0263] Aspect 25: A method according to any one of Aspects 22-24, wherein communicating using one or more of the first component chip or the second component chip includes: providing a spatial stream set to the first component chip and the second component chip; sending a first proper subset of the spatial stream set via the first component chip; and sending a second proper subset of the spatial stream set via the second component chip.

[0264] Aspect 26: A method according to Aspect 25, wherein providing the spatial stream set to the second component chip includes: providing the spatial stream set to the first component chip; performing medium access control (MAC) layer processing on the spatial stream set; and after performing the MAC layer processing, providing the spatial stream set to the second component chip.

[0265] Aspect 27: The method according to any one of aspects 22-26, further comprising: providing synchronization information from the first component chip to the second component chip.

[0266] Aspect 28: A method according to Aspect 27, wherein providing synchronization information includes providing one or more of the following: first synchronization information from a first frequency domain component of a first component chip to a second frequency domain component of a second component chip, or second synchronization information from a first time domain component of a first component chip to a second time domain component of a second component chip.

[0267] Aspect 29: The method according to any one of Aspects 22-28 further includes: selecting a communication mode for communicating using spatial streams, wherein the communication mode is associated with one or more of the following: the number of spatial streams used for communication, a configuration for communicating using the first component chip and the second component chip via a single frequency channel, or a configuration for communicating using the first component chip via a first frequency band and using the second component chip via a second frequency band.

[0268] Aspect 30: A method according to any one of Aspects 22-29, wherein communicating using one or more of the first component chip or the second component chip includes: receiving a first proper subset of a spatial stream set having the first number of spatial streams via the first component chip; receiving a second proper subset of a spatial stream set having the second number of spatial streams via the second component chip; and providing the second proper subset of the spatial stream set from the second component chip to the first component chip.

[0269] Aspect 31: A method according to Aspect 30, wherein providing the second proper subset of the spatial stream set to the first component chip includes one or more of the following: providing the second proper subset of the spatial stream set after performing a discrete Fourier transform (DFT) on the second proper subset of the spatial stream set, or providing the second proper subset of the spatial stream set before performing demodulation on the second proper subset of the spatial stream set.

[0270] Aspect 32: A method according to Aspect 31, wherein providing the second proper subset of the spatial stream set to the first component chip includes one or more of the following: providing the second proper subset of the spatial stream set after performing decoding on the second proper subset of the spatial stream set, or providing the second proper subset of the spatial stream set before performing medium access control (MAC) layer processing on the second proper subset of the spatial stream set.

[0271] Aspect 33: The method according to Aspect 31, further comprising: performing demodulation on the first proper subset of the set of spatial streams and the second proper subset of the set of spatial streams.

[0272] Aspect 34: The method according to any one of Aspects 22-33 further includes: sending one or more of the following: an indication of using the first component chip to communicate via the first number of spatial streams on a first frequency band, or an indication of using the second component chip to communicate via the second number of spatial streams on a second frequency band different from the first frequency band.

[0273] Aspect 35: The method according to any one of Aspects 22-34 further includes: receiving one or more of the following: an indication of using the first component chip to communicate via the first number of spatial streams on a first frequency band, or an indication of using the second component chip to communicate via the second number of spatial streams on a second frequency band different from the first frequency band.

[0274] Aspect 36: An apparatus for wireless communication at a device, comprising: a processor; a memory coupled to the processor; and instructions stored in the memory and executable by the processor to cause the apparatus to perform a method according to one or more of Aspects 1-35.

[0275] Aspect 37: A device for wireless communication, comprising a memory and one or more processors coupled to the memory, the one or more processors configured to perform the method of one or more aspects of aspects 1-35.

[0276] Aspect 38: An apparatus for wireless communication, comprising at least one means for performing the method of one or more of aspects 1-35.

[0277] Aspect 39: A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing code for wireless communication, the code comprising instructions executable by a processor to perform the method of one or more aspects of aspects 1-35.

[0278] Aspect 40: A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing an instruction set for wireless communication, the instruction set comprising one or more instructions that, when executed by one or more processors of a device, cause the device to perform the method of one or more aspects 1-35.

[0279] The foregoing disclosure provides illustration and description, but is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the aspects to the precise forms disclosed. Modifications and variations are possible in light of the above disclosure or may be acquired from practice of the various aspects.

[0280] As used herein, the term "component" is intended to be broadly interpreted as hardware or a combination of hardware and software. "Software" should be broadly interpreted as instructions, instruction sets, codes, code segments, program codes, programs, subroutines, software modules, applications, software applications, software groupings, routines, subroutines, objects, executable files, threads of execution, processes and / or functions, etc., whether referred to as software, firmware, middleware, microcode, hardware description language or other. As used herein, a processor is implemented with hardware or a combination of hardware and software. It is obvious that the system or method described herein can be implemented with different forms of hardware or a combination of hardware and software. The actual dedicated control hardware or software code for implementing these systems or methods does not limit these aspects. Therefore, this paper describes the operation and behavior of a system or method without citing specific software code--because those skilled in the art will understand that software and hardware can be designed to implement a system or method based at least in part on the description herein.

[0281] As used herein, satisfying a threshold may refer to a value being greater than a threshold, greater than or equal to a threshold, less than a threshold, less than or equal to a threshold, equal to a threshold, not equal to a threshold, etc., depending on the context.

[0282] Even if the specific combination of features is recorded in the claims or disclosed in the specification, these combinations are not intended to limit the disclosure of each aspect. Many features in these features can be combined in a manner not specifically recorded in the claims or specifically disclosed in the specification. The disclosure of each aspect includes the combination of each dependent claim and each other claim in the claim set. As used herein, the phrase "at least one of" the item list refers to any combination of these items, including single members. For example, "at least one of a, b or c" is intended to encompass any combination of a, b, c, a+b, a+c, b+c and a+b+c, and with multiples of identical elements (e.g., a+a, a+a+a, a+a+b, a+a+c, a+b+b, a+c+c, b+b, b+b+b, b+b+c, c+c and c+c+c or any other ordering of a, b and c).

[0283] Any element, action or instruction used herein should not be interpreted as key or necessary, unless clearly described as such. In addition, as used herein, the article "a" and "an" are intended to include one or more projects, and can be used interchangeably with "one or more". In addition, as used herein, the article "the" is intended to include one or more projects quoted in conjunction with the article "the", and can be used interchangeably with "one or more". In addition, as used herein, the terms "set" and "group" are intended to include one or more projects, and can be used interchangeably with "one or more". If only intended to a project, phrase "only one" or similar terms will be used. In addition, as used herein, the terms "has", "have", "having" and similar terms are intended to be open terms, and these open terms do not limit the elements (for example, "having" A elements also may have B) that they modify. Further, the phrase "based on" is intended to mean "at least partially based on", unless otherwise explicitly stated. Furthermore, as used herein, the term "or" when used in a series is intended to be inclusive and can be used interchangeably with "and / or" unless expressly stated otherwise (e.g., if used in conjunction with "either of" or "only one of").

Claims

1. A component chip for wireless communication, comprising: a set of one or more frequency-domain components configurable to process a set of spatial streams in the frequency domain and select a proper subset of spatial streams from the set of spatial streams, a frequency-domain to time-domain mapping component configured to map a proper subset of the spatial streams from the frequency domain to the time domain; as well as A set of one or more time domain components configured to receive a proper subset of the spatial streams from the frequency domain to time domain mapping component in the time domain and transmit the proper subset of the spatial streams.

2. The component chip according to claim 1, wherein: The component chip is configured to provide synchronization information or one or more of one or more additional proper subsets of the set of spatial streams not selected for the proper subsets of spatial streams to one or more additional component chips, Each of the one or more additional component chips is configured to transmit a corresponding subset of the spatial streams.

3. The component chip according to claim 2, wherein: The component chip and the one or more additional component chips are configured to jointly transmit the set of spatial streams using a same frequency channel.

4. The component chip according to claim 1, wherein: The set of one or more frequency domain components includes a transmit beamformer, and The transmit beamformer is configured to receive the set of spatial streams from a frequency domain component in the set of one or more frequency domain components and provide a proper subset of the spatial streams to the frequency-domain to time-domain mapping component.

5. The component chip according to claim 1, wherein: The set of one or more frequency domain components may be further configured to process a reduced set of spatial streams, The number of spatial streams in the reduced set of spatial streams is equal to the number of spatial streams in the proper subset of spatial streams.

6. The component chip of claim 1 , further comprising a chip-to-chip bus configured to couple the set of one or more frequency-domain components to a corresponding set of one or more frequency-domain components of each of the one or more additional component chips, in, The set of one or more frequency-domain components is configured to provide a respective subset of the set of spatial streams to each of the one or more additional component chips via the chip-to-chip bus.

7. The component chip according to claim 6, wherein: The chip-to-chip bus is configured to couple a media access control (MAC) layer processor of the component chip with a corresponding physical (PHY) layer processor of each of the one or more additional component chips, or The chip-to-chip bus is configured to couple the MAC layer processor of the component chip with a corresponding MAC layer processor of each of the one or more additional component chips.

8. The component chip according to claim 7, wherein: The component chip is configured to perform one or more of the following: A clear channel assessment for the set of spatial streams, scheduling of the component chip and the one or more additional component chips, or Identification of medium access control (MAC) protocol data unit (MPDU) information for the set of spatial streams.

9. The component chip according to claim 1, further comprising: a set of one or more receive time-domain components configured to process a first proper subset of receive spatial streams, the first proper subset of receive spatial streams having a number equal to the number of spatial streams in the proper subset of spatial streams; as well as A set of one or more receive frequency-domain components may be configured to receive a set of receive spatial streams including the first proper subset of receive spatial streams and a second proper subset of receive spatial streams from a second component chip.

10. The component chip according to claim 1, wherein: The set of one or more frequency-domain components may be configured to process a number of spatial streams equal to the number of spatial streams in the proper subset of spatial streams that the set of one or more time-domain components is configured to receive.

11. The component chip according to claim 1, wherein: The component chip may be configured to operate with a first frequency bandwidth associated with the set of one or more frequency-domain components, the set of one or more frequency-domain components configured to process the set of spatial streams having a first number that is greater than the number of spatial streams in the proper subset of spatial streams that the set of one or more time-domain components is configured to receive, The component chip may be configured to operate using a second frequency bandwidth associated with the set of one or more frequency domains, the set of one or more frequency domains being configured to process the set of spatial streams having a second number of spatial streams, the second number being equal to the number of spatial streams in the proper subset of spatial streams that the set of one or more time domain components is configured to receive, the second frequency bandwidth being greater than the first frequency bandwidth.

12. A system comprising: The component chip according to claim 1; one or more additional component chips configured to transmit a corresponding subset of the spatial streams; as well as A chip-to-chip bus is configured to couple the set of one or more frequency-domain components to additional sets of frequency-domain components of the one or more additional component chips.

13. A component chip for wireless communication, comprising: a set of one or more time-domain components configured to receive a first proper subset of the set of spatial streams in the time domain; a time-domain to frequency-domain mapping component configured to receive the first proper subset of the set of spatial streams in the time domain from the set of one or more time-domain components and provide the first proper subset of the set of spatial streams in the frequency domain to a component in the set of one or more frequency-domain components; as well as The component in the set of one or more frequency domain components is configured to receive the first proper subset of the set of spatial streams in the frequency domain from the time-domain to frequency domain mapping component of the component chip, and to receive the second proper subset of the set of spatial streams in the frequency domain from one or more additional component chips.

14. The component chip of claim 13, further comprising a bus configured to couple the set of one or more frequency domain components to the one or more additional component chips.

15. The component chip according to claim 14, wherein: The bus includes: Symmetrical bus, or Asymmetric bus.

16. The component chip according to claim 13, wherein: The component in the set of one or more frequency-domain components comprises a demodulator.

17. The component chip according to claim 16, wherein: The demodulator is configured to receive the first proper subset of the set of spatial streams from the time-domain to frequency-domain mapping component and to receive the second proper subset of the set of spatial streams from one or more additional component chips.

18. The component chip according to claim 13, wherein: The set of one or more frequency domain components includes a medium access control (MAC) layer processor, The MAC layer processor is configured to receive the first proper subset of the set of spatial streams from the set of one or more frequency domain components, and receive the second proper subset of the set of spatial streams from the one or more additional component chips via a bus.

19. The component chip according to claim 13, wherein: The set of one or more frequency-domain components may be configured to process the first proper subset of the set of spatial streams and not process the second proper subset of the set of spatial streams.

20. The component chip according to claim 19, wherein: The component chip may be configured to operate with a first frequency bandwidth associated with the set of one or more frequency-domain components, the set of one or more frequency-domain components configured to process the set of spatial streams having a first number that is greater than the number of spatial streams in the first proper subset that the set of one or more time-domain components is configured to receive, and The component chip may be configured to operate using a second frequency bandwidth associated with the set of one or more frequency-domain components, the set of one or more frequency-domain components being configured to process the set of spatial streams having a second number of spatial streams, the second number being equal to the number of spatial streams in the first proper subset of the spatial streams that the set of one or more time-domain components is configured to receive, the second frequency bandwidth being greater than the first frequency bandwidth.

21. A system comprising: The component chip according to claim 13; the one or more additional component chips; as well as A chip-to-chip bus is configured to couple the set of one or more frequency-domain components to additional sets of frequency-domain components of the one or more additional component chips.

22. A method for wireless communication performable at a wireless communication device (WCD), comprising: sending an indication of a total number of spatial streams supported by the WCD, the total number of spatial streams being a sum of a first number of spatial streams supported by a first component chip of the WCD and a second number of spatial streams supported by a second component chip of the WCD; as well as Communication is performed using one or more of the first component chip or the second component chip.

23. The method according to claim 22, further comprising: An indication of a first supported frequency bandwidth for communication via the first number of spatial streams and a second supported frequency bandwidth for communication via the second number of spatial streams is transmitted.

24. The method according to claim 22, wherein Communicating using the one or more of the first component chip or the second component chip includes: The first component chip and the second component chip are used to communicate via the same frequency channel.

25. The method according to claim 22, wherein Communicating using the one or more of the first component chip or the second component chip includes: providing a set of spatial streams to the first component chip and the second component chip; transmitting a first proper subset of the set of spatial streams via the first component chip; and A second proper subset of the set of spatial streams is transmitted via the second component chip.

26. The method according to claim 25, wherein Providing the set of spatial streams to the second component chip includes: providing the set of spatial streams to the first component chip; performing medium access control (MAC) layer processing on the set of spatial streams; and After performing the MAC layer processing, the set of spatial streams is provided to the second component chip.

27. The method of claim 22, further comprising: Synchronization information is provided from the first component chip to the second component chip.

28. The method according to claim 27, wherein Providing the synchronization information includes providing one or more of the following: first synchronization information from a first frequency domain component of the first component chip to a second frequency domain component of the second component chip, or Second synchronization information from the first time-domain component of the first component chip to the second time-domain component of the second component chip.

29. The method of claim 22, further comprising: Select a communication mode for communicating using spatial streams, The communication mode is associated with one or more of the following: The number of spatial streams used for communication, a configuration for communicating via a single frequency channel using said first component chip and said second component chip, or A configuration for communicating via a first frequency band using the first component chip and communicating via a second frequency band using the second component chip.

30. The method of claim 22, wherein: Communicating using the one or more of the first component chip or the second component chip includes: receiving, via the first component chip, a first proper subset of a set of spatial streams having the first number of spatial streams; receiving, via the second component chip, a second proper subset of the set of spatial streams having the second number of spatial streams; and The second proper subset of the set of spatial streams is provided from the second component chip to the first component chip.

31. The method according to claim 30, wherein Providing the second proper subset of the set of spatial streams to the first component chip includes one or more of: providing the second proper subset of the set of spatial streams after performing a discrete Fourier transform (DFT) on the second proper subset of the set of spatial streams, or Prior to performing demodulation on the second proper subset of the set of spatial streams, the second proper subset of the set of spatial streams is provided.

32. The method according to claim 31, wherein Providing the second proper subset of the set of spatial streams to the first component chip includes one or more of: providing the second proper subset of the set of spatial streams after performing decoding on the second proper subset of the set of spatial streams, or The second proper subset of the set of spatial streams is provided before performing medium access control (MAC) layer processing on the second proper subset of the set of spatial streams.

33. The method of claim 31 , further comprising: Demodulation is performed on the first proper subset of the set of spatial streams and the second proper subset of the set of spatial streams.

34. The method of claim 22, further comprising sending one or more of: an indication to communicate via the first number of spatial streams using the first component chip on a first frequency band, or An indication to communicate via the second number of spatial streams using the second component chip on a second frequency band different from the first frequency band.

35. The method of claim 22, further comprising receiving one or more of: an indication to communicate via the first number of spatial streams using the first component chip on a first frequency band, or An indication to communicate via the second number of spatial streams using the second component chip on a second frequency band different from the first frequency band.

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