SSB transmissions for fast UE beam tracking

Abstract

SSB transmission techniques for fast beam tracking are described herein. The UE (102) receives a first SSB (306a, 606) and a second SSB (306b / 308, 608) from the network entity (104) using the same spatial domain transmission filter. The UE (102) transmits (312) a signal with the network entity (104) over a UE beam. The UE (102) selects the UE beam based on a joint beam tracking procedure (310, 610) that includes a beam quality comparison of a first beam (306a, 606) associated with the first SSB and a second beam (306b / 308, 608) associated with the second SSB.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates generally to wireless communications, and more particularly to synchronization signal block (SSB) transmission for user equipment (UE) beam tracking. Background Art

[0002] The Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) has specified a radio interface called Fifth Generation (5G) New Radio (NR) (5G NR). The architecture of a 5G NR wireless communication system includes the 5G Core (5GC) network, the 5G Radio Access Network (5G-RAN), and user equipment (UE). Compared to previous generation cellular communication systems, the 5G NR architecture aims to provide increased data rates, reduced latency, and / or increased capacity.

[0003] Wireless communication systems can generally be configured to provide various telecommunication services (e.g., telephone, video, data, messaging, broadcast, etc.) based on multiple access technologies (such as orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) technologies) that support communication with multiple UEs. The improvement of mobile broadband continues the development of such wireless communication technologies. For example, a network entity periodically sends a synchronization signal block (SSB) to a UE so that the UE can perform beam quality measurements. However, since the UE must perform multiple SSB measurement instances of the SSB within a period of time, this may result in increased latency. In addition, activating multiple UE panels to simultaneously receive multiple SSBs from the network entity may result in increased power consumption of the UE. Summary of the Invention

[0004] The following presents a simplified summary of one or more aspects in order to provide a basic understanding of such aspects. This summary is not an extensive overview of all contemplated aspects. This summary does not identify key or critical elements of all aspects, nor does it delineate the scope of any or all aspects. Its sole purpose is to present some concepts of one or more aspects in a simplified form as a prelude to the more detailed description that will be presented later.

[0005] A network entity (such as a base station or a unit of a base station) can use different network beams to send synchronization signal blocks (SSBs) to user equipment (UE). A single SSB includes a primary synchronization signal (PSS), a secondary synchronization signal (SSS), and a physical broadcast channel (PBCH) signal. The network entity can periodically send SSBs to the UE so that the UE can perform beam quality measurements.

[0006] A UE capable of emulating beamforming may receive SSBs from a network entity via codebook-based UE beam search or channel analysis-based UE beam search. For codebook-based UE beam search, the UE maintains multiple UE beams for receiving SSBs and selects the UE beam with the largest measured beam quality. Although activating panels simultaneously for receiving SSBs may reduce beam tracking latency, the UE may experience increased power consumption as a result of activating multiple panels simultaneously. For channel analysis-based UE beam search, the UE may receive SSBs on different symbols using different UE antennas and reconstruct the channel based on multiple measurement instances. However, multiple measurement instances for the UE to identify the strongest beam may result in increased latency.

[0007] Various aspects of the present disclosure address the above and other deficiencies by implementing joint UE beam tracking techniques to achieve UE beam tracking that is faster than channel analysis-based UE beam search and has lower power consumption cost than codebook-based UE beam search. In some implementations, the UE performs a joint UE beam tracking process based on SSB repetitions of the same or different SSBs. In other implementations, the UE performs joint UE beam tracking based on a comparison of the SSB with a channel state information-reference signal (CSI-RS). Joint UE beam tracking is a process for the UE to identify the best / strongest UE beam associated with a network beam based on applying the same spatial domain transmission filter to the transmission of the network entity (e.g., SSB or CSI-RS). For single UE beam tracking, the UE may have to measure the SSB 8 times after receiving transmission configuration indicator (TCI) update signaling, while for joint UE beam tracking, the UE may only have to measure the SSB 4 times based on the UE's joint beam measurement instance. The joint UE beam tracking process can improve the overall beam management process, which can thereby reduce end-to-end delay.

[0008] According to some aspects, a UE receives a first SSB and a second SSB from a network entity based on the same spatial domain transmission filter. The UE transmits a signal to the network entity via a UE beam, wherein selection of the UE beam is based on a joint beam tracking process including a beam quality comparison of a first beam associated with the first SSB and a second beam associated with the second SSB.

[0009] According to some aspects, a network entity transmits a first SSB and a second SSB to a UE based on the same spatial domain transmission filter, as described above. The network entity receives, from the UE, an indication of a UE beam to use for communicating with the network entity. The indication of the UE beam is based on a joint beam tracking process for a first beam associated with the first SSB and a second beam associated with the second SSB. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0010] Figure 1A diagram of a wireless communication system including multiple user equipments (UEs) and network entities communicating through one or more cells is shown.

[0011] Figure 2A-2B A diagram of an example synchronization signal block (SSB) transmission is shown.

[0012] Figure 3A-3B A signaling diagram for fast beam tracking based on SSB transmission is shown.

[0013] Figure 4 A diagram is shown for UE beam tracking based on SSB repetition.

[0014] Figure 5 A diagram showing SSB resources associated with repeated symbols.

[0015] Figure 6 A signaling diagram for a UE beam tracking procedure based on SSB and channel state information-reference signal (CSI-RS) transmission is shown.

[0016] Figure 7 A diagram showing UE beam tracking resources associated with joint SSB / CSI-RS beam tracking of UE beams is shown.

[0017] Figure 8 A flow chart illustrating a method of wireless communication at a UE is shown.

[0018] Figure 9 is a flow chart of a method of conducting wireless communications at a network entity.

[0019] Figure 10 is a diagram illustrating a hardware implementation of an example UE equipment.

[0020] Figure 11 is a diagram illustrating a hardware implementation of one or more example network entities. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0021] Figure 1A diagram 100 of a wireless communication system associated with multiple cells 190 is shown. The wireless communication system includes a user equipment (UE) 102 and a base station / network entity 104. Some base stations may include a converged base station architecture, while other base stations may include a disaggregated base station architecture. The converged base station architecture includes a radio unit (RU) 106, a distributed unit (DU) 108, and a centralized unit (CU) 110, which are configured to utilize a radio protocol stack that is physically or logically integrated within a single radio access network (RAN) node. The disaggregated base station architecture utilizes a protocol stack that is physically or logically distributed across two or more units (e.g., RU 106, DU 108, CU 110). For example, CU 110 is implemented within a RAN node, and one or more DUs 108 may be co-located with CU 110, or alternatively, may be geographically or virtually distributed across one or more other RAN nodes. DU 108 may be implemented to communicate with one or more RUs 106. Each of the RU 106, DU 108, and CU 110 may be implemented as a virtual unit, such as a virtual radio unit (VRU), a virtual distributed unit (VDU), or a virtual central unit (VCU). The base station / network entity 104 (e.g., a converged base station or a disaggregated unit of a base station, such as the RU 106, DU 108, or CU 110) may be referred to as a transmit-receive point (TRP).

[0022] The operation and / or network design of the base station 104 can be based on the aggregated nature of base station functionality. For example, a disaggregated base station architecture is utilized in an integrated access backhaul (IAB) network, an open radio access network (O-RAN) network, or a virtualized radio access network (vRAN) (which may also be referred to as a cloud radio access network (C-RAN)). Decomposition can include distributing functionality between two or more units located at various physical locations, as well as virtually distributing functionality of at least one unit, which can enable flexibility in network design. Various units of the disaggregated base station architecture or disaggregated RAN architecture can be configured for wired or wireless communication with at least one other unit. For example, the RUs 106a-106d can communicate with respective UEs 102a-102d and 102s via one or more radio frequency (RF) access links based on a Uu interface. In an example, multiple RUs 106 and / or base stations 104 may concurrently serve a UE 102, such as UE 102a in cell 190a being concurrently served by an access link of RU 106a in cell 190a and an access link of base station 104c in cell 190e.

[0023] RU 106, DU 108, and CU 110 may include (or may be coupled to) one or more interfaces configured to send or receive information / signals via a wired or wireless transmission medium. Base station 104 or any of the one or more decomposed base station units may be configured to communicate with one or more other base stations 104 or one or more other decomposed base station units via a wired or wireless transmission medium. In an example, a processor, memory, and / or controller associated with executable instructions of the interface may be configured to provide communication between base stations 104 and / or one or more decomposed base station units via a wired or wireless transmission medium. For example, a wired interface may be configured to send or receive information / signals via a wired transmission medium, such as via a fronthaul link 160 between RU 106d and a baseband unit (BBU) 112 of base station 104d associated with cell 190d. The BBU 112 includes the DU 108 and the CU 110, and may also have a wired interface (e.g., a midhaul link) configured between the DU 108 and the CU 110 to transmit or receive information / signals between the DU 108d and the CU 110d. In a further example, a wireless interface, which may include a receiver, a transmitter, or a transceiver (such as an RF transceiver), may be configured to transmit and / or receive information / signals via a wireless transmission medium, such as information transmitted between the RU 106a of the cell 190a and the base station 104 of the cell 190e via the cross-cell communication beams 136-138 of the RU 106a and the base station 104e.

[0024] The RU 106 may be configured to implement lower layer functions. For example, the RU 106 is controlled by the DU 108 and may correspond to a logical node hosting RF processing functions or lower layer PHY functions, such as performing fast Fourier transform (FFT), inverse FFT (iFFT), digital beamforming, physical random access channel (PRACH) extraction and filtering, etc. The functions of the RU 106 may be based on functional partitioning, such as lower layer functional partitioning.

[0025] The RU 106 can send or receive over-the-air (OTA) communications with one or more UEs 102. For example, the RU 106b of the cell 190b communicates with the UE 102b of the cell 190b via the first communication beam set 132 of the RU 106b and the second communication beam set 134b of the UE 102b, which can correspond to inter-cell communication beams or, in some examples, cross-cell communication beams. For example, the UE 102b of the cell 190b can communicate with the RU 106a of the cell 190a via the third communication beam set 134a of the UE 102b and the fourth communication beam set 136 of the RU 106a. Both the real-time and non-real-time features of the control plane and user plane communications of the RU 106 can be controlled by the associated DU 108.

[0026] Any combination of RU 106, DU 108, and CU 110, or any reference to any of them individually, may correspond to base station 104. Thus, base station 104 may include at least one of RU 106, DU 108, or CU 110. Base station 104 provides UE 102 with access to the core network. Base station 104 may relay communications between UE 102 and the core network. Base station 104 may be associated with a macro cell of a high-power cellular base station and / or a small cell of a low-power cellular base station. For example, cell 190e may correspond to a macro cell, while cells 190a-190d may correspond to small cells. Small cells include femto cells, pico cells, micro cells, and the like. A cell structure including at least one macro cell and at least one small cell may be referred to as a "heterogeneous network."

[0027] Transmissions from a UE 102 to a base station 104 / RU 106 are referred to as uplink (UL) transmissions, while transmissions from a base station 104 / RU 106 to a UE 102 are referred to as downlink (DL) transmissions. Uplink transmissions may also be referred to as reverse link transmissions, and downlink transmissions may also be referred to as forward link transmissions. For example, RU 106 d utilizes antenna 114 of base station 104 d in cell 190 d to transmit downlink / forward link communications to UE 102 d or receive uplink / reverse link communications from UE 102 d over a Uu interface associated with an access link between UE 102 d and base station 104 d / RU 106 d.

[0028] The communication link between the UE 102 and the base station 104 / RU 106 can be based on multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) antenna technology, including spatial multiplexing, beamforming, and / or transmit diversity. The communication link can be associated with one or more carriers. The UE 102 and the base station 104 / RU 106 can utilize a spectrum bandwidth of Y MHz (e.g., 5 MHz, 10 MHz, 15 MHz, 20 MHz, 100 MHz, 400 MHz, 800 MHz, 1600 MHz, 2000 MHz, etc.) per carrier, allocated in a carrier aggregation of up to a total of Yx MHz, with x component carriers (CCs) used for communication in each of the uplink and downlink directions. The carriers may or may not be adjacent to each other along the spectrum. In an example, uplink and downlink carriers can be allocated in an asymmetric manner, with more or fewer carriers allocated for the uplink or downlink. The component carriers can include a primary component carrier and one or more secondary component carriers. The primary component carrier may be associated with a primary cell (PCell), and the secondary component carrier may be associated with a secondary cell (SCell).

[0029] Some UEs 102 (such as UEs 102a and 102s) can perform device-to-device (D2D) communication via a sidelink. For example, the sidelink communication / D2D link utilizes the spectrum of a wireless wide area network (WWAN) associated with uplink and downlink communications. The sidelink communication / D2D link can also use one or more sidelink channels, such as a physical sidelink broadcast channel (PSBCH), a physical sidelink discovery channel (PSDCH), a physical sidelink shared channel (PSSCH), and / or a physical sidelink control channel (PSCCH) to transmit information between UEs 102a and 102s. Such sidelink / D2D communication can be performed via various wireless communication systems, such as wireless fidelity (Wi-Fi) systems, Bluetooth systems, long term evolution (LTE) systems, new radio (NR) systems, and the like.

[0030] The electromagnetic spectrum is typically subdivided into different categories, bands, channels, etc. based on the different frequencies / wavelengths associated with the electromagnetic spectrum. Fifth-generation (5G) NR is typically associated with two operating frequency bands (FRs), referred to as Frequency Range 1 (FR1) and Frequency Range 2 (FR2). FR1 ranges from 410 MHz to 7.125 GHz, and FR2 ranges from 24.25 GHz to 71.0 GHz, including FR2-1 (24.25 GHz to 52.6 GHz) and FR2-2 (52.6 GHz to 71.0 GHz). Although a portion of FR1 is actually greater than 6 GHz, FR1 is often referred to as the "sub-6 GHz" band. In contrast, FR2 is often referred to as the "millimeter wave" (mmW) band. FR2 is distinct from the "extremely high frequency" (EHF) band, but is a close subset of it. The EHF band ranges from 30 GHz to 300 GHz and is sometimes also referred to as the "millimeter wave" band. Frequencies between FR1 and FR2 are often referred to as "mid-band" frequencies. The operating band for mid-band frequencies may be referred to as Frequency Range 3 (FR3), which ranges from 7.125 GHz to 24.25 GHz. Frequency bands within FR3 may include characteristics of FR1 and / or FR2. Thus, the features of FR1 and / or FR2 may be extended to mid-band frequencies. Higher operating bands have been identified to extend 5G NR communications above the 52.6 GHz associated with the upper limit of FR2. Three of these higher operating bands include FR2-2 (which ranges from 52.6 GHz to 71.0 GHz), FR4 (which ranges from 71.0 GHz to 114.25 GHz), and FR5 (which ranges from 114.25 GHz to 300 GHz). The upper limit of FR5 corresponds to the upper limit of the EHF band. Therefore, unless otherwise expressly stated herein, the term "sub-6 GHz" may refer to frequencies less than 6 GHz, frequencies within FR1, or frequencies that may include mid-band frequencies. Further, unless otherwise expressly stated herein, the term "millimeter wave" or mmW refers to frequencies that may include mid-band frequencies, frequencies that may be within FR2-1, FR4, FR2-2, and / or FR5, or frequencies that may be within the EHF band.

[0031] UE 102 and base station 104 / RU 106 may each include multiple antennas. The multiple antennas may correspond to antenna elements, antenna panels, and / or antenna arrays that may facilitate beamforming operations. For example, RU 106b may transmit downlink beamformed signals to UE 102b based on a first communication beam set 132 in one or more transmit directions of RU 106b. UE 102b may receive downlink beamformed signals from RU 106b based on a second communication beam set 134b in one or more receive directions of UE 102b. In a further example, UE 102b may also transmit uplink beamformed signals to RU 106b based on a second communication beam set 134b in one or more transmit directions of UE 102b. RU 106b may receive uplink beamformed signals from UE 102b in one or more receive directions of RU 106b.

[0032] UE 102b may perform beam training to determine optimal receive and transmit directions for beamformed signals. The transmit and receive directions of UE 102 and base station 104 / RU 106 may be the same or different. In a further example, beamformed signals may be transmitted between a first base station / RU 104a and a second base station 104e. For example, base station 104e of cell 190e may transmit beamformed signals to RU 106a based on communication beam 138 in one or more transmit directions of base station 104e. RU 106a may receive beamformed signals from base station 104e of cell 190e based on RU communication beam 136 in one or more receive directions of RU 106a.

[0033] The base station 104 may include and / or be referred to as a network entity. That is, a “network entity” may refer to the base station 104 or at least one unit of the base station 104, such as the RU 106, the DU 108, and / or the CU 110. The base station 104 may also include and / or be referred to as a next generation evolved Node B (ng-eNB), a first generation NB (gNB), an evolved NB (eNB), an access point, a base transceiver station, a radio base station, a radio transceiver, a transceiver function, a basic service set (BSS), an extended service set (ESS), a TRP, a network node, a network device, or other related terms. The base station 104 or an entity at the base station 104 may be implemented as an IAB node, a relay node, a sidelink node, a converged (monolithic) base station having the RU 106 and the BBU 112 including the DU 108 and the CU 110, or as a decomposed base station including one or more RUs 106, DUs 108, and / or CUs 110. A converged or disaggregated set of base stations may be referred to as a next generation radio access network (NG-RAN). In some examples, UE 102a operates in dual connectivity (DC) with base station 104e and base station / RU 106a. In such a case, base station 104e may be the primary node, while base station / RU 160a may be the secondary node.

[0034] Uplink / downlink signaling may also be communicated via a satellite positioning system (SPS) 114. In an example, the SPS 114 of cell 190c may communicate with one or more UEs 102, such as UE 102c, and one or more base stations 104 / RUs 106, such as RU 106c. The SPS 114 may correspond to one or more of a global navigation satellite system (GNSS), a global positioning system (GPS), a non-terrestrial network (NTN), or other satellite positioning / location systems. The SPS 114 may be associated with LTE signals, NR signals (e.g., based on round-trip time (RTT) and / or multiple RTTs), wireless local area network (WLAN) signals, a terrestrial beacon system (TBS), sensor-based information, NR enhanced cell ID (NR E-CID) technology, downlink angle of departure (DL-AoD), downlink time difference of arrival (DL-TDOA), uplink time difference of arrival (UL-TDOA), uplink angle of arrival (UL-AoA), and / or other systems, signals, or sensors.

[0035] Still refer to Figure 1In certain aspects, the UE 102 may include a beam tracking component 140 configured to: receive a first synchronization signal block (SSB) and a second SSB from a network entity based on a same spatial domain transmission filter; and transmit a signal with the network entity via a UE beam, wherein selection of the UE beam is based on a joint beam tracking process comprising comparing beam qualities of a first beam associated with the first SSB and a second beam associated with the second SSB.

[0036] In certain aspects, the base station 104 or a network entity of the base station 104 may include an SSB / channel state information-reference signal (CSI-RS) configuration component 150, which is configured to: send a first SSB and a second SSB to the UE based on the same spatial domain transmission filter; and receive an indication of a UE beam for communicating with the network entity from the UE, the indication of the UE beam being based on a joint beam tracking process of a first beam associated with the first SSB and a second beam associated with the second SSB.

[0037] therefore, Figure 1 A wireless communication system is described that may incorporate aspects of one or more of the other figures described herein (such as FIG. Figure 7 Further, although the following description may focus on 5G NR, the concepts described herein may be applicable to other similar areas, such as 5G-Advanced and future versions, LTE, LTE-Advanced (LTE-A), and other wireless technologies such as 6G.

[0038] Figure 2A-2B Diagrams 200-250 illustrate example SSB transmissions. A network entity may transmit an SSB 210 to a UE using different network beams 208. A single SSB 210 includes a primary synchronization signal (PSS) 202, a secondary synchronization signal (SSS) 204, and a physical broadcast channel (PBCH) 206, such as illustrated via the time-frequency resources of diagrams 200-250, where the vertical axis corresponds to the frequency domain and the horizontal axis corresponds to the time domain.

[0039] Each 1 millisecond (ms) time slot may include a first SSB 210a and a second SSB 210b. The network entity periodically transmits the SSB 210 via the network beam 208. In an example, the periodicity of the SSB transmission occurs over a duration of four time slots, which may constitute one SSB burst 212. The duration of the SSB burst 212 relative to the SSB burst periodicity 214 may correspond to a 1:5 ratio in the time domain. That is, for every four consecutive time slots that constitute an SSB burst 212, there may be 16 subsequent time slots (out of a total of 20 time slots in the SSB burst periodicity 214) that do not include an SSB burst 212. Therefore, the overall periodicity for the SSB burst 212 is 20 ms.

[0040] The UE may perform analog beamforming operations to receive the SSB 210 from the network entity, wherein the UE's downlink signal reception of the network beam 208 may be based on a codebook-based UE beam search or a channel analysis-based UE beam search. For codebook-based UE beam search, the UE maintains multiple UE beams for receiving the SSB 210. For example, the UE receives the SSB 210 using different UE beams and selects the UE beam with the maximum measured beam quality (e.g., maximum Layer 1 reference signal received power (L1-RSRP)) from the multiple UE beams. The UE may perform symbol-level beam sweeping / scanning on the SSB 210 to identify the UE beam of the highest quality. However, in some cases, the UE may be limited to 3 or 4 UE beam measurement instances per SSB opportunity. For example, since only 3 different PSS sequences are predefined for the UE, the PSS symbol may not be applicable to the UE beam sweeping process. Therefore, the UE must measure one or more remaining beams during the next SSB opportunity.

[0041] exist Figure 2BIn the diagram 250, where one slot equals 1 ms, the periodicity of the SSB opportunities from slot 1 260a to slot 21 260b is 20 ms. For codebook-based beam search, if the UE has 8 beams and 3 panels, and activates one panel at a time, the UE can measure 3 UE beams 258 per SSB opportunity for the beam search process. Since the UE must measure the SSB 8 times for 8 different UE beams 258, the latency of the beam search process to identify the strongest UE beam 258 is 160 ms (e.g., 8 SSB measurement instances x 20 ms periodicity). In another example, where the UE still has 8 beams to measure and has 3 panels, but the UE can activate all 3 panels simultaneously, the UE can measure 3 UE beams 258 per SSB opportunity for the beam search process. For example, the UE has 3 measurement opportunities based on SSB ceil(8 / 3) = 3, which reduces the latency of the beam searching process for identifying the strongest UE beam 258 to 60 ms (e.g., 3 SSB measurement opportunities x 20 ms periodicity). Although the beam tracking latency for simultaneous panel activation is reduced compared to individual panel activation, the UE may experience increased power consumption as a result of having to activate multiple panels simultaneously.

[0042] For beam search based on channel analysis, the UE may receive the SSB 210 on different symbols based on different UE antennas and reconstruct the channel 256 using multiple measurement instances. For example, the UE calculates the eigenvectors for the reconstructed channel and selects the first row of the eigenvectors as corresponding to the strongest UE beam. Since the UE receives the SSB 210 using different antennas at different measurement occasions, the channel j for each measurement instance from UE antenna j is Can be indicated as , such that the UE may reconstruct 270 the channel 256 based on: Where N corresponds to the number of antenna elements used for the UE panel. The UE can then calculate the eigenvectors of the reconstructed channel based on: in is a left singular matrix, is a diagonal matrix with singular values, and is a right singular matrix. The UE selects the first row of the matrix V as the strongest UE beam based on the reconstructed channel calculation 280. A similar method can be applied to devices with multiple receiver chains.

[0043] The increased latency for the UE to identify the strongest beam may be caused by the fact that the channel analysis-based beam search is based on multiple SSB measurement opportunities. For example, if the UE has 3 panels (each with 4 antennas) and 1 port, the UE can use 12 antennas in turn to scan / receive the SSB 4 times. If the SSB periodicity is 20 ms, the total latency of the channel analysis-based beam search is 80 ms (e.g., 4 SSB measurement opportunities x 20 ms periodicity). However, if the measurement gap between measurement opportunities becomes too large (e.g., greater than 1 or 2 time slots), phase noise may cause phase errors in the estimated / reconstructed 270 channel.

[0044] Thus, the UE can implement techniques for UE beam tracking based on SSB transmissions with reduced latency. Reduced latency can be provided via SSB framing for intra-symbol beam tracking, SSB repetition for UE beam tracking, and / or joint SSB and CSI-RS-based UE beam tracking. Reduced UE beam tracking latency can improve the overall beam management process, which can thereby reduce end-to-end latency. Figure 2A-2B An SSB transmission scheme is shown. Figure 3A-3B UE beam tracking based on SSB repetition is described.

[0045] Figure 3A-3B Signaling diagrams 300-350 for fast beam tracking based on SSB transmission are shown. More specifically, Figure 3A shows joint beam tracking based on using SSB 2 as a repeat of SSB 1, while Figure 3B Joint beam tracking based on repetition of SSB 1 is shown.

[0046] The UE 102 may report 302 to the network entity 104 UE beam tracking capabilities based on SSB repetition. That is, the UE 102 may indicate to the network entity 104 whether the UE 102 supports UE beam tracking across SSBs. In some implementations, the network entity 104 may receive an indication of the UE beam tracking capabilities from a core network (e.g., an access and mobility management function (AMF)). In other implementations, the network entity 104 may receive an indication of the UE beam tracking capabilities from another base station / network entity (such as a gNB, eNB, or 6G base station / network entity). The UE capabilities may also indicate a minimum number of SSB repetitions for a UE beam sweep / scanning procedure and / or whether the UE 102 supports SSB repetition across component carriers for UE beam tracking. The UE 102 may report 302 the UE capabilities per feature set, per band, per band combination, and / or per UE.

[0047] exist Figure 3AIn FIG, the network entity 104 sends 304a control signaling to the UE 102, which configures the UE 102 to receive 306b at least a second SSB as a repetition of the first SSB. For example, SSB 1 and SSB 2 may share the same spatial domain transmission filter. That is, SSB 1 and SSB 2 are transmitted using the same network beam. Figure 3B , the network entity 104 sends 304b control signaling to configure the UE 102 to receive 308 SSB repetitions of the same SSB. For example, SSB 1 and SSB 1 repetition may share the same spatial domain transmit filter.

[0048] The network entity 104 may be configured via RRC signaling (e.g., an RRCReconfiguration message, a system information block (SIB), or a master information block (MIB)) or via a medium access control-control element (MAC-CE) or downlink control information (DCI) indication 304. The network entity 104 may send the MAC-CE or DCI using a multicast technique (e.g., based on a radio network temporary identifier (RNTI) predefined or configured by the network entity 104 via RRC signaling). In other examples, the network entity 104 sends the MAC-CE or DCI using UE-specific signaling (e.g., based on a cell RNTI (C-RNTI) for an individual UE 102).

[0049] exist Figure 3A In FIG, when UE 102 is configured to receive 306b SSB 2 as a repetition of SSB 1, network entity 104 transmits 306a-306b SSB 1 and SSB 2 using the same spatial domain filter. Figure 3B , when the UE 102 is configured to receive 308 the SSB 1 repetition of SSB 1, the network entity 104 sends 308 the SSB 1 repetition to the UE 102. The network entity 104 may configure 304 the UE 102 for multiple repetitions of the same SSB. The network entity 104 sends 308 the SSB repetitions of the same SSB (e.g., SSB 1) using the same spatial domain transmission filter.

[0050] UE 102 performs 310a-310b joint UE beam tracking based on SSB repetition. As used herein, SSB repetition may refer to repetitions of the same SSB (e.g., Figure 3B , SSB 1 and SSB 1 repeated) or a second SSB used as a repeat of the first SSB (e.g., as Figure 3AAs shown, SSB 1 and SSB 2. Thus, joint UE beam tracking may be performed 310a based on multiple SSBs (e.g., SSB 1 and SSB 2), or joint UE beam tracking may be performed 310b based on repetition of SSB 1. In other examples, joint UE beam tracking may be performed based on a combination of multiple SSBs and repetition of SSBs.

[0051] The UE 102 may apply joint UE beam tracking across repetitions to identify the strongest UE beam associated with the network beam used for transmissions 306a-306b for SSB 1 and SSB 2 or transmissions 306a / 308 for SSB 1 and SSB 1 repetitions. If the network entity 104 provides transmission configuration indicator (TCI) update signaling with SSB 1 or SSB 2 as a quasi-co-located (QCL) source, the UE 102 may implement a delay in updating the TCI when the joint SSB is used for UE beam tracking.

[0052] For single-SSB UE beam tracking, if the indicated TCI is not initially determined, the UE 102 may measure the single SSB eight times before the TCI application time upon receiving TCI update signaling, while for joint-SSB UE beam tracking, the UE 102 may measure the SSB four times before the TCI application time. Thus, when the QCL source for the indicated TCI corresponds to the configured SSB, the network entity 104 and the UE 102 may perform 312 the TCI update procedure with reduced latency. For UE beam searching based on channel analysis, the network entity 104 may be able to maintain phase continuity of the signal in each symbol and each repetition of the SSB. Figure 3A-3B shows the signaling procedure for the SSB repetition technique, and Figure 4 Different SSB transmission modes for SSB repetition techniques are shown.

[0053] Figure 4 Illustrations 400-450 for UE beam tracking based on SSB repetition are shown. A network entity may send control signaling to the UE indicating a repetition scheme across SSBs. The network entity may configure one or more SSB repetition sets, where each SSB repetition set corresponds to an index of SSBs that share the same spatial domain transmission filter. Each SSB repetition set may also correspond to a serving cell index for each SSB for cross-component carrier SSB repetition. In other implementations, the network entity may configure a repetition set index for each SSB, and the repetition set index may be defined per serving cell, per serving cell group, or per UE. SSBs with the same repetition set index are associated with the same spatial domain filter.

[0054] Diagram 400 illustrates tracking UE beam 258 based on an SSB repetition set having 8 SSBs. The network entity transmits one or more SSB repetitions within an SSB burst (such as within the same time slot or within different time slots) using network beam 208. The SSB burst may correspond to four consecutive time slots including eight SSBs. For example, the network entity transmits SSB 1 and SSB 2 using a first identical network beam (e.g., the same spatial domain transmission filter) in a first identical time slot, transmits SSB 3 and SSB 4 using a second identical network beam in a second identical time slot, transmits SSB 5 and SSB 6 using a third identical network beam in a third identical time slot, and transmits SSB 7 and SSB 8 using a fourth identical network beam in a fourth identical time slot. The UE may use different UE beams for receiving SSBs in the same time slot. For example, based on the joint beam tracking process, the UE may use a first UE beam for receiving SSB 1 and a second UE beam for receiving SSB 2. The network entity may also transmit SSB repetitions in the same or different serving cells using network beam 208. The network entity may transmit SSB repetitions uniformly or non-uniformly. "Uniform" SSB repetitions refer to SSBs transmitted across multiple time slots that correspond to the same time-frequency resources with respect to each of the multiple time slots.

[0055] Diagram 450 shows tracking of UE beam 258 based on 8 repetitions of the same SSB via network beam 208. For example, the network entity transmits SSB 1 on 8 different occasions within 4 consecutive time slots of an SSB burst using network beam 208. The UE may use different UE beams for receiving SSB repetitions based on a joint beam tracking process. The SSB repetitions may be in the same or different serving cells and may be transmitted uniformly or non-uniformly. The configuration for the UE may include parameters for enabling or disabling SSB repetitions for all SSBs or for each SSB. These parameters may also indicate the number of repetitions for all SSBs or for each SSB, the symbol and / or time slot offset between each two consecutive repetitions for all SSBs or for each SSB, the position of each repetition for each SSB (e.g., a starting symbol and / or time slot index), and / or the periodicity of each SSB or each SSB repetition. These parameters may be defined per SSB, for an SSB in a serving cell, or for an SSB in a serving cell group. Some parameters may be predefined (eg, number of repetitions for SSB = 4; symbol offset between every two consecutive repetitions for SSB = 1; slot offset between every two consecutive repetitions for SSB = 0; etc.). Figure 4 shows SSB repeats, while Figure 5 The SSB structure associated with the SSB repeat is shown.

[0056] Figure 5Illustrations 500-520 illustrate SSB resources associated with repetition symbols. For example, in illustration 500, the network entity transmits one or more repetitions (e.g., 4 repetitions) of the SSS 204 for an SSB. The network entity may transmit the SSS repetitions in one or more time slots within an SSB burst, where the SSS repetitions may be uniformly distributed or non-uniformly distributed. Control signaling for the SSS repetitions may indicate parameters for enabling or disabling SSS repetitions for the SSB. These parameters may also indicate the number of SSS repetitions for the SSB, the symbol and / or time slot offset between each two consecutive SSS repetitions for the SSB, and / or the position of each SSS repetition for each SSB (e.g., a starting symbol and / or time slot index). Some of the parameters may be predefined, as similarly described with respect to illustration 650.

[0057] In diagram 510, a network entity transmits one or more repetitions of the PBCH 206 or one or more repetitions of the demodulation reference signal (DMRS) 508 for the PBCH for SSBs. The network entity may transmit the repetitions of the PBCH 206 or the PBCH-DMRS 508 in one or more time slots within an SSB burst, and these repetitions may be evenly or non-uniformly distributed. In some examples, the network entity repeats a portion of the PBCH 206 or the PBCH-DMRS 508, such as the last symbol of the PBCH or PBCH-DMRS 508 from the second PBCH repetition. Control signaling for PBCH repetition or PBCH-DMRS repetition may indicate parameters for enabling or disabling repetition for SSBs. These parameters may also indicate the number of PBCH repetitions or PBCH-DMRS repetitions for SSBs, the symbol and / or time slot offset between each two consecutive PBCH repetitions or PBCH-DMRS repetitions for SSBs, and / or the location (e.g., starting symbol and / or time slot index) of each PBCH repetition or PBCH-DMRS repetition for SSBs.

[0058] In diagram 520, a network entity transmits one or more repetitions of an SSS 204 and a PBCH 206 for an SSB, where the SSS 204 and PBCH 206 may correspond to the SSS 204 and PBCH-DMRS 508 in some examples. The network entity may transmit the SSS / PBCH repetitions in one or more time slots within an SSB burst, where these SSS / PBCH repetitions may be uniformly distributed or non-uniformly distributed. In an example, the network entity repeats at least a portion of the PBCH 206 or PBCH-DMRS 508 for SSS / PBCH repetitions. The control signaling for SSS / PBCH repetitions may indicate parameters for enabling or disabling SSS / PBCH repetitions for the SSB. These parameters may also indicate the number of SSS / PBCH repetitions for the SSB, the symbol and / or slot offset between each two consecutive SSS / PBCH repetitions for the SSB, and / or the location (e.g., starting symbol and / or slot index) of each SSS / PBCH repetition for the SSB. Although diagrams 500-520 illustrate repetition of various portions of the SSB, it should be understood that these patterns are merely examples and that other examples may be used, such as repetition of other portions of the SSB (e.g., PSS 202) or a combination of repetitions of SSB components (e.g., SSS 204 and DMRS, etc.). Figure 3A-Figure 5 describes joint UE beam tracking based on SSB repetition, while Figure 6-Figure 7 Joint UE beam tracking based on multiplexing SSB and CSI-RS resources is described.

[0059] Figure 6 A signaling diagram 600 is shown for a UE beam tracking procedure based on SSB and CSI-RS transmission. The SSB and CSI-RS may be associated with the same spatial domain filter. The UE 102 may report 602 to the network entity 104 the UE capabilities of the UE 102 for joint SSB / CSI-RS beam tracking. That is, the UE 102 may indicate to the network entity 104 whether the UE 102 supports UE beam tracking based on joint SSB / CSI-RS repetition from the network entity 104. In some implementations, the network entity 104 may receive an indication of the UE capabilities from the core network. In other implementations, the network entity 104 may receive an indication of the UE capabilities from another base station / network entity. The UE capabilities may also indicate a minimum number of CSI-RS resources for performing the UE beam sweeping / scanning procedure and / or whether the UE 102 supports cross-component carrier UE beam tracking based on the joint SSB / CSI-RS technique. The UE 102 may report 602 UE capabilities per feature set, per band, per band combination, and / or per UE.

[0060] The network entity 104 transmits 604 a configuration for CSI-RS resources / resource sets based on the same spatial domain transmission filter as SSB 1. In some examples, the network entity 104 transmits 604 the configuration in response to receiving 602 UE capabilities from the UE 102. The network entity 104 may indicate 604 the configuration via control signaling, such as RRC signaling (e.g., RRCReconfiguration, SIB, or MIB) or via MAC-CE or DCI. The network entity 104 may transmit the MAC-CE or DCI using a multicast technique (e.g., based on an RNTI predefined or configured by the network entity 104 via RRC signaling). In other examples, the network entity 104 transmits the MAC-CE or DCI using UE-specific signaling (e.g., based on a C-RNTI for each UE 102).

[0061] The network entity 104 transmits 606 SSB 1 to the UE 102 for a joint SSB / CSI-RS beam tracking process. In some examples, the network entity 104 transmits 607 a trigger indication for a CSI-RS resource configuration associated with the joint SSB / CSI-RS beam tracking process. Based on the same spatial domain filter as used for transmitting 606 SSB 1, the network entity 104 transmits 608 to the UE 102 on the configured CSI-RS resources. The UE 102 performs 610 joint UE beam tracking based on SSB 1 and the configured CSI-RS resources to identify a UE beam to pair with the network beam used for SSB 1 and the CSI-RS resources.

[0062] When the QCL source for the indicated TCI corresponds to SSB 1 or CSI-RS resources, the network entity 104 and the UE 102 may perform 612 a TCI update procedure with reduced latency. If the network entity 104 indicates a TCI update using SSB 1 or CSI-RS resources as the QCL source, the UE 102 may apply a delay to update the TCI based on joint SSB / CSI-RS beam tracking. For single SSB beam tracking, if the indicated TCI is not determined, the UE 102 measures a single SSB eight times before the TCI application time upon receiving TCI update signaling, while for joint SSB / CSI-RS beam tracking, when the network entity 104 configures seven CSI-RS resources, the UE 102 receives the SSB only once before the TCI application time. For UE beam searching based on channel analysis, the network entity 104 may be able to maintain phase continuity for the SSB / CSI-RS joint beam tracking procedure. Figure 6 FIG shows a signal transmission process for beam tracking based on SSB / CSI-RS multiplexing technology, and FIG Figure 7The multiplexed SSB / CSI-RS resources are shown.

[0063] Figure 7 FIG3 - Schematic diagram 700 of UE beam tracking resources associated with joint SSB / CSI-RS beam tracking of UE beam 258. Specifically, the network entity may transmit a network beam 208 including a CSI-RS 710 on resources associated with the PSS 202, SSS 204, and PBCH 206 resources of the SSB. The network entity configures the SSB and CSI-RS resources such that the network entity may transmit the SSB and CSI-RS 710 using the same spatial domain filter. The network entity may also configure an SSB index based on the same serving cell used for the CSI-RS resources. The network entity may also configure a serving cell index for the CSI-RS resource / resource set. The network entity multiplexes the CSI-RS 710 and the SSB using a time domain multiplexing (TDM) technique. The CSI-RS 710 and the SSB may include the same or different subcarrier spacings. FIG3 - Schematic diagram 700 of UE beam tracking resources associated with joint SSB / CSI-RS beam tracking of the UE beam 258. Specifically, the network entity may transmit a network beam 208 including a CSI-RS 710 on resources associated with the PSS 202, SSS 204, and PBCH 206 resources of the SSB. The network entity configures the SSB and CSI-RS resources such that the network entity may transmit the SSB and CSI-RS 710 using the same spatial domain filter. The network entity may also configure an SSB index based on the same serving cell used for the CSI-RS resources. The network entity may also configure a serving cell index for the CSI-RS resource / resource set. The network entity multiplexes the CSI-RS 710 and the SSB using a time domain multiplexing (TDM) technique. The CSI-RS 710 and the SSB may include the same or different subcarrier spacings. Figure 7 Joint UE beam tracking is described. Figure 8-Figure 9 Figure 3 shows the method for implementing Figure 7 Specifically, Figure 8 3- Figure 7 implementation of one or more aspects of . Figure 9 FIG3- Figure 7 implementation of one or more aspects of .

[0064] Figure 8 A flow chart 800 is shown of a method of wireless communication at a UE. Figure 3A-3B 、 Figure 6 and Figure 10 , the method may be performed by a UE 102, a UE equipment 1002, etc., which may include memory 1026', 1006', 1016 and may correspond to the entire UE 102 or the entire UE equipment 1002, or components of the UE 102 or the UE equipment 1002 such as a wireless baseband processor 1026 and / or an application processor 1006.

[0065] UE 102 sends 802 a UE capability report to a network entity, the UE capability report indicating the UE's capabilities for the joint beam tracking process. Figure 3A-3B , the UE 102 reports 302 the UE beam tracking capability based on SSB repetition. Figure 6 , UE 102 reports 602 on UE capability of joint SSB / CSI-RS beam tracking.

[0066] UE 102 receives 804 a configuration of at least one of the first SSB or the second SSB for a joint beam tracking process from a network entity. Figure 3A , UE 102 receives 304a a configuration for using SSB 2 as a repeat of SSB 1. Figure 3B , UE 102 receives 304b the configuration for the number of SSB repetitions. Figure 6 , UE 102 receives 604 a CSI-RS resource configuration based on the same spatial domain transmission filter as SSB 1.

[0067] UE 102 receives 806 a first SSB and a second SSB from a network entity based on the same spatial domain transmission filter, such as Figure 4 、 Figure 5 and Figure 7 Reference Figure 3A-3B and Figure 6 , UE 102 receives 306a / 606 SSB 1 from network entity 104. Figure 3A , UE 102 receives 306b SSB 2 as a repetition of SSB 1. Figure 3B , UE 102 receives 308 SSB 1 repetition from network entity 104. Figure 6 , UE 102 receives 608 CSI-RS transmission on the configured CSI-RS resources using the same spatial domain transmit filter as SSB 1.

[0068] The UE 102 compares 810 the first SSB with at least one of the following: the second SSB, a repetition of the first SSB, or a CSI-RS for beam quality comparison of the first beam and the second beam - the UE receives the first beam and the second beam using different UE beams. For example, referring to Figure 3A , UE 102 performs 310a joint UE beam tracking based on multiple SSBs (e.g., based on a comparison of SSB 1 with SSB 2). Figure 3B , UE 102 performs 310b joint UE beam tracking based on SSB repetition (e.g., based on SSB 1 repetition 308). Figure 6 , the UE 102 performs 610 joint UE beam tracking based on SSB 1 and the CSI-RS transmission on the CSI-RS resources.

[0069] The UE 102 updates 812a the TCI status of the UE beam based on a joint beam tracking process including a beam quality comparison of the first beam and the second beam. Figure 3A-3B, when the QCL source for the indicated TCI corresponds to the configured SSB, the UE 102 updates 312 the TCI state with reduced latency based on the joint UE beam tracking process 310. Figure 6 , when the QCL source for the indicated TCI corresponds to SSB 1 or CSI-RS resource, the UE 102 updates 612 the TCI state with reduced latency based on the joint UE beam tracking process 610.

[0070] The UE 102 transmits 812b a signal to the network entity via a UE beam that the UE selects based on a joint beam tracking process that includes a comparison of the beam qualities of the first beam and the second beam. Figure 3A-3B and Figure 6 , the UE 102 selects a UE beam based on the joint beam tracking process 310 / 610 and uses the UE beam to communicate 312 / 612 with the network entity 104 based on the TCI update. For example, the UE 102 may receive downlink transmissions (e.g., physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) transmissions, physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) transmissions, etc.) from the network entity 104 using the selected UE beam. Figure 8 A method from the UE side of a wireless communication link is described, while Figure 9 A method from the network side of a wireless communication link is described.

[0071] Figure 9 900 is a flow chart of a method of wireless communication at a network entity. Figure 3A-3B 、 Figure 6 and Figure 11 The method may be performed by one or more network entities 104, which may correspond to a base station or a unit of a base station, such as the RU 106, the DU 108, the CU 110, the RU processor 1106, the DU processor 1126, the CU processor 1146, etc. The one or more network entities 104 may include a memory 1106' / 1126' / 1146', which may correspond to the entirety of the one or more network entities 104 or a component of the one or more network entities 104, such as the RU processor 1106, the DU processor 1126, or the CU processor 1146.

[0072] The network entity 104 receives 902 a UE capability report from the UE, the UE capability report indicating the UE's capability for the joint beam tracking process. Figure 3A-3B , the network entity 104 receives 302 the UE beam tracking capability based on SSB repetition from the UE 102. Figure 6, the network entity 104 receives 602 from the UE 102 the UE capability regarding joint SSB / CSI-RS beam tracking.

[0073] The network entity 104 sends 904 to the UE a resource configuration for at least one of the first SSB or the second SSB for the joint beam tracking process. Figure 3A , the network entity 104 sends 304a a configuration for using SSB 2 as a duplicate of SSB 1. Figure 3B , the network entity 104 sends 304b the configuration of the number of SSB repetitions. Figure 6 , the network entity 104 sends 604 a CSI-RS resource configuration based on the same spatial domain transmission filter as SSB 1.

[0074] The network entity 104 sends 906 the first SSB and the second SSB to the UE based on the same spatial domain transmission filter, such as Figure 4 、 Figure 5 and Figure 7 Reference Figure 3A-3B and Figure 6 , the network entity 104 sends 306a / 606 SSB 1 to the UE 102 as the first beam. Figure 3A , the network entity 104 sends 306b SSB 2 as a repetition of SSB1. Figure 3B , the network entity 104 sends 308 SSB 1 repetition to the UE 102. Figure 6 , the network entity 104 sends 608 a CSI-RS transmission on the configured CSI-RS resources using the same spatial domain transmission filter as SSB 1.

[0075] The network entity 104 transmits 908b at least one of the following: a second SSB, a repetition of the first SSB, or a CSI-RS. Figure 3A , the network entity 104 sends 306b SSB 2 to the UE 102 as a repetition of SSB1. Figure 3B , the network entity 104 sends 308 SSB 1 repetition to the UE 102. Figure 6 , the network entity 104 sends 608 a CSI-RS transmission to the UE 102 on the configured CSI-RS resources using the same spatial domain transmission filter as SSB 1.

[0076] The network entity 104 receives 912 from the UE an indication of a UE beam for communicating with the network entity—the indication of the UE beam being based on a joint beam tracking process of the first beam and the second beam. Figure 3A-3B and Figure 6, the network entity 104 receives an indication of a selected UE beam for communicating 312 / 612 with the network entity 104 using the UE beam based on the TCI update based on the joint beam tracking process 310 / 610. Figure 10 The described UE equipment 1002 can perform the method of flowchart 800. Figure 11 The method of flowchart 900 may be performed by one or more of the depicted network entities 104 .

[0077] Figure 10 1 is a diagram 1000 illustrating an example of a hardware implementation of a UE device 1002. The UE device 1002 may be the UE 102, a component of the UE 102, or may implement UE functionality. The UE device 1002 may include an application processor 1006, which may have on-chip memory 1006′. In an example, the application processor 1006 may be coupled to a secure digital (SD) card 1008 and / or a display 1010. The application processor 1006 may also be coupled to a sensor module 1012, a power supply 1014, an additional memory module 1016, a camera 1018, and / or other related components. For example, the sensor module 1012 may control a barometric pressure sensor / altimeter, a motion sensor (such as an inertial management unit (IMU)), a gyroscope, an accelerometer, a light detection and ranging (LIDAR) device, a radio-aided detection and ranging (RADAR) device, a sound navigation and ranging (SONAR) device, a magnetometer, an audio device, and / or other technologies for positioning.

[0078] UE equipment 1002 may further include a wireless baseband processor 1026, which may be referred to as a modem. Wireless baseband processor 1026 may have on-chip memory 1026'. Like and similar to application processor 1006, wireless baseband processor 1026 may also be coupled to sensor module 1012, power supply 1014, additional memory module 1016, camera 1018, and / or other related components. Wireless baseband processor 1026 may also be coupled to one or more subscriber identity module (SIM) cards 1020 and / or one or more transceivers 1030 (e.g., wireless RF transceivers).

[0079] Within one or more transceivers 1030, the UE equipment 1002 may include a Bluetooth module 1032, a WLAN module 1034, an SPS module 1036 (e.g., a GNSS module), and / or a cellular module 1038. The Bluetooth module 1032, the WLAN module 1034, the SPS module 1036, and the cellular module 1038 may each include an on-chip transceiver (TRX), or in some cases, only a transmitter (TX) or only a receiver (RX). The Bluetooth module 1032, the WLAN module 1034, the SPS module 1036, and the cellular module 1038 may each include a dedicated antenna and / or utilize an antenna 1040 to communicate with one or more other nodes. For example, the UE equipment 1002 can communicate with another UE 102 (e.g., sidelink communication) and / or communicate with a network entity 104 (e.g., uplink / downlink communication) via the antenna 1040 via the transceiver 1030, where the network entity 104 can correspond to a base station or a unit of a base station, such as RU 106, DU 108 or CU 110.

[0080] The wireless baseband processor 1026 and the application processor 1006 may each include a computer-readable medium / memory 1026′, 1006′, respectively. The additional memory module 1016 may also be considered a computer-readable medium / memory. Each computer-readable medium / memory 1026′, 1006′, 1016 may be non-transitory. The wireless baseband processor 1026 and the application processor 1006 may each be responsible for general processing, including executing software stored on the computer-readable medium / memory 1026′, 1006′, 1016. This software, when executed by the wireless baseband processor 1026 / application processor 1006, causes the wireless baseband processor 1026 / application processor 1006 to perform the various functions described herein. The computer-readable medium / memory may also be used to store data manipulated by the wireless baseband processor 1026 / application processor 1006 when executing the software. The wireless baseband processor 1026 / application processor 1006 may be a component of the UE 102. UE equipment 1002 may be a processor chip (eg, modem and / or applications) and include only the radio baseband processor 1026 and / or the application processor 1006. In other examples, UE equipment 1002 may be the entire UE 102 and include additional modules of equipment 1002.

[0081] like Figure 1 Discussed and about Figure 8In an implementation, the beam tracking component 140 is configured to: receive a first SSB and a second SSB from a network entity based on the same spatial domain transmission filter; and transmit a signal to the network entity via a UE beam, wherein selection of the UE beam is based on a joint beam tracking process that includes a beam quality comparison of a first beam associated with the first SSB and a second beam associated with the second SSB. The beam tracking component 140 can be located within the application processor 1006 (e.g., at 140a), within the wireless baseband processor 1026 (e.g., at 140b), or within both the application processor 1006 and the wireless baseband processor 1026. The beam tracking components 140a-140b can be one or more hardware components specifically configured to perform the stated processes / algorithms, implemented by one or more processors configured to perform the stated processes / algorithms, stored on a computer-readable medium for implementation by one or more processors, or a combination thereof.

[0082] Figure 11 1 is a diagram 1100 illustrating an example of a hardware implementation of one or more network entities 104. The one or more network entities 104 may be a base station, a component of a base station, or may implement base station functionality. The one or more network entities 104 may include or correspond to at least one of a RU 106, a DU 108, or a CU 110. The CU 110 may include a CU processor 1146, which may have on-chip memory 1146'. In some aspects, the CU 110 may further include an additional memory module 1156 and / or a communication interface 1148, both of which may be coupled to the CU processor 1146. The CU 110 may communicate with the DU 108 via a midhaul link 162, such as an F1 interface between the communication interface 1148 of the CU 110 and the communication interface 1128 of the DU 108.

[0083] The DU 108 may include a DU processor 1126, which may have on-chip memory 1126'. In some aspects, the DU 108 may further include an additional memory module 1136 and / or a communication interface 1128, both of which may be coupled to the DU processor 1126. The DU 108 may communicate with the RU 106 via a fronthaul link 160 between the communication interface 1128 of the DU 108 and the communication interface 1108 of the RU 106.

[0084] The RU 106 may include a RU processor 1106, which may have on-chip memory 1106'. In some aspects, the RU 106 may further include an additional memory module 1116, a communication interface 1108, and one or more transceivers 1130, all of which may be coupled to the RU processor 1106. The RU 106 may further include an antenna 1140, which may be coupled to the one or more transceivers 1130, such that the RU 106 may communicate with the UE 102 via the antenna 1140 through the one or more transceivers 1130.

[0085] On-chip memory 1106', 1126', 1146' and additional memory modules 1116, 1136, 1156 can each be considered a computer-readable medium / memory. Each computer-readable medium / memory can be non-transitory. Each of processors 1106, 1126, 1146 is responsible for general processing, including executing software stored on the computer-readable medium / memory. The software, when executed by the corresponding processor 1106, 1126, 1146, enables the processor 1106, 1126, 1146 to perform the various functions described herein. The computer-readable medium / memory can also be used to store data that is manipulated by the processor 1106, 1126, 1146 when executing the software. In an example, the SSB / CSI-RS configuration component 150 can be located at any one of the one or more network entities 104, such as at the CU 110; at both the CU 110 and the DU 108; at each of the CU 110, DU 108, and RU 106; at the DU 108; at both the DU 108 and the RU 106; or at the RU 106.

[0086] like Figure 1 Discussed and about Figure 9In an implementation, the SSB / CSI-RS configuration component 150 is configured to: transmit a first SSB and a second SSB to a UE based on the same spatial domain transmission filter; and receive, from the UE, an indication of a UE beam for communicating with a network entity, the indication of the UE beam being based on a joint beam tracking process of a first beam associated with the first SSB and a second beam associated with the second SSB. The SSB / CSI-RS configuration component 150 can be within one or more processors of one or more network entities 104, such as the RU processor 1106 (e.g., at 150a), the DU processor 1126 (e.g., at 150b), and / or the CU processor 1146 (e.g., at 150c). The SSB / CSI-RS configuration components 150a-150c may be one or more hardware components specifically configured to perform the stated processes / algorithms, implemented by one or more processors 1106, 1126, 1146 configured to perform the stated processes / algorithms, stored within a computer-readable medium for implementation by one or more processors 1106, 1126, 1146, or a combination thereof.

[0087] The specific order or hierarchy of blocks in the processes and flowcharts disclosed herein is illustrative of example methods. Therefore, the specific order or hierarchy of blocks in the processes and flowcharts may be rearranged. Some blocks may also be merged or deleted. Dashed lines may indicate optional elements of a diagram. The accompanying method claims present elements of each block in an example order and are not limited to the specific order or hierarchy presented in the claims, processes, and flowcharts.

[0088] The detailed description set forth herein, in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, describes various configurations and does not represent the only configuration in which the concepts described herein may be practiced. The detailed description includes specific details to provide a comprehensive explanation of the various concepts. However, these concepts may be practiced without using these specific details. In some cases, well-known structures and components are shown in block diagram form to avoid obscuring such concepts.

[0089] Various aspects of wireless communication systems (such as telecommunication systems) are presented with reference to various apparatus and methods. These apparatus and methods are described in the detailed description that follows and are illustrated in the accompanying drawings by various blocks, components, circuits, processes, call flows, systems, algorithms, etc. (collectively, "elements"). These elements can be implemented using electronic hardware, computer software, or a combination thereof. Whether such elements are implemented as hardware or software depends on the specific application and design constraints imposed on the overall system.

[0090] Element, or any part of an element or any combination of elements can be implemented as a "processing system" including one or more processors. Examples of processors include microprocessors, microcontrollers, graphics processing units (GPUs), central processing units (CPUs), application processors, digital signal processors (DSPs), reduced instruction set computing (RISC) processors, systems on chip (SoCs), baseband processors, field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), programmable logic devices (PLDs), state machines, gating logic, discrete hardware circuits, and other similar hardware configured to perform the various functions described throughout this disclosure. One or more processors in a processing system can execute software, which can be referred to as software, firmware, middleware, microcode, hardware description language, or other. Software should be broadly interpreted as meaning instructions, instruction sets, codes, code segments, program codes, programs, subroutines, software components, applications, software applications, software packages, routines, subroutines, objects, executables, execution threads, processes, functions, or any combination thereof.

[0091] If the functions described herein are implemented in software, these functions may be stored on a computer-readable medium (such as a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium) or encoded as one or more instructions or codes on the computer-readable medium. Computer-readable media include computer storage media and may include random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), electrically erasable programmable ROM (EEPROM), optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage, other magnetic storage devices, combinations of these types of computer-readable media, or any other medium that can be used to store computer-executable code in the form of computer-accessible instructions or data structures. The storage medium can be any available medium that is accessible to the computer.

[0092] The various aspects, implementations, and / or use cases described herein can be implemented across many different platform types, devices, systems, shapes, sizes, and packaging arrangements. For example, the various aspects, implementations, and / or use cases can be generated via integrated chip implementations and other non-module component-based devices such as end-user devices, vehicles, communication devices, computing devices, industrial equipment, retail / procurement devices, medical devices, artificial intelligence (AI)-enabled devices, machine learning (ML)-enabled devices, and the like. The various aspects, implementations, and / or use cases can range from chip-level or modular components to non-modular or non-chip-level implementations, and further to aggregated, distributed, or original equipment manufacturer (OEM) devices or systems incorporating one or more of the techniques described herein.

[0093] Devices incorporating aspects and features described herein may also include additional components and features for implementing and practicing the aspects and features claimed and described. For example, the transmission and reception of wireless signals necessarily include many components for analog and digital purposes, such as hardware components, antennas, RF chains, power amplifiers, modulators, buffers, processors, interleavers, adders / summers, etc. The techniques described herein can be practiced in a wide variety of devices, chip-level components, systems, distributed arrangements, aggregated or disaggregated components, end-user devices, etc., in various configurations.

[0094] The description herein is provided to enable those skilled in the art to practice the various aspects described herein. Various modifications to these aspects will be apparent to those skilled in the art, and the general principles defined herein may be applied to other aspects. Therefore, the claims are not limited to the various aspects described herein, but should be interpreted in view of the full scope of the disclosure consistent with the language of the claims.

[0095] Unless expressly stated, references to singular elements do not mean "one and only one", but rather "one or more". Terms such as "if", "when" and "at" do not imply an immediate temporal relationship or reaction. That is, these phrases (e.g., "when") do not imply immediate action in response to the occurrence of an action or during the occurrence of an action, but simply mean that if a certain condition is met, a certain action will occur, but no specific or immediate time constraint is required for the occurrence of the action. The terms "may", "might" and "can" as used in this disclosure generally carry certain meanings. For example, "may" refers to a permissible feature that may or may not occur, "might" refers to a feature that is likely to occur, and "can" refers to an ability (e.g., to be able to). The phrase "for example" generally carries a similar meaning to "may", and therefore, "may" is sometimes excluded from sentences that include "for example" or other similar phrases.

[0096] Unless expressly stated otherwise, the term "some" refers to one or more. Combinations such as "at least one of A, B, or C" or "one or more of A, B, or C" include any combination of A, B, and / or C, such as A and B, A and C, B and C, or A, B, and C, and may include multiple A's, multiple B's, and / or multiple C's, or may include only A's, only B's, or only C's. A set should be interpreted as a set of elements where the number of elements is one or more.

[0097] Unless otherwise expressly indicated, ordinal terms such as "first" and "second" do not necessarily imply an order in time, sequence, value, etc., but are used to distinguish different instances of the term or phrase following each ordinal term. Figure numerals as used in the specification and drawings are sometimes cross-referenced between the drawings to indicate identical or similar features. Features that are identical in multiple drawings may be labeled with the same figure numerals in the multiple drawings. Features that are similar but not identical across multiple drawings may be labeled with figure numerals having different leading digits but one or more of the same trailing digits (e.g., 206, 306, 406, etc. may refer to similar features in the drawings). Sometimes, "X" is used to generally indicate multiple variations of a feature. For example, "X06" may generally refer to all reference numbers ending in "06" (e.g., 206, 306, 406, etc.).

[0098] Structural equivalents and functional equivalents of the elements of various aspects described in the entire present disclosure that are known or later learned by those of ordinary skill in the art are expressly incorporated herein by reference and are covered by the claims. The words "module", "mechanism", "element", "device" and the like may not be substitutes for the word "component". Therefore, unless the phrase "component for ..." is used to expressly state the claim elements, any claim element shall not be interpreted as a means plus function. As used herein, the phrase "based on" should not be interpreted as a reference to a closed information set, one or more conditions, one or more factors, etc. In other words, unless explicitly stated differently, the phrase "based on A" (wherein "A" can be information, conditions, factors, etc.) should be interpreted as "at least based on A".

[0099] The following examples are illustrative only and may be combined with other examples or teachings described herein without limitation.

[0100] Example 1 is a method of wireless communication at a UE, comprising: receiving a first SSB and a second SSB from a network entity based on the same spatial domain transmission filter; and transmitting a signal with the network entity through a UE beam, wherein selection of the UE beam is based on a joint beam tracking process, which includes a beam quality comparison of a first beam associated with the first SSB and a second beam associated with the second SSB.

[0101] Example 2 can be combined with Example 1 and include: receiving the first SSB and the second SSB based on the same spatial domain transmission filter further includes: receiving at least one of the following: the first SSB and a different SSB compared to the first SSB; the first SSB and a repetition of the first SSB, the repetition including the entire repetition of the first SSB or a partial repetition of the first SSB; or the first SSB and CSI-RS.

[0102] Example 3 can be combined with Example 2 and include: the joint beam tracking process further includes: comparing the first SSB with at least one of: the different SSB compared to the first SSB, the repetition of the first SSB, or the CSI-RS for beam quality comparison of the first beam associated with the first SSB and the second beam associated with the second SSB, and including: receiving the first SSB and the second SSB further includes: receiving the first SSB and the second SSB using different UE beams.

[0103] Example 4 can be combined with any one of Examples 1-3 and further include sending a UE capability report to the network entity, the UE capability report indicating the capability of the UE for the joint beam tracking process.

[0104] Example 5 can be combined with Example 4 and include: the UE capability report indicates at least one of the following: whether the UE supports SSB repetition for the joint beam tracking process, whether the UE supports the second SSB as a repetition of the first SSB for the joint beam tracking process, whether the UE supports SSB and CSI-RS reception for the joint beam tracking process, the first minimum number of SSB repetitions for the UE beam sweeping process, the second minimum number of CSI-RS resources for the UE beam sweeping process, whether the UE supports cross-CC SSB repetition for the joint beam tracking process, or whether the UE supports cross-CCSSB and CSI-RS reception for the joint beam tracking process.

[0105] Example 6 can be combined with any one of Examples 1-5 and further include receiving, from the network entity, a configuration of at least one of the first SSB or the second SSB for the joint beam tracking process.

[0106] Example 7 can be combined with Example 6 and include: the configuration is for the second SSB to serve as a repetition of the first SSB.

[0107] Example 8 can be combined with Example 6 and include: the configuration is for at least one of a CSI-RS resource or a CSI-RS resource set.

[0108] Example 9 can be combined with Example 8 and further include receiving a trigger indication for the configuring from the network entity.

[0109] Example 10 can be combined with any of Examples 1-9 and further include updating the TCI state of the UE beam based on the joint beam tracking process, which includes comparing the beam qualities of the first beam associated with the first SSB and the second beam associated with the second SSB.

[0110] Example 11 is a method of wireless communication at a network entity, comprising: sending a first SSB and a second SSB to a UE based on the same spatial domain transmission filter; and receiving an indication of a UE beam used for communicating with the network entity from the UE, the indication of the UE beam being based on a joint beam tracking process of a first beam associated with the first SSB and a second beam associated with the second SSB.

[0111] Example 12 can be combined with Example 11 and include: sending the first SSB and the second SSB based on the same spatial domain transmission filter further includes: sending at least one of the following: the first SSB and a different SSB compared to the first SSB; the first SSB and a repetition of the first SSB, the repetition including all repetitions of the first SSB or partial repetitions of the first SSB; or the first SSB and CSI-RS.

[0112] Example 13 can be combined with any of Examples 11-12 and further include receiving a UE capability report from the UE, the UE capability report indicating the capability of the UE for the joint beam tracking process.

[0113] Example 14 can be combined with Example 13 and include: the UE capability report indicates at least one of the following: whether the UE supports SSB repetition for the joint beam tracking process, whether the UE supports the second SSB as a repetition of the first SSB for the joint beam tracking process, whether the UE supports SSB and CSI-RS reception for the joint beam tracking process, the first minimum number of SSB repetitions for the UE beam sweeping process, the second minimum number of CSI-RS resources for the UE beam sweeping process, whether the UE supports cross-CC SSB repetition for the joint beam tracking process, or whether the UE supports cross-CCSSB and CSI-RS reception for the joint beam tracking process.

[0114] Example 15 can be combined with any one of Examples 11-14 and further include sending a resource configuration of at least one of the first SSB or the second SSB for the joint beam tracking process to the UE.

[0115] Example 16 can be combined with Example 15 and include: the configuration is for the second SSB to serve as a repetition of the first SSB.

[0116] Example 17 can be combined with Example 15 and include: the configuration is for at least one of a CSI-RS resource or a CSI-RS resource set.

[0117] Example 18 can be combined with Example 17 and further include sending a trigger indication for the configuration to the UE.

[0118] Example 19 can be combined with any of Examples 11-18 and further include sending a TCI status for the first beam associated with the first SSB and the second beam associated with the second SSB to the UE, the first beam being different from the second beam.

[0119] Example 20 is an apparatus for wireless communication for implementing the method of any one of Examples 1-19.

[0120] Example 21 is an apparatus for wireless communication, comprising means for implementing the method of any one of Examples 1-19.

[0121] Example 22 is a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-executable code that, when executed by a processor, causes the processor to implement the method of any one of Examples 1-19.

Claims

1. A method of wireless communication at a user equipment (UE) (102), comprising: receiving a first synchronization signal block (SSB) (306a, 606) and a second SSB (306b / 308, 608) from a network entity (104) based on the same spatial domain transmission filter; as well as A signal is transmitted (312) to the network entity (104) via a UE beam, wherein selection of the UE beam is based on a joint beam tracking process (310, 610), the joint beam tracking process comprising a beam quality comparison of a first beam associated with the first SSB (306a, 606) and a second beam associated with the second SSB (306b / 308, 608).

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein receiving (306 a - 306 b, 308, 606 - 608) the first SSB and the second SSB based on the same spatial domain transmission filter further comprises: Receive at least one of the following: the first SSB and a different SSB compared to the first SSB, the first SSB and a repetition of the first SSB, the repetition comprising a full repetition of the first SSB or a partial repetition of the first SSB, or The first SSB and channel state information-reference signal (CSI-RS).

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the joint beam tracking process (310, 610) further comprises: comparing the first SSB to at least one of: the different SSB compared to the first SSB, the repetition of the first SSB, or the CSI-RS for the beam quality comparison of the first beam associated with the first SSB and the second beam associated with the second SSB, and wherein receiving the first SSB and the second SSB further comprises: The first SSB and the second SSB are received using different UE beams.

4. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising: A UE capability report is sent (302, 602) to the network entity (104), the UE capability report indicating the capability of the UE for the joint beam tracking procedure (310, 610).

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the UE capability report indicates at least one of: whether the UE supports SSB repetition for the joint beam tracking process, whether the UE supports the use of the second SSB as a repetition of the first SSB for the joint beam tracking process, whether the UE supports SSB and CSI-RS reception for the joint beam tracking process, a first minimum number of said SSB repetitions for UE beam sweeping procedure, a second minimum number of CSI-RS resources for the UE beam sweeping process, Whether the UE supports cross-component carrier CC SSB repetition for the joint beam tracking process, or Whether the UE supports cross-CC SSB and CSI-RS reception for the joint beam tracking process.

6. The method of any one of claims 1 to 5, further comprising: A configuration of at least one of the first SSB or the second SSB for the joint beam tracking process (310, 610) is received (304, 604) from the network entity (104).

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the configuration (304) is for the second SSB to be used as a repetition of the first SSB.

8. The method of claim 6, wherein the configuration (604) is for at least one of a channel state information-reference signal (CSI-RS) resource or a CSI-RS resource set.

9. The method of claim 8, further comprising: A trigger indication for the configuration (604) is received (607) from the network entity (104).

10. The method of any one of claims 1 to 9, further comprising: A transmission configuration indicator (TCI) state of the UE beam is updated (312, 612) based on the joint beam tracking process (310, 610), the joint beam tracking process including the beam quality comparison of the first beam associated with the first SSB and the second beam associated with the second SSB.

11. A method of wireless communication at a network entity (104), comprising: transmitting a first synchronization signal block (SSB) (306a, 606) and a second SSB (306b / 308, 608) to a user equipment (UE) (102) based on the same spatial domain transmission filter; as well as An indication of a UE beam for communicating (312, 612) with the network entity (104) is received from the UE (102), the indication of the UE beam being based on a joint beam tracking procedure of a first beam associated with the first SSB and a second beam associated with the second SSB.

12. The method of claim 11 , wherein transmitting (306a-306b, 308, 606-608) the first SSB and the second SSB based on the same spatial domain transmission filter further comprises: Send at least one of the following: the first SSB and a different SSB compared to the first SSB, the first SSB and a repetition of the first SSB, the repetition comprising a full repetition of the first SSB or a partial repetition of the first SSB, or The first SSB and channel state information-reference signal (CSI-RS).

13. The method of any one of claims 11-12, further comprising: A UE capability report is received (302, 602) from the UE (102), the UE capability report indicating the capabilities of the UE (102) for the joint beam tracking process (310, 610).

14. The method of any one of claims 11 to 13, further comprising: A resource configuration of at least one of the first SSB or the second SSB for the joint beam tracking process (310, 610) is sent (304, 604) to the UE (102).

15. An apparatus for wireless communication, comprising a transceiver, a memory, and a processor, the processor being coupled to the memory and the transceiver, the apparatus being configured to implement the method according to any one of claims 1 to 14.

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