Mechanism for full duplex communication

Abstract

Example embodiments of the present disclosure relate to full duplex communication. A device determines a frequency offset between a first center frequency of a first subband and a second center frequency of a carrier. The carrier is divided into a first sub-band for reception and at least one second sub-band for transmission over a duration. The first sub-band includes a set of resource blocks on a carrier. The device also determines a target sampling rate based at least on the subcarrier spacing and a number of resource blocks in the set of resource blocks. The device also processes the signal received on the first sub-band based on the frequency offset and the target sampling rate. In this manner, the sampling rate and the frequency offset may be adapted to the bandwidth of the first sub-band, thereby improving the processing of the signal.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] Various example embodiments of the present disclosure relate generally to the field of telecommunications, and in particular, to methods, devices, apparatuses, and computer-readable storage media for full duplex communication. BACKGROUND

[0002] Communication between devices can be divided into two types, simplex communication and duplex communication. Simplex communication is a communication channel that transmits information in only one direction. A duplex communication system is a point-to-point system that includes two or more connected parties or devices that can communicate with each other in both directions. Duplex systems are used in many communication networks to allow simultaneous communication in both directions between two connected parties, or to provide a return path for monitoring and remote adjustment of field equipment. There are two types of duplex communication systems: full duplex and half duplex. In some solutions, full duplex can be a communication system of a bidirectional type in which both end nodes transmit and receive data signals simultaneously, and a single carrier is used for both communication simultaneously. In some other solutions, full duplex can be a communication system in which only one end node can transmit and receive data signals simultaneously, while the other node can only transmit or receive simultaneously. Half duplex is a communication mode in which data can be transmitted or received, but not both simultaneously. In addition, the evolution of new radio (NR) duplex operation has been studied. Therefore, it is important to support duplex evolution for NR. SUMMARY

[0003] In a first aspect of the present disclosure, a first apparatus is provided. The first apparatus includes at least one processor and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the first apparatus to perform determining a frequency offset between a first center frequency of a first sub-band and a second center frequency of a carrier, wherein, for a time duration, the carrier is divided into the first sub-band for reception and at least one second sub-band for transmission, and the first sub-band includes a set of resource blocks on the carrier; determining a target sampling rate based at least on a subcarrier spacing and a number of resource blocks in the set of resource blocks; and processing a signal received from a second apparatus on the first sub-band based on the frequency offset and the target sampling rate.

[0004] In a second aspect of the present disclosure, a second apparatus is provided. The second apparatus includes at least one processor and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the second apparatus to perform transmitting a signal to a first apparatus on an uplink sub-band of a carrier, and wherein, for a time duration, the carrier is divided into the uplink sub-band and at least one downlink sub-band, and the uplink sub-band includes a set of resource blocks on the carrier.

[0005] In a third aspect of the disclosure, a method is provided. The method includes determining, at a first device, a frequency offset between a first center frequency of a first sub-band and a second center frequency of a carrier, wherein the carrier is divided into the first sub-band for reception and at least one second sub-band for transmission for a time duration, and the first sub-band comprises a set of resource blocks on the carrier; determining a target sampling rate based on at least a subcarrier spacing and a number of resource blocks in the set of resource blocks; and processing a signal received from a second device on the first sub-band based on the frequency offset and the target sampling rate.

[0006] In a fourth aspect of the disclosure, a method is provided. The method includes transmitting, at a second device, a signal to a first device on an uplink sub-band of a carrier, and wherein the carrier is divided into the uplink sub-band and at least one downlink sub-band for a time duration, and the uplink sub-band comprises a set of resource blocks on the carrier.

[0007] In a fifth aspect of the disclosure, a first device is provided. The first device includes means for determining a frequency offset between a first center frequency of a first sub-band and a second center frequency of a carrier, wherein the carrier is divided into the first sub-band for reception and at least one second sub-band for transmission for a time duration, and the first sub-band comprises a set of resource blocks on the carrier; means for determining a target sampling rate based on at least a subcarrier spacing and a number of resource blocks in the set of resource blocks; and means for processing a signal received from a second device on the first sub-band based on the frequency offset and the target sampling rate.

[0008] In a sixth aspect of the disclosure, a second device is provided. The second device includes means for transmitting a signal to a first device on an uplink sub-band of a carrier, and wherein the carrier is divided into the uplink sub-band and at least one downlink sub-band for a time duration, and the uplink sub-band comprises a set of resource blocks on the carrier.

[0009] In a seventh aspect of the disclosure, a computer readable medium is provided. The computer readable medium includes instructions stored thereon for causing a device to perform at least the method according to the third aspect.

[0010] In an eighth aspect of the disclosure, a computer readable medium is provided. The computer readable medium includes instructions stored thereon for causing a device to perform at least the method according to the fourth aspect.

[0011] It should be understood that the Summary is not intended to identify key or essential features of embodiments of the disclosure, nor is it intended to be used in limiting the scope of the disclosure. Other features, details, and advantages of the disclosure will become apparent from the following description. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0012] Some example embodiments will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0013] Figure 1 An example communication environment in which example embodiments of the present disclosure can be implemented is illustrated;

[0014] Figure 2 A schematic diagram of a sub-band non-overlapping full duplex (SBFD) slot format during a downlink-SBFD-uplink period is illustrated in accordance with some example embodiments;

[0015] Figure 3 An example of DL and UL sub-band splitting in a SBFD mode is illustrated in accordance with some example embodiments;

[0016] Figure 4 A signaling diagram for communication is illustrated in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0017] Figure 5 A schematic diagram of sub-band locations in a carrier is illustrated in accordance with some example embodiments;

[0018] Figure 6 An overview architecture of a receiver is illustrated in accordance with some example embodiments;

[0019] Figure 7A And Figure 7B Schematic diagrams of processing chains are illustrated in accordance with some example embodiments, respectively;

[0020] Figure 8 A schematic diagram of a fast Fourier transform (FFT) grid and a physical resource grid for sub-bands for SBFD is illustrated in accordance with some example embodiments;

[0021] Figure 9 A flow diagram of a method implemented at a first device is illustrated in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0022] Figure 10 A flow diagram of a method implemented at a second device is illustrated in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0023] Figure 11 A simplified block diagram of a device suitable for implementing example embodiments of the present disclosure is illustrated; and

[0024] Figure 12 A block diagram of an example computer-readable medium in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure is illustrated.

[0025] Throughout the drawings, identical or similar reference numerals can represent same or similar elements. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0026] The principles of the present disclosure will now be described with reference to some example embodiments. It is to be understood that the embodiments are described for illustrative purposes only and help a person skilled in the art to understand and implement the present disclosure without suggesting any limitation on the scope of the present disclosure. The embodiments described herein can be implemented in various ways other than those described below.

[0027] In the following description and claims, unless otherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this disclosure belongs.

[0028] Reference in the present disclosure to “one embodiment”, “an embodiment”, “example embodiment”, etc., indicates that a described embodiment can include a particular feature, structure, or characteristic, but every embodiment can not necessarily include the particular feature, structure, or characteristic. Moreover, such phrases are not necessarily referring to the same embodiment. Further, when a particular feature, structure, or characteristic is described in connection with an embodiment, it is submitted that, within the knowledge of those skilled in the art, such feature, structure, or characteristic can be affected by combinations with other embodiments, whether or not explicitly described.

[0029] It should be understood that although the terms “first”, “second”, etc. can be used herein to describe various elements, these elements should not be limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish one element from another. For example, a first element could be termed a second element, and, similarly, a second element could be termed a first element, without departing from the scope of the example embodiments. As used herein, the term “and / or” includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed terms.

[0030] As used herein, “at least one of ” and “one or more of ” and similar phrases, where a list of two or more elements is preceded by “at least one of” or “one or more of”, indicates that at least one element of the list of two or more elements, or at least any two or more of the elements, or at least all elements of the list have been met.

[0031] The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of example embodiments. As used herein, the singular forms “a”, “an” and “the” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “comprises”, “comprising”, “includes” and / or “including”, when used herein, specify the presence of stated features, elements and / or components etc. but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, elements, components and / or combinations thereof.

[0032] As used in this application, the term “circuitry” can refer to one or more or all of the following: (a) hardware-only circuitry implementations (such as implementations in only analog and / or digital circuitry) and (b) combinations of hardware circuits and software, such as (as applicable): (i) combinations of analog and / or digital hardware circuits with software / firmware and (ii) combinations of hardware processors (including digital signal processors) with software software, and memory that work together to cause an apparatus, such as a mobile phone or server, to perform various functions and hardware circuit(s) and / or processor(s), such as a microprocessor(s) or a portion of a microprocessor(s), that requires software (e.g., firmware) for operation, but is not working in combination with software, but this software can not be present when it is not needed for the hardware circuit(s) and / or processor(s) to operate.

[0033] This definition of circuitry applies to all uses of this term in this application, including in any claims. As a further example, as used in this application, the term circuitry also covers an implementation that includes a processor (or multiple processors) and / or state machine (or multiple state machines), and / or hardwired circuitry that work together to cause an apparatus to perform various functions described herein and / or to cause various aspects of the procedures described herein to be performed, when that apparatus is working in combination with software. The term circuitry also covers (for example, and if applicable to a particular claim element) an implementation that includes hardware-only circuit implementations (such as implementations in only analog and / or digital circuitry) and / or implementations that include a combination of hardware circuits and software, such as (as applicable):

[0034] As used herein, the term “communication network” refers to a network that follows any suitable communication standard, such as New Radio (NR), Long Term Evolution (LTE), LTE-Advanced (LTE-A), Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), High-Speed Packet Access (HSPA), Narrow Band Internet of Things (NB-IoT), etc. Further, communication between terminal devices and network devices in a communication network can be performed according to any suitable generation communication protocol, including but not limited to, first generation (1G), second generation (2G), 2.5G, 2.75G, third generation (3G), fourth generation (4G), 4.5G, fifth generation (5G) communication protocols, and / or any other protocols that are currently known or that will be developed in the future. Embodiments of the present disclosure can be applied to various communication systems. In view of the rapid development in communications, it is clear that future types of communication technologies and systems will also appear, which can embody the present disclosure. The scope of the present disclosure should not be seen as limited only to the above-described systems.

[0035] As used herein, the term “network device” refers to a node in a communication network via which terminal devices access the network and receive services therefrom. Depending on the terminology applied, the network device can refer to a base station (BS) or an access point (AP), e.g., a Node B (NodeB or NB), an evolved NodeB (eNodeB or eNB), an NR NB (also referred to as gNB), a remote radio unit (RRU), a radio head (RH), a remote radio head (RRH), a relay, an integrated access and backhaul (IAB) node, a low power node (such as a femto, pico), a non-terrestrial network (NTN) or non-terrestrial network device (such as satellite network devices, low earth orbit (LEO) satellites, and geosynchronous earth orbit (GEO) satellites), a flying aircraft network device, etc. In some example embodiments, a radio access network (RAN) split architecture includes a centralized unit (CU) and a distributed unit (DU) at an IAB donor node. An IAB node includes a mobile termination (IAB-MT) portion that behaves like a UE toward a parent node, and a DU portion of the IAB node that behaves like a base station toward a next hop IAB node.

[0036] The term “terminal device” refers to any terminal device capable of wireless communication. As examples and not by way of limitation, a terminal device can also be referred to as a communication device, user equipment (UE), subscriber station (SS), portable subscriber station, mobile station (MS), or access terminal (AT). A terminal device can include, but is not limited to, a mobile phone, a cellular phone, a smart phone, a voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) phone, a wireless local loop phone, a tablet computer, a wearable terminal device, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a portable computer, a desktop computer, an image capture terminal device such as a digital camera, a game terminal device, a music storage and playback appliance, a vehicle-mounted wireless terminal device, a wireless endpoint, a mobile station, a laptop-embedded equipment (LEE), a laptop-mounted equipment (LME), a USB dongle, a smart device, a wireless customer-premises equipment (CPE), an Internet of Things (loT) device, a watch or other wearable, a head-mounted display (HMD), a vehicle, a drone, medical devices and applications (e.g., remote surgery), industrial devices and applications (e.g., robots and / or other wireless devices operating in industrial and / or automated processing chains environments), consumer electronics, devices operating on commercial and / or industrial wireless networks, etc. A terminal device can also correspond to a mobile termination (MT) portion of an IAB node (e.g., a relay node). In the following description, the terms “terminal device,” “communication device,” “terminal,” “user equipment,” and “UE” can be used interchangeably.

[0037] As used herein, the term “resource,” “transmission resource,” “resource block,” “physical resource block” (PRB), “uplink resource,” or “downlink resource” can refer to any resource used to perform communication, e.g., communication between a terminal device and a network device, such as a resource in time domain, a resource in frequency domain, a resource in spatial domain, a resource in code domain, or any other resource that enables communication, etc. Hereinafter, unless explicitly stated, resources in both frequency and time domains will be used as an example of transmission resources for describing some example embodiments of the present disclosure. Note that example embodiments of the present disclosure are equally applicable to other resources in other domains.

[0038] The term “carrier” used herein can refer to an electromagnetic wave that can be modulated in frequency, amplitude, or phase to transmit a signal. The term “sub-band” used herein can refer to a set of resources in frequency domain. The term “sampling rate” used herein can refer to the number of samples per second, e.g., the unit can be samples per second (sps). In signal processing, sampling is the reduction of a continuous-time signal to a discrete-time signal. The term “subcarrier spacing (SCS)” used herein can refer to the spacing between subcarriers.

[0039] As mentioned above, it is important to support duplex evolution for NR. For example, network devices can operate in full duplex mode and terminal devices can operate in half duplex mode. Furthermore, for network devices operating in full duplex mode, it can still reside in the full carrier bandwidth for downlink (DL) transmission (TX) processing and uplink (UL) reception (RX) processing. For DL TX, this is simple because there can be multiple DL subbands occupying different frequency locations, and thus splitting the carrier into multiplexed subbands can incur additional computational complexity. For UL RX, since it has been agreed that only one UL subband is supported and UL transmissions from SBFD-aware UEs outside the UL subband are not allowed. In fact, transmissions from non-SBFD-aware UEs outside the UL subband can also be avoided, otherwise, DL TX and UL RX will be activated simultaneously in overlapping frequency resources, which can cause serious UE-to-UE and gNB-to-gNB interference issues. Therefore, it is predicted that all UL transmissions are within the UL subband. From the perspective of gNB UL receiver, only the frequency resources within the UL subband can be received, which means that the gNB RX processing chain operating in the full carrier is not efficient. For example, the receiver computational complexity can be affected. As an example, since the gNB receiver is highly related to the frequency band size, more computational resources are needed when the gNB operates in the full carrier bandwidth and SBFD is activated. Furthermore, for certain gNB radio unit (RU) to baseband unit (BBU) split types, time or frequency domain signals need to be transferred from the RU to the BBU, and the amount of data is proportional to the sampling rate, and thus also proportional to the frequency band size being processed in the gNB receiver. Larger frequency band size requires higher fronthaul processing capability. Furthermore, due to the fact that TX and RX are activated simultaneously when the gNB operates in SBFD mode, without advanced RF cross-link cancellation algorithms, DL-UL leakage can impact system performance with the gNB UL receiver operating in the full carrier bandwidth. Therefore, new solutions are needed to support SBFD mode.

[0040] According to some example embodiments of the present disclosure, a solution for supporting SBFD mode is provided. In this solution, a device determines a frequency offset between a first center frequency of a first sub-band and a second center frequency of a carrier. For a duration, the carrier is split into a first sub-band for reception and at least one second sub-band for transmission. The first sub-band includes a set of resource blocks on the carrier. The device also determines a target sampling rate based at least on a subcarrier spacing and a number of resource blocks in the set of resource blocks. The device also processes a signal received on the first sub-band based on the frequency offset and the target sampling rate. In this way, the sampling rate and the frequency offset can be adapted to the bandwidth of the first sub-band, improving the processing of the signal. Moreover, the signal can be processed more efficiently. In addition, the receiver computational complexity can be reduced and less fronthaul interface capacity can be needed. Furthermore, self-interference can also be reduced.

[0041] Figure 1 An example communication environment 100 in which example embodiments of the present disclosure can be implemented is shown. In the communication environment 100, multiple communication devices, including a device 110 and a device 120, can communicate with each other.

[0042] In Figure 1 example, the device 110 can include a terminal device and the device 120 can include a network device serving the terminal device. A service area of the device 120 can be referred to as a cell 102.

[0043] It should be appreciated that Figure 1 the number of devices and their connections shown in FIG. 1 are for purposes of illustration and demonstration only and are not intended to imply any limitation. The communication environment 100 can include any suitable number of devices configured to implement example embodiments of the present disclosure. Although not shown, it should be appreciated that one or more additional devices can be located in the cell 102 and one or more additional cells can be deployed in the communication environment 100. Note that although the device 120 is shown as a network device, it can be other than a network device. Although the device 110 is shown as a terminal device, it can be other than a terminal device.

[0044] Hereinafter, for purposes of illustration, some example embodiments are described in which the device 110 operates as a terminal device and the device 120 operates as a network device. However, in some example embodiments, operations described in connection with a terminal device can be implemented at a network device or other device and operations described in connection with a network device can be implemented at a terminal device or other device.

[0045] In some example embodiments, if device 110 is a terminal device and device 120 is a network device, the link from device 120 to device 110 is referred to as a downlink (DL), and the link from the first device 110 to the second device 120 is referred to as an uplink (UL). In the DL, the second device 120 is a transmitting (TX) device (or transmitter), and the first device 110 is a receiving (RX) device (or receiver). In the UL, the first device 110 is a TX device (or transmitter), and the second device 120 is an RX device (or receiver).

[0046] Communication in communication environment 100 can be implemented according to any suitable communication protocol(s), including but not limited to cellular communication protocols such as first-generation (1G), second-generation (2G), third-generation (3G), fourth-generation (4G), fifth-generation (5G), and sixth-generation (6G), as well as wireless local network communication protocols such as the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11, and / or any other protocol currently known or to be developed in the future. Furthermore, communication can utilize any suitable wireless communication technology, including but not limited to: Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA), Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA), Frequency Division Duplex (FDD), Time Division Duplex (TDD), Multiple-Input Multiple-Output (MIMO), Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDM), Discrete Fourier Transform Extended OFDM (DFT-s-OFDM), and / or any other technology currently known or to be developed in the future.

[0047] like Figure 1 As shown, device 120 is capable of operating in SBFD mode. In this mode, a time division duplex (TDD) carrier can be divided into at least one DL subband and one UL subband within a single time instance (e.g., a timeslot), meaning that device 120 can simultaneously transmit in (multiple) DL subbands and receive in (multiple) UL subbands. The (multiple) DL subbands and (multiple) UL subbands can be non-overlapping in the frequency domain. Compared to conventional TDD operation, SBFD offers advantages such as enhanced UL coverage, reduced end-to-end latency, and improved system capacity.

[0048] Figure 2 A schematic diagram of SBFD slot format 200 during the downlink-SBFD-uplink period is shown according to some example embodiments. For example... Figure 2As shown, the full carrier 210 can be used for DL transmission at the beginning, and then be tuned to SBFD mode. Within the duration 260, the full carrier 210 can be split into UL subband 230 and DL subbands 220-1 and 220-2. For example, DL transmission in two DL subbands 220-1 and 220-2 and UL reception in one UL subband 230 are implemented simultaneously. Finally, the whole carrier 220 can be retuned for UL reception only. The potential guard period (GP) 250 inserted in the time domain can be necessary for TX-RX switching and interference mitigation for a set of gNB antennas. The potential guard band (GB) 240 inserted in the frequency domain can be used for mitigating self-interference due to simultaneous TX and RX at the gNB side. Note that, Figure 2 The number of UL subbands and the number of DL subbands shown in FIG. 2 are examples only and not limiting.

[0049] In some example embodiments, for semi-static configuration of subband frequency locations for SBFD operation, at least explicit indication of frequency locations of UL subbands is needed. In addition, for indication of subband locations for SBFD operation, semi-static configuration of subband time and frequency locations is studied as a baseline. For semi-static configuration of subband locations, the same subband frequency resources across different SBFD symbols can be considered as a baseline. In some example embodiments, for semi-static configuration of subband frequency locations for SBFD operation, frequency locations of UL / DL subbands refer to common resource block (CRB) grid.

[0050] In some example embodiments, for SBFD-aware UEs that are semi-statically configured with UL subbands in SBFD symbols configured as DL in TDD-UL-DL-ConfigCommon, the following can be followed: (1) UL transmission within the UL subband in the symbol is allowed; (2) UL transmission outside the UL subband in the symbol is not allowed; (3) the frequency locations of the DL subband(s) are known to the SBFD-aware UE; (4) the frequency locations of the DL subband(s) can be explicitly indicated or implicitly derived; and (5) DL reception within the DL subband(s) in the symbol is allowed. The UL transmission is within the active UL bandwidth part (BWP), and the DL reception is within the active DL BWP in the symbol.

[0051] Figure 3An example of DL and UL subband splitting in SBFD mode is shown according to some example embodiments. For example, in some example embodiments, the carrier 210 can be split into DL subbands 320-1 and 320-2 and UL subbands 310. In this case, the UL subbands 310 can be in the middle of the carrier 210, and the DL subbands 320-1 and 320-2 can be at the bottom and top of the carrier 210. A number of GBs 350 can be inserted between the DL and UL subbands to mitigate interference. Note that the DL subbands 320-1 and 320-2 and the UL subbands 310 can include any suitable number of resources. Alternatively, in some other example embodiments, the carrier 210 can be split into UL subbands 330 and DL subbands 340. In this case, a GP 360 can be inserted between the DL and UL subbands 330 and 340. Note that the DL subbands 340 and the UL subbands 330 can include any suitable number of resources. Note that the DL / UL subband frequency resource allocation ratio for SBFD mode can be any suitable value. For example, considering the fact of DL / UL traffic load imbalance in a real network, more frequency resources can be allocated to DL. As an example, 80% and 20% of the full carrier frequency resources can be allocated for DL and UL subbands, respectively. On the other hand, when the device 120 operates in SBFD mode, the final implementation of the gNB antennas can be: a first gNB antenna panel operating in DL TX mode and DL subband(s), and a second gNB antenna panel operating in UL RX mode and UL subband. The above TX and RX antenna panels can be designed to have high spatial isolation to mitigate gNB self-interference.

[0052] Example embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Reference is now made to the drawings, wherein: Figure 4 which shows a signaling diagram 400 for communication according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure. As shown, the signaling diagram 400 involves a device 410 and a device 420. For example, the device 410 can be implemented at the device 120, or it can be the device 120. The device 420 can be implemented at the device 110, or it can be the device 110. Although one device 410 and one device 420 are shown in Figure 4 , it should be understood that there can be multiple devices performing similar operations to those described below with respect to the device 410 and multiple devices performing similar operations to those described below with respect to the device 420. For illustrative purposes, the following describes the device 410 and the device 420 with respect to the signaling diagram 400. Figure 4 Figures 2 to 3 and Figures 5 to 8 are described below with reference to the signaling diagram 400. Figure 4 .

[0053] ​Device 410 can operate in full-duplex mode. For example, device 410 can operate in SBFD mode. For example, SBFD slot format 200 can be configured at device 410. The bandwidth of carrier 210 can be configured at device 410. The way carrier 210 is split can also be configured. For example, if carrier 210 is split into DL subbands 320-1 and 320-2 and UL subband 310, the number of resources in UL subband 310 and the number of resources in DL subbands 320-1 and 320-2 can be configured at device 410. In addition, GB 350 can also be configured at device 410. In another example, if carrier is split into UL subband 330 and DL subband 340, the number of resources in UL subband 330, the number of resources in DL subband 340, and GB 360 can be configured at device 410. Note that the number of resource blocks in each subband and GB can be any suitable number.

[0054] In some example embodiments, device 410 may be configured with multiple SBFD time slot formats. For example, in some embodiments, the bandwidth of the UL subband and / or the bandwidth of the DL subband may be different in the multiple SBFD time slot formats. Alternatively, the timing of carrier splitting may be different in the multiple SBFD time slot formats.

[0055] Subbands used for SBFD can include a set of resource blocks in the frequency domain. For example, such as Figure 5 As shown, subband 530 may include a set of 550 resource blocks. For example, the frequency position of the UL subband relative to the full carrier can be controlled using two parameters: the starting resource block and the starting resource block. and the number of RB For example, such as Figure 5 As shown, the starting resource block (denoted as "540") and the number of resource blocks can be used to determine the frequency position of subband 530. That is, subband 530 can be located within the resource block... Starting at and including The number of resource blocks (560) in carrier 510 can be N. RB In this case, the resource block ratio α between carrier 210 and subband 530 can be In some example embodiments, the resource block ratio α can be between 2 and 8, i.e., 8 ≥ α ≥ 2. The position of subband 530 can be flexibly configured in carrier 210 for SBFD mode. Note that... Figure 5 The position of sub-band 530 shown is merely an example and not a limitation.

[0056] The device 410 determines 4010 a frequency offset between a center frequency of a subband (e.g., an uplink subband) (hereinafter referred to as “first frequency center”) and a center frequency of a carrier (hereinafter referred to as “second frequency center”). For example, as shown in FIG. 5, a frequency offset 500 between a center frequency 510 of a subband 530 and a center frequency 520 of a carrier 560 can be determined by the device 410. In some embodiments, the frequency offset can be dynamically determined. Alternatively, the frequency offset can be pre-determined. Note that the frequency offset can be determined based on any suitable method. In this case, a signal can be shifted in the frequency domain to the center of a subband, instead of a full carrier. By way of example only, the frequency offset 500 (in Hz) can be obtained as: Figure 5 where Δf denotes the frequency offset 500, f s denotes the center frequency 510, f c denotes the center frequency 520, denotes a starting resource block of the subband 530, denotes a number of resource blocks in the subband 530, N RB denotes a number of resource blocks in the carrier 210, N Band denotes an SBS for the carrier 210, denotes a number of subcarriers per resource block, which is also generally defined by 3GPP. For example, may be 12.

[0057] The device 410 determines 4020 a target sampling rate based on at least the SCS and the number of resource blocks in the set of resource blocks. For example, the SCS can be one of: 15 kHz, 30 kHz, 60 kHz, 240 kHz, or 480 kHz. In this way, the target sampling rate can be significantly reduced, such that the computational resources for baseband and radio frequency processing can be correspondingly reduced.

[0058] In example embodiments, the device 410 can determine an operating carrier bandwidth. For example, the operating carrier bandwidth can be a minimum operating carrier that has the same SCS as the SCS of the carrier (e.g., the carrier 210). By way of example, if the SCS of the carrier is 30 kHz, then the SCS of the operating carrier bandwidth is also 30 kHz. In addition, the number of resource blocks of the operating carrier bandwidth (denoted as ) can be greater than the number of resource blocks in the set of resource blocks (i.e., ). By way of example, the operating carrier bandwidth can be determined from a transmission bandwidth configuration. The device 410 can also determine the target sampling rate based on the operating carrier bandwidth and the sampling rate of the carrier. In some example embodiments, the sampling rate of the carrier (denoted as “S c ​”) and the target sampling rate (denoted as “S t For example, in some cases, only down-sampling ratios that are powers of 2 can be allowed. That is, the sampling rate (S c ) of the full carrier and the target sampling rate (S t ) can be a power of 2, i.e., S c / S t = 2 k , k = 0, 1, 2,.... In this way, since the operational bandwidth is designed according to the sub-band size, potential self-interference can be reduced from the RF processing chain.

[0059] In some example embodiments, the target sampling rate can be determined based on Table 1 below. Note that any appropriate method can be used to determine the target sampling rate, and Table 1 is merely an example and not a limitation. Table 1 Taking 30KHz SCS and 100MHz carrier bandwidth as an example, the number of available resource blocks is 273, which can be obtained from Table 1. Assume then since the operational carrier bandwidth is 25MHz, as shown in Table 1. The target sampling rates for 100MHz and 25MHz carrier bandwidths can be 122.88Msps and 30.72Msps, respectively. Thus, the target sampling rate can be set to 30.72Msps, which means the time interval of the signal is about 32.55 nanoseconds.

[0060] The device 420 transmits (4030) a signal to the device 410 on a sub-band of a carrier. For example, the device 410 receives a signal from the device 420 on the sub-band 530 of the carrier 210.

[0061] The device 410 processes (4040) the signal based on the frequency offset and the target sampling rate. For example, the frequency offset and the target sampling rate can affect one or more steps of the processing procedure. In this way, the computational resources for baseband and radio frequency processing can be reduced accordingly.

[0062] As an example, the receiver architecture 600 as shown in Figure 6 may be implemented at the device 410. As Figure 6As shown in FIG. 5, the signal transmitted (4030) from the device 420 can be received by the antenna panel 610. The signal can further pass through an analog front end (AFE) module 620. In the AFE module 620, the signal can be amplified by a low noise amplifier (LNA) and down-converted by a local oscillator (LO). Analog beamforming with a phase shifter can also be performed in the analog domain. The device 410 can apply analog-to-digital conversion to the signal using an analog-to-digital converter (ADC) 630. In this case, the signal is converted to the digital domain.

[0063] The device 410 can apply digital front end (DFE) processing to the signal based on the frequency offset and the target sampling rate. In this case, the DFE module 640 can further process the signal based on the frequency offset and the target sampling rate. For example, the device 410 can shift the zero frequency of the signal to the center frequency 510 of the sub-band 530 according to the frequency offset. In some example embodiments, as shown in FIG. 6, the DFE module 640 can also include a digital down conversion (DDC) module 6410, a sampling rate conversion (SRC) module 6420, and a channel filtering module 6430. That is, the DFT module 640 can perform one or more of the following on the signal: signal level control, digital down conversion, sampling rate conversion (SRC), or channel filtering. Note that the DFE module 640 can also include one or more other modules not shown in FIG. 6. Figure 7A Figure 7A

[0064] In some example embodiments, the signal can be down-converted to a baseband signal in the DDC 6410 based on the frequency offset. The frequency offset can be implemented by using a numerically controlled oscillator (NCO). The signal can be passed into the SRC module 6420 for channel filtering and down-sampling. In this case, the device 410 can perform down-sampling on the signal according to the target sampling rate. For example, according to the target sampling rate (S t ), the down-sampling rate can be updated and further down-sampling can be implemented in the SRC module. The SRC module 6420 can include a cascaded integrator-comb filter and a half-band filter, so that different down-sampling rates can be naturally supported.

[0065] Furthermore, the operating carrier bandwidth can be the target channel bandwidth to select a suitable channel filter. Therefore, by using the frequency offset 500, the output signal from the DFE module 640 can be a time-domain discrete signal with the target sampling rate S t and a zero frequency located at the center frequency 510 of the sub-band 530. In this way, potential self-interference can be reduced from the RF processing chain since the operating bandwidth is designed according to the sub-band size.

[0066] ​​The device 410 can apply baseband processing to the signal based on the target sampling rate. For example, the baseband processing can include orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) symbol processing functions (e.g., cyclic prefix (CP) removal, fast Fourier transform (FFT) operations, and phase compensation, etc.), digital beamforming (DBF), and the following frequency domain processing (i.e., physical resource demapping, channel estimation, parameter estimation, equalizer, soft bit computation, and decoder, etc.). As shown in FIG. 6b, the baseband processing module 650 can include an OFDM symbol processing module 6510, a digital beamforming module 6520, and a resource demapping module 6530. Note that the baseband processing module 650 can also include one or more other modules not shown in FIG. 6b. The BB processing before resource demapping can depend on the frequency bandwidth. For example, the size of CP and FFT implemented in the OFDM symbol processing module is proportional to the frequency bandwidth. Figure 7B

[0067] In some example embodiments, the device 410 can determine time domain signal measurements based on the target sampling rate. For example, a measurement of a received signal strength indicator (RSSI) can be determined based on the target sampling rate. The device 410 can also determine time domain signal processing based on the target sampling rate. For example, the amount of sampled data of a signal can also be changed due to the change of the target sampling rate. Alternatively or additionally, the device 410 can determine parameter estimation or beamforming processing based on the target sampling rate. For example, a parameter related to bandwidth can be determined based on the target sampling rate.

[0068] In some other example embodiments, the device 410 can determine a CP based on the target sampling rate and the sampling rate of the carrier. For example, the CP can be determined as: wherein denotes the determined CP, N CP denotes the CP of the full carrier, S t denotes the target sampling rate, and S c denotes the sampling rate of the full carrier.

[0069] Alternatively or additionally, the device 410 can determine a FFT size based on the target sampling rate and the sampling rate of the carrier. For example, the FFT size can be determined as: wherein denotes the determined FFT size, N FFT denotes the FFT size of the full carrier, S t denotes the target sampling rate, and S c denotes the sampling rate of the full carrier. Table 2 shows examples of the CP and FFT size of the full carrier and the operating carrier bandwidth. It should be noted that Table 2 is merely an example and not a limitation.​ Table 2 For example, as shown in Table 2, the CP and FFT size can be reduced to one quarter compared to those of full carrier and FFT size.

[0070] Alternatively or additionally, the device 410 can determine the frequency resources for a subband (e.g., the subband 530) based on a frequency relationship between the subband and a carrier (e.g., the carrier 210). For example, a signal after an FFT operation can be mapped into an FFT grid (at the granularity of SCS), and then the effective physical resources located at the center of the carrier can be extracted for the following processing. For example, as shown in FIG. 5B, if the device 410 operates the subband 530 in the SBFD mode, the frequency resources of the subband 530 can be extracted by removing Figure 8 from both sides of the FFT grid, where represents the number of subcarriers per resource block, which is also generally defined by 3GPP, for example, may be 12. The effective frequency signal can be sent to a DBF module.

[0071] In some example embodiments, in a TDD carrier with massive multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) deployment, a sounding reference signal (SRS) can generally be used to obtain DL / UL channel state information. In this case, SRS processing can also be considered in the module, where the only impact is SRS resource demapping. In the case where the UL subband is operated for SBFD, the original SRS frequency (resource element) locations calculated based on the full carrier (e.g., lo, li, l2,...) can be converted to where represents the number of subcarriers per resource block, which is also generally defined by 3GPP, for example, may be 12. And for other physical channels and signals, the same rule can be followed in the resource demapping module.

[0072] In some example embodiments, the entire receiver can be split into radio unit (RU) processing and baseband unit (BBU) processing, and they can communicate through a fronthaul interface. Different splitting options are proposed, where the signals transferred from the fronthaul are different. A key capacity requirement for the fronthaul processing can be the number of data volume that needs to be transferred from the RU to the BBU. For example, in the case where the device 410 operates in the UL subband for SBFD, three splitting options can be applied. In this way, the demand for optical fiber can be reduced.

[0073] ​For example, if the DFE processing chain is deployed in the RU and the BB processing is deployed in the BBU, the data transferred from the RU to the DU is a time domain discrete signal with a certain sampling rate. In this case, a target sampling rate lower than the full carrier and with a smaller number of samples can be beneficial for the fronthaul processing.

[0074] Alternatively, if the RU processing depends on the OFDM symbol processing module and the rest of the functions reside in the BBU, the data transferred from the RU to the BBU is a frequency domain signal before DBF. In this case, the data volume can be reduced in case the device 410 operates in frequency resources with a smaller UL subband width.

[0075] In some other embodiments, if the RU processing depends on the DBF module and the rest of the functions reside in the BBU, the data transferred from the RU to the BBU is also a frequency domain signal. In this case, the data volume can be reduced in case the device 410 operates in frequency resources with a smaller UL subband width.

[0076] According to reference Figures 2 to 8 The described embodiments, a frequency offset value and a target sampling rate value associated with a subband of a carrier can be determined. Specifically, the frequency offset value is determined based on the UL subband frequency location relative to the carrier bandwidth. Further, the target sampling rate value can be determined by selecting a corresponding sampling rate for the operable carrier bandwidth, e.g., to satisfy that the number of available RBs of the operable carrier that is larger than the UL subband size and / or the ratio between the sampling rate of the full carrier and the sampling rate of the operable carrier follows a power of 2. In this case, the signal is processed based on the determined frequency offset and target sampling rate. For example, in a DFE processing chain, the frequency offset value can be implemented in a DDC module in the DFE and the target sampling rate can be implemented in a SRC module in the DFE. Alternatively or additionally, in a baseband processing chain, the sampling rate impact on time domain signal measurements and parameter estimation can be considered. For example, the CP / FFT size within the OFDM symbol processing module can be calculated based on the ratio of the sampling rate between the operating carrier and the full carrier. The frequency resource relationship between the UL subband and the full carrier can be considered in the physical channel resource de-mapping, the DBF module, and the resource de-mapping module. In this way, the computational resources for baseband and radio frequency processing can be reduced accordingly. Further, the fronthaul capacity can also be saved in certain gNB fronthaul interface types. Additionally, since the operable bandwidth is designed according to the UL subband size, potential gNB self-interference can be reduced from the RF processing chain.

[0077] Figure 9 A flowchart illustrating an example method 900 implemented at a first device, in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure, is shown. For purposes of discussion, the method will be discussed with respect to the apparatuses and systems described previously. However, the method can be implemented using other apparatuses and systems. Figure 1The method 900 is described from the perspective of the device 120 in FIG. 1.

[0078] At block 910, the device 120 determines a frequency offset between a first center frequency of the first sub-band and a second center frequency of the carrier. The carrier is divided into the first sub-band for reception and at least one second sub-band for transmission for a duration. In this case, the first sub-band includes a set of resource blocks on the carrier.

[0079] At block 920, the device 120 determines a target sampling rate based at least on a subcarrier spacing and a number of resource blocks in the set of resource blocks. In some example embodiments, the device 120 can determine an operating carrier bandwidth having a same subcarrier spacing as the carrier. In this case, a number of resource blocks of the operating carrier bandwidth can be greater than the number of resource blocks in the set of resource blocks. The device 120 can further determine the target sampling rate based on the operating carrier bandwidth and a sampling rate of the carrier. In some example embodiments, a ratio between the sampling rate of the carrier and the target sampling rate satisfies a power of 2.

[0080] At block 930, the device 120 processes a signal received from the second apparatus on the first sub-band based on the frequency offset and the target sampling rate. In some example embodiments, the device 120 can apply digital front-end processing to the signal based on the frequency offset and the target sampling rate. In some example embodiments, after analog-to-digital conversion is applied to the signal, the device 120 can shift a zero frequency of the signal to the first center frequency of the first sub-band according to the frequency offset. In some example embodiments, the device 120 can perform down-sampling on the signal according to the target sampling rate.

[0081] In some example embodiments, the device 120 can apply baseband processing to the signal based on the target sampling rate. In some example embodiments, the device 120 can determine at least one of the following based on the target sampling rate: a time-domain signal measurement, a time-domain signal processing, a parameter estimation, or a beamforming procedure. In some example embodiments, the device 120 can determine at least one of the following based on the target sampling rate and a sampling rate of the carrier: a cyclic prefix or a fast Fourier transform size. In some example embodiments, the device 120 can determine a frequency resource for the first sub-band based on a frequency relationship between the first sub-band and the carrier.

[0082] Figure 10 A flowchart illustrating an example method 1000 implemented at a second apparatus according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure is shown. For purposes of discussion, the method 1000 is described from the perspective of the device 110 in FIG. 1. Figure 1 The method 1000 is described from the perspective of the device 110 in FIG. 1.

[0083] At block 1010, the device 110 transmits a signal to the device 120 on an uplink subband of a carrier. For a time duration, the carrier is divided into the uplink subband and at least one downlink subband. The uplink subband includes a set of resource blocks on the carrier. Alternatively, the device 110 can receive another signal on at least one subband of the carrier for the time duration, instead of transmitting the signal. In some embodiments, at block 1020, the device 110 can transmit another signal to the device 120 on the carrier.

[0084] In some example embodiments, a first device (e.g., the device 120 in Figure 1 that is capable of performing any of the methods 900 can include means for performing the corresponding operations of the methods 900. The means can be implemented in any suitable form. For example, the means can be implemented in circuitry or software modules. The first device can be implemented as Figure 1 the device 120 in Figure 1 or included in the device 120 in

[0085] In some example embodiments, the first device includes means for determining a frequency offset between a first center frequency of the first subband and a second center frequency of the carrier, wherein for a time duration, the carrier is divided into the first subband for reception and at least one second subband for transmission, and the first subband includes a set of resource blocks on the carrier; means for determining a target sampling rate based at least on a subcarrier spacing and a number of resource blocks in the set of resource blocks; and means for processing a signal received from the second device on the first subband based on the frequency offset and the target sampling rate.

[0086] In some example embodiments, the first device includes means for determining an operating carrier bandwidth having a same subcarrier spacing as the carrier, and wherein a number of resource blocks of the operating carrier bandwidth is greater than a number of resource blocks in the set of resource blocks; and means for determining the target sampling rate based on a sampling rate of the operating carrier bandwidth and the carrier.

[0087] In some example embodiments, a ratio between the sampling rate of the carrier and the target sampling rate satisfies a power of two.

[0088] In some example embodiments, the first device includes means for applying digital front-end processing to the signal based on the frequency offset and the target sampling rate.

[0089] In some example embodiments, the first device includes means for shifting a zero frequency of the signal to the first center frequency of the first subband according to the frequency offset after an analog-to-digital conversion is applied to the signal.

[0090] In some example embodiments, the first device includes means for performing a down-sampling on the signal according to the target sampling rate.

[0091] In some example embodiments, the first apparatus comprises means for applying baseband processing to the signal based on the target sampling rate.

[0092] In some example embodiments, the first apparatus comprises means for determining at least one of the following based on the target sampling rate: a time domain signal measurement, a time domain signal processing, a parameter estimation, or a beamforming processing.

[0093] In some example embodiments, the first apparatus comprises means for determining at least one of the following based on the target sampling rate and a sampling rate of the carrier: a cyclic prefix or a fast Fourier transform size.

[0094] In some example embodiments, the first apparatus comprises means for determining frequency resources for the first sub-band based on a frequency relationship between the first sub-band and the carrier.

[0095] In some example embodiments, the second apparatus comprises a terminal device.

[0096] In some example embodiments, the first apparatus further comprises means for performing other operations in some example embodiments of the method 900 or the apparatus 120. In some example embodiments, the means comprises at least one processor; and at least one memory storing instructions which, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the first apparatus to perform.

[0097] In some example embodiments, the second apparatus (e.g., the apparatus 110 in Figure 1 ) capable of performing any method 1000 can comprise means for performing the corresponding operations of the method 1000. The means can be implemented in any suitable form. For example, the means can be implemented in circuitry or software modules. The second apparatus can be implemented as Figure 1 the apparatus 110 in Figure 1 or be included in the apparatus 110 in

[0098] In some example embodiments, the second apparatus comprises means for transmitting a signal to the first apparatus on an uplink sub-band of the carrier, and wherein, for a duration, the carrier is divided into the uplink sub-band and at least one downlink sub-band for reception, and the uplink sub-band comprises a set of resource blocks on the carrier.

[0099] In some example embodiments, the second apparatus comprises a terminal device.

[0100] In some example embodiments, the second apparatus further comprises means for performing other operations in some example embodiments of the method 1000 or the device 110. In some example embodiments, the means comprises at least one processor; and at least one memory that stores instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the performance of the second apparatus.

[0101] Figure 11 is a simplified block diagram of a device 1100 suitable for implementing example embodiments of the present disclosure. The device 1100 can be provided to implement a communication device, such as the device 110 or the device 120 as shown in Figure 1 The device 1100 includes one or more processors 1110, one or more memories 1120 coupled to the processor(s) 1110, and one or more communication modules 1140 coupled to the processor(s) 1110, as shown. The processor(s) 1110 can be any type of processor suitable to the local technological network, and can include one or more of the following: a general purpose computer, a special purpose computer, a microprocessor, a digital signal processor (DSP), and a processor based on a multi-core processor architecture. The device 1100 can have multiple processors, such as an application specific integrated circuit chip that is time-slaved to a clock of a synchronous master processor.

[0102] The communication module 1140 is for bidirectional communication. The communication module 1140 has one or more communication interfaces to facilitate communication with one or more other modules or devices. The communication interface can represent any interface necessary to communicate with other network elements. In some example embodiments, the communication module 1140 can include at least one antenna.

[0103] As a non-limiting example, the processor(s) 1110 can be any type suitable to the local technological network, and can include one or more of the following: a general purpose computer, a special purpose computer, a microprocessor, a digital signal processor (DSP), and a processor based on a multi-core processor architecture. The device 1100 can have multiple processors, such as an application specific integrated circuit chip that is time-slaved to a clock of a synchronous master processor.

[0104] The memory 1120 can include one or more non-volatile memories and one or more volatile memories. Examples of non-volatile memories include, but are not limited to, read only memory (ROM) 1124, electrically programmable read only memory (EPROM), flash memory, hard disk, compact disk (CD), digital video disk (DVD), optical disk, laser disk, and other magnetic and / or optical storage. Examples of volatile memories include, but are not limited to, random access memory (RAM) 1122 and other volatile memories that do not persist data during a power duration.

[0105] The computer program 1130 includes computer executable instructions executed by the associated processor(s) 1110. The instructions of the program 1130 can include instructions for performing the operations / acts of some example embodiments of the present disclosure. The program 1130 can be stored in a memory (e.g., the ROM 1124). The processor(s) 1110 can perform any suitable action and processing by loading a program 1130 into the RAM 1122.

[0106] Example embodiments of the present disclosure can be implemented by the program 1130 so that the device 1100 can perform any process of the present disclosure as discussed with reference to Figures 2 to 10 the present disclosure. Example embodiments of the present disclosure can also be implemented by hardware or by a combination of software and hardware.

[0107] In some example embodiments, the program 1130 can be tangibly embodied in a computer-readable medium, which can be included in the device 1100 (such as in the memory 1120) or other storage device accessible by the device 1100. The device 1100 can load the program 1130 from the computer-readable medium into the RAM 1122 for execution. In some example embodiments, the computer-readable medium can include any type of non- transitory storage medium, e.g., ROM, erasable programmable read-only memory, flash memory, a hard disk, a CD, a DVD, and the like. The term “non-transitory” as used herein is a limitation of the medium itself (i.e., tangible, rather than a signal), rather than a limitation of the durability of the data storage (e.g., RAM vs. ROM).

[0108] Figure 12 An example of a computer-readable medium 1200 is shown, which can be in the form of a CD, DVD, or other optical storage disk. The computer-readable medium 1200 has the program 1130 stored thereon.

[0109] In general, the various embodiments of the present disclosure can be implemented in hardware or special-purpose circuits, software, logic or any combination thereof. Some aspects can be implemented in hardware, while other aspects can be implemented in

[0110] Some example embodiments of the present disclosure also provide at least one computer program product tangibly stored on a computer readable medium, such as a non-transitory computer readable medium. The computer program product includes computer executable instructions, such as those included in program modules, executed by devices, such as on a target physical or virtual processor, to perform any of the methods as described above. Generally, program modules include routines, programs, libraries, objects, classes, components, data structures, etc. that perform particular tasks or implement particular abstract data types. The functionality of the program modules can be combined or split between program modules as desired in various embodiments. Machine executable instructions for program modules can be executed within a local or distributed device. In a distributed device, program modules can be located in local and remote memory storage devices.

[0111] Program code for carrying out methods of the present disclosure can be written in any combination of one or more programming languages. The program code can be provided to a processor or controller of a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, or other programmable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, such that the program code, when executed by the processor or controller, causes the machine to implement the functions / acts specified in the flowcharts and / or block diagrams. The program code can be executed entirely on a machine, partially on a machine, as a stand-alone software package, partially on a machine and partially on a remote machine, or entirely on a remote machine or server.

[0112] In the context of the present disclosure, computer program code or related data can be embodied by any suitable carrier wave, including a signal, computer readable medium, etc.

[0113] The computer readable medium can be a computer readable signal medium or a computer readable storage medium. The computer readable medium can include, but is not limited to, electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor system, apparatus, or device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing. More specific examples of the computer readable storage medium would include an electrical connection having one or more wires, a portable computer diskette, a hard disk, a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or Flash memory), an optical fiber, a portable compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), an optical storage device, a magnetic storage device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing.

[0114] Moreover, while operations may be depicted in a particular order, this should not be understood as requiring such order nor that all illustrated operations be performed, to achieve desirable results. In certain circumstances, multitasking and parallel processing can be advantageous. Likewise, while several specific implementation details have been included herein, these should not be taken as limiting the scope of the disclosure, but rather as describing features that can be specific to particular embodiments. Certain features that are described in the context of separate embodiments can also be implemented in combination with each other. Conversely, various features that are described in the context of a single embodiment can also be implemented in multiple embodiments, singly or in any suitable sub-combination.

[0115] Although the present disclosure has been described in language specific to structural features and / or methodological acts, it is to be understood that the subject of the appended claims is not necessarily limited to the specific features or acts described. Rather, the specific features and acts described above are disclosed as example forms of implementing the claims.

Claims

1. A first apparatus, comprising: at least one processor; and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the first apparatus to perform: determining a frequency offset between a first center frequency of a first sub-band and a second center frequency of a carrier, wherein, within a time duration, the carrier is divided into the first sub-band for reception and at least one second sub-band for transmission, and the first sub-band comprises a set of resource blocks on the carrier; determining a target sampling rate based at least on a sub-carrier spacing and a number of resource blocks in the set of resource blocks; and processing a signal received from a second apparatus on the first sub-band based on the frequency offset and the target sampling rate. 2.The first apparatus of claim 1, wherein the instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the first apparatus to perform: determining an operating carrier bandwidth having a same sub-carrier spacing as the carrier, and wherein a number of resource blocks of the operating carrier bandwidth is greater than the number of resource blocks in the set of resource blocks; and determining the target sampling rate based on the operating carrier bandwidth and a sampling rate of the carrier. 3.The first apparatus of claim 2, wherein a ratio between the sampling rate of the carrier and the target sampling rate satisfies a power of two. 4.The first apparatus of any of claims 1-3, wherein the instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the first apparatus to perform: applying digital front-end processing to the signal based on the frequency offset and the target sampling rate. 5.The first apparatus of claim 4, wherein the instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the first apparatus to perform: shifting a zero frequency of the signal to the first center frequency of the first sub-band according to the frequency offset after analog-to-digital conversion is applied to the signal. 6.The first apparatus of claim 4 or 5, wherein the instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the first apparatus to perform: performing down-sampling on the signal according to the target sampling rate. 7.The first apparatus of any of claims 1-6, wherein the instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the first apparatus to perform: applying baseband processing to the signal based on the target sampling rate. 8.The first apparatus of claim 7, wherein the instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the first apparatus to perform: determining at least one of a time-domain signal measurement, a time-domain signal processing, a parameter estimation, or a beamforming processing based on the target sampling rate. 9.The first apparatus of claim 7, wherein the instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the first apparatus to perform: determining at least one of a cyclic prefix or a fast Fourier transform size based on the target sampling rate and the sampling rate of the carrier. ​ 10.The first apparatus of claim 7, wherein the instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the first apparatus to perform: determining a frequency resource for the first sub-band based on a frequency relationship between the first sub-band and the carrier. 11.The first apparatus of any one of claims 1 to 10, wherein the first apparatus comprises a network device and the second apparatus comprises a terminal device. 12.A second apparatus comprising: at least one processor; and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the second apparatus to perform: transmitting a signal to a first apparatus on an uplink sub-band of a carrier, and wherein, for a time duration, the carrier is divided into the uplink sub-band and at least one downlink sub-band, and the uplink sub-band comprises a set of resource blocks on the carrier. 13.The second apparatus of claim 12, wherein the first apparatus comprises a network device and the second apparatus comprises a terminal device. 14.A method comprising: determining, at a first apparatus, a frequency offset between a first center frequency of a first sub-band and a second center frequency of a carrier, wherein, for a time duration, the carrier is divided into the first sub-band for reception and at least one second sub-band for transmission, and the first sub-band comprises a set of resource blocks on the carrier; determining a target sampling rate based at least on a sub-carrier spacing and a number of resource blocks in the set of resource blocks; and processing a signal received from a second apparatus on the first sub-band based on the frequency offset and the target sampling rate. 15.The method of claim 14, wherein determining the target sampling rate comprises: determining an operating carrier bandwidth having the same sub-carrier spacing as the carrier, and wherein a number of resource blocks of the operating carrier bandwidth is greater than the number of resource blocks in the set of resource blocks; and determining the target sampling rate based on the operating carrier bandwidth and a sampling rate of the carrier. 16.The method of claim 15, wherein a ratio between the sampling rate of the carrier and the target sampling rate satisfies a power of two. 17.The method of any one of claims 14 to 16, wherein processing the signal comprises: applying digital front-end processing to the signal based on the frequency offset and the target sampling rate. 18.The method of claim 17, further comprising: after analog-to-digital conversion is applied to the signal, shifting a zero frequency of the signal to the first center frequency of the first sub-band according to the frequency offset. 19.The method of claim 17 or 18, further comprising: performing down-sampling on the signal according to the target sampling rate. 20.The method of any one of claims 14 to 19, wherein processing the signal comprises: applying baseband processing to the signal based on the target sampling rate. 21.The method of claim 20, further comprising: ​ ​ determining, based on the target sampling rate, at least one of: time domain signal measurement, time domain signal processing, parameter estimation, or beamforming processing.

22. The method of claim 20, further comprising: determining, based on the target sampling rate and the sampling rate of the carrier, at least one of: a cyclic prefix or a fast Fourier transform size.

23. The method of claim 20, further comprising: determining, based on a frequency relationship between the first subband and the carrier, frequency resources for the first subband.

24. The method of any of claims 14 to 23, and the second apparatus comprises a terminal device.

25. A method comprising: transmitting, at a second apparatus, a signal to a first apparatus on an uplink subband of a carrier, and wherein for a time duration, the carrier is divided into the uplink subband and at least one downlink subband, and the uplink subband comprises a set of resource blocks on the carrier.

26. The method, and the second apparatus comprises a terminal device.

27. A first apparatus comprising: means for determining a frequency offset between a first center frequency of a first subband and a second center frequency of a carrier, wherein for a time duration, the carrier is divided into the first subband for reception and at least one second subband for transmission, and the first subband comprises a set of resource blocks on the carrier; means for determining a target sampling rate based on at least a subcarrier spacing and a number of resource blocks in the set of resource blocks; and means for processing a signal received from a second apparatus on the first subband based on the frequency offset and the target sampling rate.

28. A second apparatus comprising: means for transmitting a signal to a first apparatus on an uplink subband of a carrier, and wherein for a time duration, the carrier is divided into the uplink subband and at least one downlink subband, and the uplink subband comprises a set of resource blocks on the carrier.

29. A computer readable medium comprising instructions stored thereon for causing an apparatus to perform at least the method of any of claims 14 to 24 or the method of any of claims 25 to 26.

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