Near-field reflection coefficient selection for beam-reflecting device
The use of a codebook for selecting near-field reflection coefficients in RIS optimizes signal reflection, addressing suboptimal reflections and improving communication throughput and resource efficiency in wireless systems.
Patent Information
- Application Number
- PCT/CN2023/143087
- Authority / Receiving Office
- WO · WO
- Patent Type
- Applications
- Current Assignee / Owner
- Filing Date
- 2023-12-29
- Publication Date
- 2025-07-03
AI Technical Summary
Wireless communication systems face challenges in optimizing signal reflection by reconfigurable intelligent surfaces (RIS) due to the lack of a codebook designed for near-field reflection, leading to suboptimal reflections that result in signal gain loss, degraded communications, increased latency, and resource wastage.
A method and apparatus for selecting element-specific near-field reflection coefficients using a designed codebook for RIS, allowing the RIS to optimize signal reflection by accounting for near-field communication scenarios, thereby improving channel gain, conserving resources, and reducing latency.
The solution enhances communication throughput, reduces latency, and optimizes resource usage by employing near-field reflection coefficients tailored for RIS-based communication, ensuring better signal reflection and resource efficiency.
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Figure CN2023143087_03072025_PF_FP_ABST
Abstract
Description
NEAR-FIELD REFLECTION COEFFICIENT SELECTION FOR BEAM-REFLECTING DEVICE
[0001] FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE
[0002] Aspects of the present disclosure generally relate to wireless communication and specifically relate to techniques, apparatuses, and methods for selecting near-field reflection coefficients for a beam-reflecting device.BACKGROUND
[0003] Wireless communication systems are widely deployed to provide various services that may include carrying voice, text, messaging, video, data, and / or other traffic. The services may include unicast, multicast, and / or broadcast services, among other examples. Typical wireless communication systems may employ multiple-access radio access technologies (RATs) capable of supporting communication with multiple users by sharing available system resources (for example, time domain resources, frequency domain resources, spatial domain resources, and / or device transmit power, among other examples) . Examples of such multiple-access RATs include code division multiple access (CDMA) systems, time division multiple access (TDMA) systems, frequency division multiple access (FDMA) systems, orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) systems, single-carrier frequency division multiple access (SC-FDMA) systems, and time division synchronous code division multiple access (TD-SCDMA) systems.
[0004] The above multiple-access RATs have been adopted in various telecommunication standards to provide common protocols that enable different wireless communication devices to communicate on a municipal, national, regional, or global level. An example telecommunication standard is New Radio (NR) . NR, which may also be referred to as 5G, is part of a continuous mobile broadband evolution promulgated by the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) . NR (and other mobile broadband evolutions beyond NR) may be designed to better support Internet of things (IoT) and reduced capability device deployments, industrial connectivity, millimeter wave (mmWave) expansion, licensed and unlicensed spectrum access, non-terrestrial network (NTN) deployment, sidelink and other device-to-device direct communication technologies (for example, cellular vehicle-to-everything (CV2X) communication) , massive multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) , disaggregated network architectures and network topology expansions, multiple-subscriber implementations, high-precision positioning, and / or radio frequency (RF) sensing, among other examples. As the demand for mobile broadband access continues to increase, further improvements in NR may be implemented, and other radio access technologies such as 6G may be introduced, to further advance mobile broadband evolution.SUMMARY
[0005] Some aspects described herein relate to a method of wireless communication performed by a beam-reflecting device. The method may include receiving a set of near-field reflection coefficients. The method may include selecting, based at least in part on the set of near-field reflection coefficients, an element-specific near-field reflection coefficient for each element of a plurality of elements of the beam-reflecting device. The method may include receiving a signal. The method may include reflecting the signal using the near-field element-specific reflection coefficients.
[0006] Some aspects described herein relate to a method of wireless communication performed by a user equipment (UE) . The method may include receiving a configuration of near-field beam-reflecting device codebook parameters. The method may include receiving, from a beam-reflecting device, a reflected signal of a signal. The method may include selecting a set of near-field reflection coefficients using the near-field beam-reflecting device codebook parameters, and a channel matrix for the reflected signal. The method may include transmitting, to the beam-reflecting device, reflection coefficient information indicating the near-field reflection coefficient.
[0007] Some aspects described herein relate to a method of wireless communication performed by a beam-reflecting device. The method may include receiving reflection coefficient information. The method may include selecting a near-field reflection coefficient for each element of a plurality of elements of the beam-reflecting device using a near-field codebook associated with the reflection coefficient information. The method may include setting the plurality of elements using the selected near-field reflection coefficients.
[0008] Some aspects described herein relate to a method of wireless communication performed by a network entity. The method may include generating a configuration of a near-field beam-reflecting device codebook. The method may include transmitting the configuration to a UE.
[0009] Some aspects described herein relate to an apparatus for wireless communication at a beam-reflecting device. The apparatus may include one or more memories and one or more processors coupled to the one or more memories. The one or more processors may be configured to receive a set of near-field reflection coefficients. The one or more processors may be configured to select, based at least in part on the set of near-field reflection coefficients, an element-specific near-field reflection coefficient for each element of a plurality of elements of the beam-reflecting device. The one or more processors may be configured to receive a signal. The one or more processors may be configured to reflect the signal using the near-field element-specific reflection coefficients.
[0010] Some aspects described herein relate to an apparatus for wireless communication at a UE. The apparatus may include one or more memories and one or more processors coupled to the one or more memories. The one or more processors may be configured to receive a configuration of near-field beam-reflecting device codebook parameters. The one or more processors may be configured to receive, from a beam-reflecting device, a reflected signal of a signal. The one or more processors may be configured to select a set of near-field reflection coefficients using the near-field beam-reflecting device codebook parameters, and a channel matrix for the reflected signal. The one or more processors may be configured to transmit, to the beam-reflecting device, reflection coefficient information indicating the near-field reflection coefficient.
[0011] Some aspects described herein relate to an apparatus for wireless communication at a beam-reflecting device. The apparatus may include one or more memories and one or more processors coupled to the one or more memories. The one or more processors may be configured to receive reflection coefficient information. The one or more processors may be configured to select a near-field reflection coefficient for each element of a plurality of elements of the beam-reflecting device using a near-field codebook associated with the reflection coefficient information. The one or more processors may be configured to set the plurality of elements using the selected near-field reflection coefficients.
[0012] Some aspects described herein relate to an apparatus for wireless communication at a network entity. The apparatus may include one or more memories and one or more processors coupled to the one or more memories. The one or more processors may be configured to generate a configuration of a near-field beam-reflecting device codebook. The one or more processors may be configured to transmit the configuration to a UE.
[0013] Some aspects described herein relate to a non-transitory computer-readable medium that stores a set of instructions for wireless communication by a beam-reflecting device. The set of instructions, when executed by one or more processors of the beam-reflecting device, may cause the beam-reflecting device to receive a set of near-field reflection coefficients. The set of instructions, when executed by one or more processors of the beam-reflecting device, may cause the beam-reflecting device to select, based at least in part on the set of near-field reflection coefficients, an element-specific near-field reflection coefficient for each element of a plurality of elements of the beam-reflecting device. The set of instructions, when executed by one or more processors of the beam-reflecting device, may cause the beam-reflecting device to receive a signal. The set of instructions, when executed by one or more processors of the beam-reflecting device, may cause the beam-reflecting device to reflect the signal using the near-field element-specific reflection coefficients.
[0014] Some aspects described herein relate to a non-transitory computer-readable medium that stores a set of instructions for wireless communication by a UE. The set of instructions, when executed by one or more processors of the UE, may cause the UE to receive a configuration of near-field beam-reflecting device codebook parameters. The set of instructions, when executed by one or more processors of the UE, may cause the UE to receive, from a beam-reflecting device, a reflected signal of a signal. The set of instructions, when executed by one or more processors of the UE, may cause the UE to select a set of near-field reflection coefficients using the near-field beam-reflecting device codebook parameters, and a channel matrix for the reflected signal. The set of instructions, when executed by one or more processors of the UE, may cause the UE to transmit, to the beam-reflecting device, reflection coefficient information indicating the set of near-field reflection coefficients.
[0015] Some aspects described herein relate to a non-transitory computer-readable medium that stores a set of instructions for wireless communication by a beam-reflecting device. The set of instructions, when executed by one or more processors of the beam-reflecting device, may cause the beam-reflecting device to receive reflection coefficient information. The set of instructions, when executed by one or more processors of the beam-reflecting device, may cause the beam-reflecting device to select a near-field reflection coefficient for each element of a plurality of elements of the beam-reflecting device using a near-field codebook associated with the reflection coefficient information. The set of instructions, when executed by one or more processors of the beam-reflecting device, may cause the beam-reflecting device to set the plurality of elements using the selected near-field reflection coefficients.
[0016] Some aspects described herein relate to a non-transitory computer-readable medium that stores a set of instructions for wireless communication by a network entity. The set of instructions, when executed by one or more processors of the network entity, may cause the network entity to generate a configuration of a near-field beam-reflecting device codebook. The set of instructions, when executed by one or more processors of the network entity, may cause the network entity to transmit the configuration to a UE.
[0017] Some aspects described herein relate to an apparatus for wireless communication. The apparatus may include means for receiving a set of near-field reflection coefficients The apparatus may include means for selecting, based at least in part on the set of near-field reflection coefficients, an element-specific near-field reflection coefficient for each element of a plurality of elements of the apparatus. The apparatus may include means for receiving a signal. The apparatus may include means for reflecting the signal using the near-field element-specific reflection coefficients.
[0018] Some aspects described herein relate to an apparatus for wireless communication. The apparatus may include means for receiving a configuration of near-field beam-reflecting device codebook parameters. The apparatus may include means for receiving, from a beam-reflecting device, a reflected signal of a signal. The apparatus may include means for selecting a near-field reflection coefficient using the near-field beam-reflecting device codebook parameters, and a channel matrix for the reflected signal. The apparatus may include means for transmitting, to the beam-reflecting device, reflection coefficient information indicating the near-field reflection coefficient.
[0019] Some aspects described herein relate to an apparatus for wireless communication. The apparatus may include means for receiving reflection coefficient information. The apparatus may include means for selecting a near-field reflection coefficient for each element of a plurality of elements of the apparatus using a near-field codebook associated with the reflection coefficient information. The apparatus may include means for setting the plurality of elements using the selected near-field reflection coefficients.
[0020] Some aspects described herein relate to an apparatus for wireless communication. The apparatus may include means for generating a configuration of a near-field beam-reflecting device codebook. The apparatus may include means for transmitting the configuration to a UE.
[0021] Aspects of the present disclosure may generally be implemented by or as a method, apparatus, system, computer program product, non-transitory computer-readable medium, user equipment, base station, network node, network entity, wireless communication device, and / or processing system as substantially described with reference to, and as illustrated by, the specification and accompanying drawings.
[0022] The foregoing paragraphs of this section have broadly summarized some aspects of the present disclosure. These and additional aspects and associated advantages will be described hereinafter. The disclosed aspects may be used as a basis for modifying or designing other aspects for carrying out the same or similar purposes of the present disclosure. Such equivalent aspects do not depart from the scope of the appended claims. Characteristics of the aspects disclosed herein, both their organization and method of operation, together with associated advantages, will be better understood from the following description when considered in connection with the accompanying drawings.BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0023] The appended drawings illustrate some aspects of the present disclosure, but are not limiting of the scope of the present disclosure because the description may enable other aspects. Each of the drawings is provided for purposes of illustration and description, and not as a definition of the limits of the claims. The same or similar reference numbers in different drawings may identify the same or similar elements.
[0024] Fig. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a wireless communication network in accordance with the present disclosure.
[0025] Fig. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example network node in communication with an example user equipment (UE) in a wireless network in accordance with the present disclosure.
[0026] Fig. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example disaggregated base station architecture in accordance with the present disclosure.
[0027] Fig. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of using a beam-reflecting device, in accordance with the present disclosure.
[0028] Fig. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of reconfigurable intelligent surface (RIS) operations, in accordance with the present disclosure.
[0029] Fig. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of reflective beamforming by a RIS, in accordance with the present disclosure.
[0030] Fig. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of RIS use cases, in accordance with the present disclosure.
[0031] Fig. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of target distances, in accordance with the present disclosure.
[0032] Fig. 9 is a diagram illustrating an example of beam coverage of a far-field and beam coverage of a near-field, in accordance with the present disclosure.
[0033] Fig. 10 is a diagram illustrating examples of use cases for a RIS, in accordance with the present disclosure.
[0034] Fig. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of selecting reflection coefficients for a RIS, in accordance with the present disclosure.
[0035] Fig. 12 is a diagram illustrating examples of using a RIS near-field-near-field codebook, in accordance with the present disclosure.
[0036] Fig. 13 is a diagram illustrating examples of using a RIS far-field-near-field codebook, in accordance with the present disclosure.
[0037] Fig. 14 is a diagram illustrating examples of using a RIS near-field-far-field codebook, in accordance with the present disclosure.
[0038] Fig. 15 is a diagram illustrating an example of a 3D RIS near-field reflection codebook, in accordance with the present disclosure.
[0039] Fig. 16 is a diagram illustrating an example process performed, for example, at a beam-reflecting device or an apparatus of a beam-reflecting device, in accordance with the present disclosure.
[0040] Fig. 17 is a diagram illustrating an example process performed, for example, at a UE or an apparatus of a UE, in accordance with the present disclosure.
[0041] Fig. 18 is a diagram illustrating an example process performed, for example, at a beam-reflecting device or an apparatus of a beam-reflecting device, in accordance with the present disclosure.
[0042] Fig. 19 is a diagram illustrating an example process performed, for example, at a network entity or an apparatus of a network entity, in accordance with the present disclosure.
[0043] Fig. 20 is a diagram of an example apparatus for wireless communication, in accordance with the present disclosure.
[0044] Fig. 21 is a diagram of an example apparatus for wireless communication, in accordance with the present disclosure.
[0045] Fig. 22 is a diagram of an example apparatus for wireless communication, in accordance with the present disclosure.DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0046] Various aspects of the present disclosure are described hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, aspects of the present disclosure may be embodied in many different forms and is not to be construed as limited to any specific aspect illustrated by or described with reference to an accompanying drawing or otherwise presented in this disclosure. Rather, these aspects are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the disclosure to those skilled in the art. One skilled in the art may appreciate that the scope of the disclosure is intended to cover any aspect of the disclosure disclosed herein, whether implemented independently of or in combination with any other aspect of the disclosure. For example, an apparatus may be implemented or a method may be practiced using various combinations or quantities of the aspects set forth herein. In addition, the scope of the disclosure is intended to cover an apparatus having, or a method that is practiced using, other structures and / or functionalities in addition to or other than the structures and / or functionalities with which various aspects of the disclosure set forth herein may be practiced. Any aspect of the disclosure disclosed herein may be embodied by one or more elements of a claim.
[0047] Several aspects of telecommunication systems will now be presented with reference to various methods, operations, apparatuses, and techniques. These methods, operations, apparatuses, and techniques will be described in the following detailed description and illustrated in the accompanying drawings by various blocks, modules, components, circuits, steps, processes, or algorithms (collectively referred to as “elements” ) . These elements may be implemented using hardware, software, or a combination of hardware and software. Whether such elements are implemented as hardware or software depends upon the particular application and design constraints imposed on the overall system.
[0048] The transmission of signals may be blocked by buildings, natural topography, or other blocking structures. For example, a network entity may attempt to transmit signals to a user equipment (UE) , but the network entity may not be able to transmit signals to the UE if there is some type of blockage between the network entity and the UE. In order to resolve transmission issues due to the blockage, the network may use a beam-reflecting device. The beam-reflecting device may be a device that can change radio wave characteristics, such as amplitude, phase, reflection direction, and / or refraction direction. The beam-reflecting device may be a device that forwards, relays, repeats, or reflects signals in a passive or near-passive manner. The beam-reflecting device may be configured as, for example, a reconfigurable intelligent surface (RIS) . A RIS may be a two-dimensional surface of engineered material (apanel of RIS elements that can be divided into sub-panels) whose properties are reconfigurable rather than static. A RIS may act as a reflective lens for electromagnetic signals.
[0049] There are several use cases for signal transmissions between a transmitter (e.g., a network entity) and a receiver (e.g., a UE) that involve a near-field of the RIS, or an area closer to the RIS. In a first use case, the network entity and the UE are located in the near-field of the RIS. In a second use case, the UE is located in the near-field of the RIS, while the network entity is located in the far-field of the RIS. In a third use case, the network entity is located in the near-field of the RIS, while the UE is located in the far-field of the RIS. In these use cases, the network entity may transmit a reference signal from each transmit antenna that is reflected by the RIS, such that the UE may receive the reflected reference signal and estimate a channel matrix.
[0050] However, a codebook that is configured for direct link uplink reception or downlink transmission cannot be directly used for RIS near-field reflection. The difference between the uplink / downlink codebook and a RIS reflection codebook is that the RIS reflection codebook is parameterized with two directions / positions (e.g., incident direction / position and reflection direction / position) . The uplink / downlink codebook is parameterized for only one direction / position. Furthermore, for the RIS, the two directions / position may be all or partially for near-field. Without a codebook for near-field reflection, there may be suboptimal reflection by the RIS. Suboptimal reflection by the RIS may lead to a loss in the signal gain and degraded communications. Having degraded communications reduces throughput, increases latency, and wastes signaling resources.
[0051] Various aspects relate generally to reflecting wireless signals. Some aspects more specifically relate to a network entity, a UE, and a beam-reflecting device (e.g., a RIS) using a reflection coefficient codebook for RIS-based near-field communication. The codebook may be designed for one or more use cases that involve a near-field of a RIS. The network entity may transmit a configuration of RIS near-field codebook parameters of a selected codebook to the UE. The UE may select a set of near-field reflection coefficients (e.g., one or more near-field reflection coefficients) based at least in part on the RIS near-field codebook. A RIS reflection coefficient in the RIS near-field codebook may be a per-element multiplication of two component weight vectors, such as a RIS target component weight vector and a RIS source component weight vector.
[0052] After the UE selects the set of near-field reflection coefficients, the UE may transmit reflection coefficient information (e.g., channel state information (CSI) report message) to the network entity to report the set of near-field reflection coefficients. The UE may transmit reflection coefficient information. The information may indicate the set of near-field reflection coefficients, each near-field reflection coefficient being specific to a particular element for use with a near-field. The network entity may forward the set of near-field reflection coefficients to the RIS, which determines the near-field reflection coefficient for each element from the set of near-field reflection coefficients in consideration of the near-field of the RIS.
[0053] Particular aspects of the subject matter described in this disclosure can be implemented to realize one or more of the following potential advantages. In some examples, by selecting reflection coefficients for the RIS that account for the near-field, the RIS may use more optimal reflection for better communications. Having better communications increases throughput (improves channel gain) , conserves resources, and reduces latency.
[0054] Multiple-access radio access technologies (RATs) have been adopted in various telecommunication standards to provide common protocols that enable wireless communication devices to communicate on a municipal, enterprise, national, regional, or global level. For example, 5G New Radio (NR) is part of a continuous mobile broadband evolution promulgated by the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) . 5G NR supports various technologies and use cases including enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB) , ultra-reliable low-latency communication (URLLC) , massive machine-type communication (mMTC) , millimeter wave (mmWave) technology, beamforming, network slicing, edge computing, Internet of Things (IoT) connectivity and management, and network function virtualization (NFV) .
[0055] As the demand for broadband access increases and as technologies supported by wireless communication networks evolve, further technological improvements may be adopted in or implemented for 5G NR or future RATs, such as 6G, to further advance the evolution of wireless communication for a wide variety of existing and new use cases and applications. Such technological improvements may be associated with new frequency band expansion, licensed and unlicensed spectrum access, overlapping spectrum use, small cell deployments, non-terrestrial network (NTN) deployments, disaggregated network architectures and network topology expansion, device aggregation, advanced duplex communication, sidelink and other device-to-device direct communication, IoT (including passive or ambient IoT) networks, reduced capability (RedCap) UE functionality, industrial connectivity, multiple-subscriber implementations, high-precision positioning, radio frequency (RF) sensing, and / or artificial intelligence or machine learning (AI / ML) , among other examples. These technological improvements may support use cases such as wireless backhauls, wireless data centers, extended reality (XR) and metaverse applications, meta services for supporting vehicle connectivity, holographic and mixed reality communication, autonomous and collaborative robots, vehicle platooning and cooperative maneuvering, sensing networks, gesture monitoring, human-brain interfacing, digital twin applications, asset management, and universal coverage applications using non-terrestrial and / or aerial platforms, among other examples. The methods, operations, apparatuses, and techniques described herein may enable one or more of the foregoing technologies and / or support one or more of the foregoing use cases.
[0056] Fig. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a wireless communication network 100 in accordance with the present disclosure. The wireless communication network 100 may be or may include elements of a 5G (or NR) network or a 6G network, among other examples. The wireless communication network 100 may include multiple network nodes 110, shown as a network node (NN) 110a, a network node 110b, a network node 110c, and a network node 110d. The network nodes 110 may support communications with multiple UEs 120, shown as a UE 120a, a UE 120b, a UE 120c, a UE 120d, and a UE 120e.
[0057] The network nodes 110 and the UEs 120 of the wireless communication network 100 may communicate using the electromagnetic spectrum, which may be subdivided by frequency or wavelength into various classes, bands, carriers, and / or channels. For example, devices of the wireless communication network 100 may communicate using one or more operating bands. In some aspects, multiple wireless networks 100 may be deployed in a given geographic area. Each wireless communication network 100 may support a particular radio access technology (RAT) (which may also be referred to as an air interface) and may operate on one or more carrier frequencies in one or more frequency ranges. Examples of RATs include a 4G RAT, a 5G / NR RAT, and / or a 6G RAT, among other examples. In some examples, when multiple RATs are deployed in a given geographic area, each RAT in the geographic area may operate on different frequencies to avoid interference with one another.
[0058] Various operating bands have been defined as frequency range designations FR1 (410 MHz through 7.125 GHz) , FR2 (24.25 GHz through 52.6 GHz) , FR3 (7.125 GHz through 24.25 GHz) , FR4a or FR4-1 (52.6 GHz through 71 GHz) , FR4 (52.6 GHz through 114.25 GHz) , and FR5 (114.25 GHz through 300 GHz) . Although a portion of FR1 is greater than 6 GHz, FR1 is often referred to (interchangeably) as a “Sub-6 GHz” band in some documents and articles. Similarly, FR2 is often referred to (interchangeably) as a “millimeter wave” band in some documents and articles, despite being different than the extremely high frequency (EHF) band (30 GHz through 300 GHz) , which is identified by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) as a “millimeter wave” band. The frequencies between FR1 and FR2 are often referred to as mid-band frequencies, which include FR3. Frequency bands falling within FR3 may inherit FR1 characteristics or FR2 characteristics, and thus may effectively extend features of FR1 or FR2 into mid-band frequencies. Thus, “sub-6 GHz, ” if used herein, may broadly refer to frequencies that are less than 6 GHz, that are within FR1, and / or that are included in mid-band frequencies. Similarly, the term “millimeter wave, ” if used herein, may broadly refer to frequencies that are included in mid-band frequencies, that are within FR2, FR4, FR4-aor FR4-1, or FR5, and / or that are within the EHF band. Higher frequency bands may extend 5G NR operation, 6G operation, and / or other RATs beyond 52.6 GHz. For example, each of FR4a, FR4-1, FR4, and FR5 falls within the EHF band. In some examples, the wireless communication network 100 may implement dynamic spectrum sharing (DSS) , in which multiple RATs (for example, 4G / LTE and 5G / NR) are implemented with dynamic bandwidth allocation (for example, based on user demand) in a single frequency band. It is contemplated that the frequencies included in these operating bands (for example, FR1, FR2, FR3, FR4, FR4-a, FR4-1, and / or FR5) may be modified, and techniques described herein may be applicable to those modified frequency ranges.
[0059] A network node 110 may include one or more devices, components, or systems that enable communication between a UE 120 and one or more devices, components, or systems of the wireless communication network 100. A network node 110 may be, may include, or may also be referred to as an NR network node, a 5G network node, a 6G network node, a Node B, an eNB, a gNB, an access point (AP) , a transmission reception point (TRP) , a mobility element, a core, a network entity, a network element, a network equipment, and / or another type of device, component, or system included in a radio access network (RAN) .
[0060] A network node 110 may be implemented as a single physical node (for example, a single physical structure) or may be implemented as two or more physical nodes (for example, two or more distinct physical structures) . For example, a network node 110 may be a device or system that implements part of a radio protocol stack, a device or system that implements a full radio protocol stack (such as a full gNB protocol stack) , or a collection of devices or systems that collectively implement the full radio protocol stack. For example, and as shown, a network node 110 may be an aggregated network node (having an aggregated architecture) , meaning that the network node 110 may implement a full radio protocol stack that is physically and logically integrated within a single node (for example, a single physical structure) in the wireless communication network 100. For example, an aggregated network node 110 may consist of a single standalone base station or a single TRP that uses a full radio protocol stack to enable or facilitate communication between a UE 120 and a core network of the wireless communication network 100.
[0061] Alternatively, and as also shown, a network node 110 may be a disaggregated network node (sometimes referred to as a disaggregated base station) , meaning that the network node 110 may implement a radio protocol stack that is physically distributed and / or logically distributed among two or more nodes in the same geographic location or in different geographic locations. For example, a disaggregated network node may have a disaggregated architecture. In some deployments, disaggregated network nodes 110 may be used in an integrated access and backhaul (IAB) network, in an open radio access network (O-RAN) (such as a network configuration in compliance with the O-RAN Alliance) , or in a virtualized radio access network (vRAN) , also known as a cloud radio access network (C-RAN) , to facilitate scaling by separating base station functionality into multiple units that can be individually deployed.
[0062] The network nodes 110 of the wireless communication network 100 may include one or more central units (CUs) , one or more distributed units (DUs) , and / or one or more radio units (RUs) . A CU may host one or more higher layer control functions, such as radio resource control (RRC) functions, packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) functions, and / or service data adaptation protocol (SDAP) functions, among other examples. A DU may host one or more of a radio link control (RLC) layer, a medium access control (MAC) layer, and / or one or more higher physical (PHY) layers depending, at least in part, on a functional split, such as a functional split defined by the 3GPP. In some examples, a DU also may host one or more lower PHY layer functions, such as a fast Fourier transform (FFT) , an inverse FFT (iFFT) , beamforming, physical random access channel (PRACH) extraction and filtering, and / or scheduling of resources for one or more UEs 120, among other examples. An RU may host RF processing functions or lower PHY layer functions, such as an FFT, an iFFT, beamforming, or PRACH extraction and filtering, among other examples, according to a functional split, such as a lower layer functional split. In such an architecture, each RU can be operated to handle over the air (OTA) communication with one or more UEs 120.
[0063] In some aspects, a single network node 110 may include a combination of one or more CUs, one or more DUs, and / or one or more RUs. Additionally or alternatively, a network node 110 may include one or more Near-Real Time (Near-RT) RAN Intelligent Controllers (RICs) and / or one or more Non-Real Time (Non-RT) RICs. In some examples, a CU, a DU, and / or an RU may be implemented as a virtual unit, such as a virtual central unit (VCU) , a virtual distributed unit (VDU) , or a virtual radio unit (VRU) , among other examples. A virtual unit may be implemented as a virtual network function, such as associated with a cloud deployment.
[0064] Some network nodes 110 (for example, a base station, an RU, or a TRP) may provide communication coverage for a particular geographic area. In the 3GPP, the term “cell” can refer to a coverage area of a network node 110 or to a network node 110 itself, depending on the context in which the term is used. A network node 110 may support one or multiple (for example, three) cells. In some examples, a network node 110 may provide communication coverage for a macro cell, a pico cell, a femto cell, or another type of cell. A macro cell may cover a relatively large geographic area (for example, several kilometers in radius) and may allow unrestricted access by UEs 120 with service subscriptions. A pico cell may cover a relatively small geographic area and may allow unrestricted access by UEs 120 with service subscriptions. A femto cell may cover a relatively small geographic area (for example, a home) and may allow restricted access by UEs 120 having association with the femto cell (for example, UEs 120 in a closed subscriber group (CSG) ) . A network node 110 for a macro cell may be referred to as a macro network node. A network node 110 for a pico cell may be referred to as a pico network node. A network node 110 for a femto cell may be referred to as a femto network node or an in-home network node. In some examples, a cell may not necessarily be stationary. For example, the geographic area of the cell may move according to the location of an associated mobile network node 110 (for example, a train, a satellite base station, an unmanned aerial vehicle, or a non-terrestrial network (NTN) network node) .
[0065] The wireless communication network 100 may be a heterogeneous network that includes network nodes 110 of different types, such as macro network nodes, pico network nodes, femto network nodes, relay network nodes, aggregated network nodes, and / or disaggregated network nodes, among other examples. In the example shown in Fig. 1, the network node 110a may be a macro network node for a macro cell 130a, the network node 110b may be a pico network node for a pico cell 130b, and the network node 110c may be a femto network node for a femto cell 130c. Various different types of network nodes 110 may generally transmit at different power levels, serve different coverage areas, and / or have different impacts on interference in the wireless communication network 100 than other types of network nodes 110. For example, macro network nodes may have a high transmit power level (for example, 5 to 40 watts) , whereas pico network nodes, femto network nodes, and relay network nodes may have lower transmit power levels (for example, 0.1 to 2 watts) .
[0066] In some examples, a network node 110 may be, may include, or may operate as an RU, a TRP, or a base station that communicates with one or more UEs 120 via a radio access link (which may be referred to as a “Uu” link) . The radio access link may include a downlink and an uplink. “Downlink” (or “DL” ) refers to a communication direction from a network node 110 to a UE 120, and “uplink” (or “UL” ) refers to a communication direction from a UE 120 to a network node 110. Downlink channels may include one or more control channels and one or more data channels. A downlink control channel may be used to transmit downlink control information (DCI) (for example, scheduling information, reference signals, and / or configuration information) from a network node 110 to a UE 120. A downlink data channel may be used to transmit downlink data (for example, user data associated with a UE 120) from a network node 110 to a UE 120. Downlink control channels may include one or more physical downlink control channels (PDCCHs) , and downlink data channels may include one or more physical downlink shared channels (PDSCHs) . Uplink channels may similarly include one or more control channels and one or more data channels. An uplink control channel may be used to transmit uplink control information (UCI) (for example, reference signals and / or feedback corresponding to one or more downlink transmissions) from a UE 120 to a network node 110. An uplink data channel may be used to transmit uplink data (for example, user data associated with a UE 120) from a UE 120 to a network node 110. Uplink control channels may include one or more physical uplink control channels (PUCCHs) , and uplink data channels may include one or more physical uplink shared channels (PUSCHs) . The downlink and the uplink may each include a set of resources on which the network node 110 and the UE 120 may communicate.
[0067] Downlink and uplink resources may include time domain resources (frames, subframes, slots, and / or symbols) , frequency domain resources (frequency bands, component carriers, subcarriers, resource blocks, and / or resource elements) , and / or spatial domain resources (particular transmit directions and / or beam parameters) . Frequency domain resources of some bands may be subdivided into bandwidth parts (BWPs) . A BWP may be a continuous block of frequency domain resources (for example, a continuous block of resource blocks) that are allocated for one or more UEs 120. A UE 120 may be configured with both an uplink BWP and a downlink BWP (where the uplink BWP and the downlink BWP may be the same BWP or different BWPs) . A BWP may be dynamically configured (for example, by a network node 110 transmitting a DCI configuration to the one or more UEs 120) and / or reconfigured, which means that a BWP can be adjusted in real-time (or near-real-time) based on changing network conditions in the wireless communication network 100 and / or based on the specific requirements of the one or more UEs 120. This enables more efficient use of the available frequency domain resources in the wireless communication network 100 because fewer frequency domain resources may be allocated to a BWP for a UE 120 (which may reduce the quantity of frequency domain resources that a UE 120 is required to monitor) , leaving more frequency domain resources to be spread across multiple UEs 120. Thus, BWPs may also assist in the implementation of lower-capability UEs 120 by facilitating the configuration of smaller bandwidths for communication by such UEs 120.
[0068] As described above, in some aspects, the wireless communication network 100 may be, may include, or may be included in, an IAB network. In an IAB network, at least one network node 110 is an anchor network node that communicates with a core network. An anchor network node 110 may also be referred to as an IAB donor (or “IAB-donor” ) . The anchor network node 110 may connect to the core network via a wired backhaul link. For example, an Ng interface of the anchor network node 110 may terminate at the core network. Additionally or alternatively, an anchor network node 110 may connect to one or more devices of the core network that provide a core access and mobility management function (AMF) . An IAB network also generally includes multiple non-anchor network nodes 110, which may also be referred to as relay network nodes or simply as IAB nodes (or “IAB-nodes” ) . Each non-anchor network node 110 may communicate directly with the anchor network node 110 via a wireless backhaul link to access the core network, or may communicate indirectly with the anchor network node 110 via one or more other non-anchor network nodes 110 and associated wireless backhaul links that form a backhaul path to the core network. Some anchor network node 110 or other non-anchor network node 110 may also communicate directly with one or more UEs 120 via wireless access links that carry access traffic. In some examples, network resources for wireless communication (such as time resources, frequency resources, and / or spatial resources) may be shared between access links and backhaul links.
[0069] In some examples, any network node 110 that relays communications may be referred to as a relay network node, a relay station, or simply as a relay. A relay may receive a transmission of a communication from an upstream station (for example, another network node 110 or a UE 120) and transmit the communication to a downstream station (for example, a UE 120 or another network node 110) . In this case, the wireless communication network 100 may include or be referred to as a “multi-hop network. ” In the example shown in Fig. 1, the network node 110d (for example, a relay network node) may communicate with the network node 110a (for example, a macro network node) and the UE 120d in order to facilitate communication between the network node 110a and the UE 120d. Additionally or alternatively, a UE 120 may be or may operate as a relay station that can relay transmissions to or from other UEs 120. A UE 120 that relays communications may be referred to as a UE relay or a relay UE, among other examples.
[0070] The UEs 120 may be physically dispersed throughout the wireless communication network 100, and each UE 120 may be stationary or mobile. A UE 120 may be, may include, or may be included in an access terminal, another terminal, a mobile station, or a subscriber unit. A UE 120 may be, include, or be coupled with a cellular phone (for example, a smart phone) , a personal digital assistant (PDA) , a wireless modem, a wireless communication device, a handheld device, a laptop computer, a cordless phone, a wireless local loop (WLL) station, a tablet, a camera, a gaming device, a netbook, a smartbook, an ultrabook, a medical device, a biometric device, a wearable device (for example, a smart watch, smart clothing, smart glasses, a smart wristband, and / or smart jewelry, such as a smart ring or a smart bracelet) , an entertainment device (for example, a music device, a video device, and / or a satellite radio) , an extended reality (XR) device, a vehicular component or sensor, a smart meter or sensor, industrial manufacturing equipment, a Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) device (such as a Global Positioning System device or another type of positioning device) , a UE function of a network node, and / or any other suitable device or function that may communicate via a wireless medium.
[0071] AUE 120 and / or a network node 110 may include one or more chips, system-on-chips (SoCs) , chipsets, packages, or devices that individually or collectively constitute or comprise a processing system. The processing system includes processor (or “processing” ) circuitry in the form of one or multiple processors, microprocessors, processing units (such as central processing units (CPUs) , graphics processing units (GPUs) , neural processing units (NPUs) and / or digital signal processors (DSPs) ) , processing blocks, application-specific integrated circuits (ASIC) , programmable logic devices (PLDs) (such as field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) ) , or other discrete gate or transistor logic or circuitry (all of which may be generally referred to herein individually as “processors” or collectively as “the processor” or “the processor circuitry” ) . One or more of the processors may be individually or collectively configurable or configured to perform various functions or operations described herein. A group of processors collectively configurable or configured to perform a set of functions may include a first processor configurable or configured to perform a first function of the set and a second processor configurable or configured to perform a second function of the set, or may include the group of processors all being configured or configurable to perform the set of functions.
[0072] The processing system may further include memory circuitry in the form of one or more memory devices, memory blocks, memory elements or other discrete gate or transistor logic or circuitry, each of which may include tangible storage media such as random-access memory (RAM) or read-only memory (ROM) , or combinations thereof (all of which may be generally referred to herein individually as “memories” or collectively as “the memory” or “the memory circuitry” ) . One or more of the memories may be coupled (for example, operatively coupled, communicatively coupled, electronically coupled, or electrically coupled) with one or more of the processors and may individually or collectively store processor-executable code (such as software) that, when executed by one or more of the processors, may configure one or more of the processors to perform various functions or operations described herein. Additionally or alternatively, in some examples, one or more of the processors may be preconfigured to perform various functions or operations described herein without requiring configuration by software. The processing system may further include or be coupled with one or more modems (such as a Wi-Fi (for example, IEEE compliant) modem or a cellular (for example, 3GPP 4G LTE, 5G, or 6G compliant) modem) . In some implementations, one or more processors of the processing system include or implement one or more of the modems. The processing system may further include or be coupled with multiple radios (collectively “the radio” ) , multiple RF chains, or multiple transceivers, each of which may in turn be coupled with one or more of multiple antennas. In some implementations, one or more processors of the processing system include or implement one or more of the radios, RF chains or transceivers. The UE 120 may include or may be included in a housing that houses components associated with the UE 120 including the processing system.
[0073] Some UEs 120 may be considered machine-type communication (MTC) UEs, evolved or enhanced machine-type communication (eMTC) , UEs, further enhanced eMTC (feMTC) UEs, or enhanced feMTC (efeMTC) UEs, or further evolutions thereof, all of which may be simply referred to as “MTC UEs” ) . An MTC UE may be, may include, or may be included in or coupled with a robot, an uncrewed aerial vehicle, a remote device, a sensor, a meter, a monitor, and / or a location tag. Some UEs 120 may be considered IoT devices and / or may be implemented as NB-IoT (narrowband IoT) devices. An IoT UE or NB-IoT device may be, may include, or may be included in or coupled with an industrial machine, an appliance, a refrigerator, a doorbell camera device, a home automation device, and / or a light fixture, among other examples. Some UEs 120 may be considered Customer Premises Equipment, which may include telecommunications devices that are installed at a customer location (such as a home or office) to enable access to a service provider's network (such as included in or in communication with the wireless communication network 100) .
[0074] Some UEs 120 may be classified according to different categories in association with different complexities and / or different capabilities. UEs 120 in a first category may facilitate massive IoT in the wireless communication network 100, and may offer low complexity and / or cost relative to UEs 120 in a second category. UEs 120 in a second category may include mission-critical IoT devices, legacy UEs, baseline UEs, high-tier UEs, advanced UEs, full-capability UEs, and / or premium UEs that are capable of ultra-reliable low-latency communication (URLLC) , enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB) , and / or precise positioning in the wireless communication network 100, among other examples. A third category of UEs 120 may have mid-tier complexity and / or capability (for example, a capability between UEs 120 of the first category and UEs 120 of the second capability) . A UE 120 of the third category may be referred to as a reduced capacity UE ( “RedCap UE” ) , a mid-tier UE, an NR-Light UE, and / or an NR-Lite UE, among other examples. RedCap UEs may bridge a gap between the capability and complexity of NB-IoT devices and / or eMTC UEs, and mission-critical IoT devices and / or premium UEs. RedCap UEs may include, for example, wearable devices, IoT devices, industrial sensors, and / or cameras that are associated with a limited bandwidth, power capacity, and / or transmission range, among other examples. RedCap UEs may support healthcare environments, building automation, electrical distribution, process automation, transport and logistics, and / or smart city deployments, among other examples.
[0075] In some examples, two or more UEs 120 (for example, shown as UE 120a and UE 120e) may communicate directly with one another using sidelink communications (for example, without communicating by way of a network node 110 as an intermediary) . As an example, the UE 120a may directly transmit data, control information, or other signaling as a sidelink communication to the UE 120e. This is in contrast to, for example, the UE 120a first transmitting data in an uplink (UL) communication to a network node 110, which then transmits the data to the UE 120e in a downlink (DL) communication. In various examples, the UEs 120 may transmit and receive sidelink communications using peer-to-peer (P2P) communication protocols, device-to-device (D2D) communication protocols, vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication protocols (which may include vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) protocols, vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) protocols, and / or vehicle-to-pedestrian (V2P) protocols) , and / or mesh network communication protocols. In some deployments and configurations, a network node 110 may schedule and / or allocate resources for sidelink communications between UEs 120 in the wireless communication network 100. In some other deployments and configurations, a UE 120 (instead of a network node 110) may perform, or collaborate or negotiate with one or more other UEs to perform, scheduling operations, resource selection operations, and / or other operations for sidelink communications.
[0076] In various examples, some of the network nodes 110 and the UEs 120 of the wireless communication network 100 may be configured for full-duplex operation in addition to half-duplex operation. A network node 110 or a UE 120 operating in a half-duplex mode may perform only one of transmission or reception during particular time resources, such as during particular slots, symbols, or other time periods. Half-duplex operation may involve time-division duplexing (TDD) , in which DL transmissions of the network node 110 and UL transmissions of the UE 120 do not occur in the same time resources (that is, the transmissions do not overlap in time) . In contrast, a network node 110 or a UE 120 operating in a full-duplex mode can transmit and receive communications concurrently (for example, in the same time resources) . By operating in a full-duplex mode, network nodes 110 and / or UEs 120 may generally increase the capacity of the network and the radio access link. In some examples, full-duplex operation may involve frequency-division duplexing (FDD) , in which DL transmissions of the network node 110 are performed in a first frequency band or on a first component carrier and transmissions of the UE 120 are performed in a second frequency band or on a second component carrier different than the first frequency band or the first component carrier, respectively. In some examples, full-duplex operation may be enabled for a UE 120 but not for a network node 110. For example, a UE 120 may simultaneously transmit an UL transmission to a first network node 110 and receive a DL transmission from a second network node 110 in the same time resources. In some other examples, full-duplex operation may be enabled for a network node 110 but not for a UE 120. For example, a network node 110 may simultaneously transmit a DL transmission to a first UE 120 and receive an UL transmission from a second UE 120 in the same time resources. In some other examples, full-duplex operation may be enabled for both a network node 110 and a UE 120.
[0077] In some examples, the UEs 120 and the network nodes 110 may perform MIMO communication. “MIMO” generally refers to transmitting or receiving multiple signals (such as multiple layers or multiple data streams) simultaneously over the same time and frequency resources. MIMO techniques generally exploit multipath propagation. MIMO may be implemented using various spatial processing or spatial multiplexing operations. In some examples, MIMO may support simultaneous transmission to multiple receivers, referred to as multi-user MIMO (MU-MIMO) . Some radio access technologies (RATs) may employ advanced MIMO techniques, such as mTRP operation (including redundant transmission or reception on multiple TRPs) , reciprocity in the time domain or the frequency domain, single-frequency-network (SFN) transmission, or non-coherent joint transmission (NCJT) .
[0078] Wireless network 100 shows a first device (e.g., UE 120a, network node 110a) that may communicate with a second device (e.g., network node 110a, UE 120a) directly or by reflecting signals via a beam-reflecting device 160 (e.g., a RIS) . The first device may be a transmitting device and the second device may be a receiving device, because the transmitting device is transmitting a signal to the receiving device. This may be at the request of a network entity.
[0079] In some aspects, a beam-reflecting device (e.g., a beam-reflecting device 160) may include a communication manager 170. As described in more detail elsewhere herein, the communication manager 170 may receive a set of near-field reflection coefficients. The communication manager 170 may select, based at least in part on the set of near-field reflection coefficients, an element-specific near-field reflection coefficient for each element of a plurality of elements of the beam-reflecting device. The communication manager 170 may receive a signal. The communication manager 170 may reflect the signal using the near-field element-specific reflection coefficients.
[0080] In some aspects, the communication manager 170 may receive reflection coefficient information. The communication manager 170 may select a near-field reflection coefficient for each element of a plurality of elements of the beam-reflecting device using a near-field codebook associated with the reflection coefficient information. The communication manager 170 may set the plurality of elements using the selected near-field reflection coefficients. Additionally, or alternatively, the communication manager 170 may perform one or more other operations described herein.
[0081] In some aspects, a UE (e.g., a UE 120) may include a communication manager 140. As described in more detail elsewhere herein, the communication manager 140 may receive a configuration of near-field beam-reflecting device codebook parameters. The communication manager 140 may receive a reflected signal of a signal. The communication manager 140 may select a set of near-field reflection coefficients using the near-field beam-reflecting device codebook parameters, and a channel matrix for the reflected signal. The communication manager 140 may transmit reflection coefficient information indicating the set of near-field reflection coefficients. Additionally, or alternatively, the communication manager 140 may perform one or more other operations described herein.
[0082] In some aspects, a network entity (e.g., a network node 110) may include a communication manager 150. As described in more detail elsewhere herein, the communication manager 150 may generate a configuration of a near-field beam-reflecting device codebook. The communication manager 140 may transmit the configuration to a UE.Additionally, or alternatively, the communication manager 150 may perform one or more other operations described herein.
[0083] As indicated above, Fig. 1 is provided as an example. Other examples may differ from what is described with regard to Fig. 1.
[0084] Fig. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example network node 110 in communication with an example UE 120 in a wireless network in accordance with the present disclosure.
[0085] As shown in Fig. 2, the network node 110 may include a data source 212, a transmit processor 214, a transmit (TX) MIMO processor 216, a set of modems 232 (shown as 232a through 232t, where t ≥ 1) , a set of antennas 234 (shown as 234a through 234v, where v ≥ 1) , a MIMO detector 236, a receive processor 238, a data sink 239, a controller / processor 240, a memory 242, a communication unit 244, a scheduler 246, and / or a communication manager 150, among other examples. In some configurations, one or a combination of the antenna (s) 234, the modem (s) 232, the MIMO detector 236, the receive processor 238, the transmit processor 214, and / or the TX MIMO processor 216 may be included in a transceiver of the network node 110. The transceiver may be under control of and used by one or more processors, such as the controller / processor 240, and in some aspects in conjunction with processor-readable code stored in the memory 242, to perform aspects of the methods, processes, and / or operations described herein. In some aspects, the network node 110 may include one or more interfaces, communication components, and / or other components that facilitate communication with the UE 120 or another network node.
[0086] The terms “processor, ” “controller, ” or “controller / processor” may refer to one or more controllers and / or one or more processors. For example, reference to “a / the processor, ” “a / the controller / processor, ” or the like (in the singular) should be understood to refer to any one or more of the processors described in connection with Fig. 2, such as a single processor or a combination of multiple different processors. Reference to “one or more processors” should be understood to refer to any one or more of the processors described in connection with Fig. 2. For example, one or more processors of the network node 110 may include transmit processor 214, TX MIMO processor 216, MIMO detector 236, receive processor 238, and / or controller / processor 240. Similarly, one or more processors of the UE 120 may include MIMO detector 256, receive processor 258, transmit processor 264, TX MIMO processor 266, and / or controller / processor 280.
[0087] In some aspects, a single processor may perform all of the operations described as being performed by the one or more processors. In some aspects, a first set of (one or more) processors of the one or more processors may perform a first operation described as being performed by the one or more processors, and a second set of (one or more) processors of the one or more processors may perform a second operation described as being performed by the one or more processors. The first set of processors and the second set of processors may be the same set of processors or may be different sets of processors. Reference to “one or more memories” should be understood to refer to any one or more memories of a corresponding device, such as the memory described in connection with Fig. 2. For example, operation described as being performed by one or more memories can be performed by the same subset of the one or more memories or different subsets of the one or more memories.
[0088] For downlink communication from the network node 110 to the UE 120, the transmit processor 214 may receive data ( “downlink data” ) intended for the UE 120 (or a set of UEs that includes the UE 120) from the data source 212 (such as a data pipeline or a data queue) . In some examples, the transmit processor 214 may select one or more MCSs for the UE 120 in accordance with one or more channel quality indicators (CQIs) received from the UE 120. The network node 110 may process the data (for example, including encoding the data) for transmission to the UE 120 on a downlink in accordance with the MCS (s) selected for the UE 120 to generate data symbols. The transmit processor 214 may process system information (for example, semi-static resource partitioning information (SRPI) ) and / or control information (for example, CQI requests, grants, and / or upper layer signaling) and provide overhead symbols and / or control symbols. The transmit processor 214 may generate reference symbols for reference signals (for example, a cell-specific reference signal (CRS) , a demodulation reference signal (DMRS) , or a CSI reference signal (CSI-RS) ) and / or synchronization signals (for example, a primary synchronization signal (PSS) or a secondary synchronization signals (SSS) ) .
[0089] The TX MIMO processor 216 may perform spatial processing (for example, precoding) on the data symbols, the control symbols, the overhead symbols, and / or the reference symbols, if applicable, and may provide a set of output symbol streams (for example, T output symbol streams) to the set of modems 232. For example, each output symbol stream may be provided to a respective modulator component (shown as MOD) of a modem 232. Each modem 232 may use the respective modulator component to process (for example, to modulate) a respective output symbol stream (for example, for orthogonal frequency division multiplexing ( (OFDM) ) to obtain an output sample stream. Each modem 232 may further use the respective modulator component to process (for example, convert to analog, amplify, filter, and / or upconvert) the output sample stream to obtain a time domain downlink signal. The modems 232a through 232t may together transmit a set of downlink signals (for example, T downlink signals) via the corresponding set of antennas 234.
[0090] Adownlink signal may include a DCI communication, a MAC control element (MAC CE) communication, an RRC communication, a downlink reference signal, or another type of downlink communication. Downlink signals may be transmitted on a PDCCH, a PDSCH, and / or on another downlink channel. A downlink signal may carry one or more transport blocks (TBs) of data. A TB may be a unit of data that is transmitted over an air interface in the wireless communication network 100. A data stream (for example, from the data source 212) may be encoded into multiple TBs for transmission over the air interface. The quantity of TBs used to carry the data associated with a particular data stream may be associated with a TB size common to the multiple TBs. The TB size may be based on or otherwise associated with radio channel conditions of the air interface, the MCS used for encoding the data, the downlink resources allocated for transmitting the data, and / or another parameter. In general, the larger the TB size, the greater the amount of data that can be transmitted in a single transmission, which reduces signaling overhead. However, larger TB sizes may be more prone to transmission and / or reception errors than smaller TB sizes, but such errors may be mitigated by more robust error correction techniques.
[0091] For uplink communication from the UE 120 to the network node 110, uplink signals from the UE 120 may be received by an antenna 234, may be processed by a modem 232 (for example, a demodulator component, shown as DEMOD, of a modem 232) , may be detected by the MIMO detector 236 (for example, a receive (Rx) MIMO processor) if applicable, and / or may be further processed by the receive processor 238 to obtain decoded data and / or control information. The receive processor 238 may provide the decoded data to a data sink 239 (which may be a data pipeline, a data queue, and / or another type of data sink) and provide the decoded control information to a processor, such as the controller / processor 240.
[0092] The network node 110 may use the scheduler 246 to schedule one or more UEs 120 for downlink or uplink communications. In some aspects, the scheduler 246 may use DCI to dynamically schedule DL transmissions to the UE 120 and / or UL transmissions from the UE 120. In some examples, the scheduler 246 may allocate recurring time domain resources and / or frequency domain resources that the UE 120 may use to transmit and / or receive communications using an RRC configuration (for example, a semi-static configuration) , for example, to perform semi-persistent scheduling (SPS) or to configure a configured grant (CG) for the UE 120.
[0093] One or more of the transmit processor 214, the TX MIMO processor 216, the modem 232, the antenna 234, the MIMO detector 236, the receive processor 238, and / or the controller / processor 240 may be included in an RF chain of the network node 110. An RF chain may include one or more filters, mixers, oscillators, amplifiers, analog-to-digital converters (ADCs) , and / or other devices that convert between an analog signal (such as for transmission or reception via an air interface) and a digital signal (such as for processing by one or more processors of the network node 110) . In some aspects, the RF chain may be or may be included in a transceiver of the network node 110.
[0094] In some examples, the network node 110 may use the communication unit 244 to communicate with a core network and / or with other network nodes. The communication unit 244 may support wired and / or wireless communication protocols and / or connections, such as Ethernet, optical fiber, common public radio interface (CPRI) , and / or a wired or wireless backhaul, among other examples. The network node 110 may use the communication unit 244 to transmit and / or receive data associated with the UE 120 or to perform network control signaling, among other examples. The communication unit 244 may include a transceiver and / or an interface, such as a network interface.
[0095] The UE 120 may include a set of antennas 252 (shown as antennas 252a through 252r, where r ≥ 1) , a set of modems 254 (shown as modems 254a through 254u, where u ≥ 1) , a MIMO detector 256, a receive processor 258, a data sink 260, a data source 262, a transmit processor 264, a TX MIMO processor 266, a controller / processor 280, a memory 282, and / or a communication manager 140, among other examples. One or more of the components of the UE 120 may be included in a housing 284. In some aspects, one or a combination of the antenna (s) 252, the modem (s) 254, the MIMO detector 256, the receive processor 258, the transmit processor 264, or the TX MIMO processor 266 may be included in a transceiver that is included in the UE 120. The transceiver may be under control of and used by one or more processors, such as the controller / processor 280, and in some aspects in conjunction with processor-readable code stored in the memory 282, to perform aspects of the methods, processes, or operations described herein. In some aspects, the UE 120 may include another interface, another communication component, and / or another component that facilitates communication with the network node 110 and / or another UE 120.
[0096] For downlink communication from the network node 110 to the UE 120, the set of antennas 252 may receive the downlink communications or signals from the network node 110 and may provide a set of received downlink signals (for example, R received signals) to the set of modems 254. For example, each received signal may be provided to a respective demodulator component (shown as DEMOD) of a modem 254. Each modem 254 may use the respective demodulator component to condition (for example, filter, amplify, downconvert, and / or digitize) a received signal to obtain input samples. Each modem 254 may use the respective demodulator component to further demodulate or process the input samples (for example, for OFDM) to obtain received symbols. The MIMO detector 256 may obtain received symbols from the set of modems 254, may perform MIMO detection on the received symbols if applicable, and may provide detected symbols. The receive processor 258 may process (for example, decode) the detected symbols, may provide decoded data for the UE 120 to the data sink 260 (which may include a data pipeline, a data queue, and / or an application executed on the UE 120) , and may provide decoded control information and system information to the controller / processor 280.
[0097] For uplink communication from the UE 120 to the network node 110, the transmit processor 264 may receive and process data ( “uplink data” ) from a data source 262 (such as a data pipeline, a data queue, and / or an application executed on the UE 120) and control information from the controller / processor 280. The control information may include one or more parameters, feedback, one or more signal measurements, and / or other types of control information. In some aspects, the receive processor 258 and / or the controller / processor 280 may determine, for a received signal (such as received from the network node 110 or another UE) , one or more parameters relating to transmission of the uplink communication. The one or more parameters may include a reference signal received power (RSRP) parameter, a received signal strength indicator (RSSI) parameter, a reference signal received quality (RSRQ) parameter, a channel quality indicator (CQI) parameter, or a transmit power control (TPC) parameter, among other examples. The control information may include an indication of the RSRP parameter, the RSSI parameter, the RSRQ parameter, the CQI parameter, the TPC parameter, and / or another parameter. The control information may facilitate parameter selection and / or scheduling for the UE 120 by the network node 110.
[0098] The transmit processor 264 may generate reference symbols for one or more reference signals, such as an uplink DMRS, an uplink sounding reference signal (SRS) , and / or another type of reference signal. The symbols from the transmit processor 264 may be precoded by the TX MIMO processor 266, if applicable, and further processed by the set of modems 254 (for example, for discrete Fourier transform (DFT) spread OFDM (DFT-s-OFDM) or CP-OFDM) . The TX MIMO processor 266 may perform spatial processing (for example, precoding) on the data symbols, the control symbols, the overhead symbols, and / or the reference symbols, if applicable, and may provide a set of output symbol streams (for example, U output symbol streams) to the set of modems 254. For example, each output symbol stream may be provided to a respective modulator component (shown as MOD) of a modem 254. Each modem 254 may use the respective modulator component to process (for example, to modulate) a respective output symbol stream (for example, for OFDM) to obtain an output sample stream. Each modem 254 may further use the respective modulator component to process (for example, convert to analog, amplify, filter, and / or upconvert) the output sample stream to obtain an uplink signal.
[0099] The modems 254a through 254u may transmit a set of uplink signals (for example, R uplink signals or U uplink symbols) via the corresponding set of antennas 252. An uplink signal may include a UCI communication, a MAC CE communication, an RRC communication, or another type of uplink communication. Uplink signals may be transmitted on a PUSCH, a PUCCH, and / or another type of uplink channel. An uplink signal may carry one or more TBs of data. Sidelink data and control transmissions (that is, transmissions directly between two or more UEs 120) may generally use similar techniques as were described for uplink data and control transmission, and may use sidelink-specific channels such as a physical sidelink shared channel (PSSCH) , a physical sidelink control channel (PSCCH) , and / or a physical sidelink feedback channel (PSFCH) .
[0100] One or more antennas of the set of antennas 252 or the set of antennas 234 may include, or may be included within, one or more antenna panels, one or more antenna groups, one or more sets of antenna elements, or one or more antenna arrays, among other examples. An antenna panel, an antenna group, a set of antenna elements, or an antenna array may include one or more antenna elements (within a single housing or multiple housings) , a set of coplanar antenna elements, a set of non-coplanar antenna elements, or one or more antenna elements coupled with one or more transmission or reception components, such as one or more components of Fig. 2. As used herein, “antenna” can refer to one or more antennas, one or more antenna panels, one or more antenna groups, one or more sets of antenna elements, or one or more antenna arrays. “Antenna panel” can refer to a group of antennas (such as antenna elements) arranged in an array or panel, which may facilitate beamforming by manipulating parameters of the group of antennas. “Antenna module” may refer to circuitry including one or more antennas, which may also include one or more other components (such as filters, amplifiers, or processors) associated with integrating the antenna module into a wireless communication device.
[0101] In some examples, each of the antenna elements of an antenna 234 or an antenna 252 may include one or more sub-elements for radiating or receiving radio frequency signals. For example, a single antenna element may include a first sub-element cross-polarized with a second sub-element that can be used to independently transmit cross-polarized signals. The antenna elements may include patch antennas, dipole antennas, and / or other types of antennas arranged in a linear pattern, a two-dimensional pattern, or another pattern. A spacing between antenna elements may be such that signals with a desired wavelength transmitted separately by the antenna elements may interact or interfere constructively and destructively along various directions (such as to form a desired beam) . For example, given an expected range of wavelengths or frequencies, the spacing may provide a quarter wavelength, a half wavelength, or another fraction of a wavelength of spacing between neighboring antenna elements to allow for the desired constructive and destructive interference patterns of signals transmitted by the separate antenna elements within that expected range.
[0102] The amplitudes and / or phases of signals transmitted via antenna elements and / or sub-elements may be modulated and shifted relative to each other (such as by manipulating phase shift, phase offset, and / or amplitude) to generate one or more beams, which is referred to as beamforming. The term “beam” may refer to a directional transmission of a wireless signal toward a receiving device or otherwise in a desired direction. “Beam” may also generally refer to a direction associated with such a directional signal transmission, a set of directional resources associated with the signal transmission (for example, an angle of arrival, a horizontal direction, and / or a vertical direction) , and / or a set of parameters that indicate one or more aspects of a directional signal, a direction associated with the signal, and / or a set of directional resources associated with the signal. In some implementations, antenna elements may be individually selected or deselected for directional transmission of a signal (or signals) by controlling amplitudes of one or more corresponding amplifiers and / or phases of the signal (s) to form one or more beams. The shape of a beam (such as the amplitude, width, and / or presence of side lobes) and / or the direction of a beam (such as an angle of the beam relative to a surface of an antenna array) can be dynamically controlled by modifying the phase shifts, phase offsets, and / or amplitudes of the multiple signals relative to each other.
[0103] Different UEs 120 or network nodes 110 may include different numbers of antenna elements. For example, a UE 120 may include a single antenna element, two antenna elements, four antenna elements, eight antenna elements, or a different number of antenna elements. As another example, a network node 110 may include eight antenna elements, 24 antenna elements, 64 antenna elements, 128 antenna elements, or a different number of antenna elements. Generally, a larger number of antenna elements may provide increased control over parameters for beam generation relative to a smaller number of antenna elements, whereas a smaller number of antenna elements may be less complex to implement and may use less power than a larger number of antenna elements. Multiple antenna elements may support multiple-layer transmission, in which a first layer of a communication (which may include a first data stream) and a second layer of a communication (which may include a second data stream) are transmitted using the same time and frequency resources with spatial multiplexing.
[0104] The beam-reflecting device 160 may include communication unit 294, controller / processor 290, memory 292, and surface elements 296. The controller / processor 290 may control a configuration (e.g., reflective direction) of the surface elements 296 by applying voltage to specific elements of the surface elements 296. The beam-reflecting device 160 may communicate with the network node 110 via the communication unit 294.
[0105] While blocks in Fig. 2 are illustrated as distinct components, the functions described above with respect to the blocks may be implemented in a single hardware, software, or combination component or in various combinations of components. For example, the functions described with respect to the transmit processor 264, the receive processor 258, and / or the TX MIMO processor 266 may be performed by or under the control of the controller / processor 280.
[0106] Fig. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example disaggregated base station architecture 300 in accordance with the present disclosure. One or more components of the example disaggregated base station architecture 300 may be, may include, or may be included in one or more network nodes (such one or more network nodes 110) . The disaggregated base station architecture 300 may include a CU 310 that can communicate directly with a core network 320 via a backhaul link, or that can communicate indirectly with the core network 320 via one or more disaggregated control units, such as a Non-RT RIC 350 associated with a Service Management and Orchestration (SMO) Framework 360 and / or a Near-RT RIC 370 (for example, via an E2 link) . The CU 310 may communicate with one or more DUs 330 via respective midhaul links, such as via F1 interfaces. Each of the DUs 330 may communicate with one or more RUs 340 via respective fronthaul links. Each of the RUs 340 may communicate with one or more UEs 120 via respective RF access links. In some deployments, a UE 120 may be simultaneously served by multiple RUs 340.
[0107] Each of the components of the disaggregated base station architecture 300, including the CUs 310, the DUs 330, the RUs 340, the Near-RT RICs 370, the Non-RT RICs 350, and the SMO Framework 360, may include one or more interfaces or may be coupled with one or more interfaces for receiving or transmitting signals, such as data or information, via a wired or wireless transmission medium.
[0108] In some aspects, the CU 310 may be logically split into one or more CU user plane (CU-UP) units and one or more CU control plane (CU-CP) units. A CU-UP unit may communicate bidirectionally with a CU-CP unit via an interface, such as the E1 interface when implemented in an O-RAN configuration. The CU 310 may be deployed to communicate with one or more DUs 330, as necessary, for network control and signaling. Each DU 330 may correspond to a logical unit that includes one or more base station functions to control the operation of one or more RUs 340. For example, a DU 330 may host various layers, such as an RLC layer, a MAC layer, or one or more PHY layers, such as one or more high PHY layers or one or more low PHY layers. Each layer (which also may be referred to as a module) may be implemented with an interface for communicating signals with other layers (and modules) hosted by the DU 330, or for communicating signals with the control functions hosted by the CU 310. Each RU 340 may implement lower layer functionality. In some aspects, real-time and non-real-time aspects of control and user plane communication with the RU (s) 340 may be controlled by the corresponding DU 330.
[0109] The SMO Framework 360 may support RAN deployment and provisioning of non-virtualized and virtualized network elements. For non-virtualized network elements, the SMO Framework 360 may support the deployment of dedicated physical resources for RAN coverage requirements, which may be managed via an operations and maintenance interface, such as an O1 interface. For virtualized network elements, the SMO Framework 360 may interact with a cloud computing platform (such as an open cloud (O-Cloud) platform 390) to perform network element life cycle management (such as to instantiate virtualized network elements) via a cloud computing platform interface, such as an O2 interface. A virtualized network element may include, but is not limited to, a CU 310, a DU 330, an RU 340, a non-RT RIC 350, and / or a Near-RT RIC 370. In some aspects, the SMO Framework 360 may communicate with a hardware aspect of a 4G RAN, a 5G NR RAN, and / or a 6G RAN, such as an open eNB (O-eNB) 380, via an O1 interface. Additionally or alternatively, the SMO Framework 360 may communicate directly with each of one or more RUs 340 via a respective O1 interface. In some deployments, this configuration can enable each DU 330 and the CU 310 to be implemented in a cloud-based RAN architecture, such as a vRAN architecture.
[0110] The Non-RT RIC 350 may include or may implement a logical function that enables non-real-time control and optimization of RAN elements and resources, artificial intelligence and / or machine learning (AI / ML) workflows including model training and updates, and / or policy-based guidance of applications and / or features in the Near-RT RIC 370. The Non-RT RIC 350 may be coupled to or may communicate with (such as via an A1 interface) the Near-RT RIC 370. The Near-RT RIC 370 may include or may implement a logical function that enables near-real-time control and optimization of RAN elements and resources via data collection and actions via an interface (such as via an E2 interface) connecting one or more CUs 310, one or more DUs 330, and / or an O-eNB with the Near-RT RIC 370.
[0111] In some aspects, to generate AI / ML models to be deployed in the Near-RT RIC 370, the Non-RT RIC 350 may receive parameters or external enrichment information from external servers. Such information may be utilized by the Near-RT RIC 370 and may be received at the SMO Framework 360 or the Non-RT RIC 350 from non-network data sources or from network functions. In some examples, the Non-RT RIC 350 or the Near-RT RIC 370 may tune RAN behavior or performance. For example, the Non-RT RIC 350 may monitor long-term trends and patterns for performance and may employ AI / ML models to perform corrective actions via the SMO Framework 360 (such as reconfiguration via an O1 interface) or via creation of RAN management policies (such as A1 interface policies) .
[0112] As indicated above, Fig. 3 is provided as an example. Other examples may differ from what is described with regard to Fig. 3.
[0113] The network node 110, the controller / processor 240 of the network node 110, the UE 120, the controller / processor 280 of the UE 120, the beam-reflecting device 160, the controller / processor 290 of the beam-reflecting device 160, the CU 310, the DU 330, the RU 340, or any other component (s) of Figs. 1, 2, or 3 may implement one or more techniques or perform one or more operations associated with selecting beam-reflecting device near-field coefficients, as described in more detail elsewhere herein. For example, the controller / processor 240 of the network node 110, the controller / processor 280 of the UE 120, the beam-reflecting device 160, the controller / processor 290 of the beam-reflecting device 160, any other component (s) of Fig. 2, the CU 310, the DU 330, or the RU 340 may perform or direct operations of, for example, process 1600 of Fig. 16, process 1700 of Fig. 17, process 1800 of Fig. 18, process 1900 of Fig. 19, or other processes as described herein (alone or in conjunction with one or more other processors) . The memory 242 may store data and program codes for the network node 110, the CU 310, the DU 330, or the RU 340. The memory 282 may store data and program codes for the UE 120. The memory 292 may store data and program codes for the beam-reflecting device 160. In some examples, the memory 242, the memory 282, or the memory 292 may include a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing a set of instructions (for example, code or program code) for wireless communication. The memory 242 may include one or more memories, such as a single memory or multiple different memories (of the same type or of different types) . The memory 282 may include one or more memories, such as a single memory or multiple different memories (of the same type or of different types) . The memory 292 may include one or more memories, such as a single memory or multiple different memories (of the same type or of different types) . For example, the set of instructions, when executed (for example, directly, or after compiling, converting, or interpreting) by one or more processors of the network node 110, the UE 120, the beam-reflecting device 160, the CU 310, the DU 330, or the RU 340, may cause the one or more processors to perform process 1600 of Fig. 16, process 1700 of Fig. 17, process 1800 of Fig. 18, process 1900 of Fig. 19, or other processes as described herein. In some examples, executing instructions may include running the instructions, converting the instructions, compiling the instructions, and / or interpreting the instructions, among other examples.
[0114] In some aspects, a beam-reflecting device (e.g., a beam-reflecting device 160) includes means for receiving a set of near-field reflection coefficients; means for selecting, based at least in part on the set of near-field reflection coefficients, an element- specific near-field reflection coefficient for each element of a plurality of elements of the beam-reflecting device; means for receiving a signal; and / or means for reflecting the signal using the near-field element-specific reflection coefficients.
[0115] In some aspects, the beam-reflecting device includes means for receiving reflection coefficient information; means for selecting a near-field reflection coefficient for each element of a plurality of elements of the beam-reflecting device using a near-field codebook associated with the reflection coefficient information; and / or means for setting the plurality of elements using the selected near-field reflection coefficients. In some aspects, the means for the beam-reflecting device to perform operations described herein may include, for example, one or more of communication manager 170, controller / processor 290, memory 292, or elements 296.
[0116] In some aspects, a UE (e.g., a UE 120) includes means for receiving a configuration of near-field beam-reflecting device codebook parameters; means for receiving a reflected signal of a signal; means for selecting a set of near-field reflection coefficients using the near-field beam-reflecting device codebook parameters, and a channel matrix for the reflected signal; and / or means for transmitting reflection coefficient information indicating the near-field reflection coefficient. The means for the UE to perform operations described herein may include, for example, one or more of communication manager 140, antenna 252, modem 254, MIMO detector 256, receive processor 258, transmit processor 264, TX MIMO processor 266, controller / processor 280, or memory 282.
[0117] In some aspects, a network entity (e.g., a network node 110) includes means for generating a configuration of a near-field beam-reflecting device codebook; and / or means for transmitting the configuration to a UE. In some aspects, the means for the network entity to perform operations described herein may include, for example, one or more of communication manager 150, transmit processor 220, TX MIMO processor 230, modem 232, antenna 234, MIMO detector 236, receive processor 238, controller / processor 240, memory 242, or scheduler 246.
[0118] Fig. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example 400 of using a beam-reflecting device, in accordance with the present disclosure. Example 400 shows a network entity 410 (e.g., network node 110) that may communicate with a UE 420 (e.g., UE 120) , and a network entity 430 (e.g., network node 110) that may communicate with another UE 440 (e.g., UE 120) .
[0119] Anetwork may have antennas that are grouped together at a transmitter or receiver, in order to increase throughput. The grouping of antennas may be referred to as “massive MIMO. ” Massive MIMO may use active antenna units (AAUs) to achieve high beamforming gain. An AAU may combine an antenna, a radio, a tower-mounted amplifier, a feeder, and / or jumper functionalities into a single unit. An AAU may include an individual RF chain for each antenna port.
[0120] There may be barriers to massive MIMO. The transmission of signals may be blocked by buildings, natural topography, or other blocking structures. For example, network entity 410 may transmit signals to UE 420, but network entity 410 may not be able to transmit signals to UE 440. As shown in example 400, there is some type of blockage between network entity 410 and UE 440. UE 440 may instead be served by network entity 430.
[0121] In order to resolve transmission issues due to the blockage, the network may use a beam-reflecting device (e.g., beam-reflecting device 160) . The beam-reflecting device may be a device that can change radio wave characteristics, such as amplitude, phase, reflection direction, and / or refraction direction. The beam-reflecting device may be a device that forwards, relays, repeats, or reflects signals in a passive or near-passive manner. The beam-reflecting device may be configured as, for example, a RIS 450. A RIS may be a two-dimensional surface of engineered material (apanel of RIS elements that can be divided into sub-panels) whose properties are reconfigurable rather than static. The engineered material may contain integrated electronic circuits with multi-state tunable electronic components (e.g., PIN diodes, varactors) and software that enables control of a wireless medium by altering an impedance of the surface or a portion of the surface. The change in impedance may alter a phase shift and / or an angle of reflection. Scattering, absorption, reflection, or diffraction properties may be changed with time and controlled by the software. The RIS 450 may act as a reflective lens. In one example, the RIS 450 may include large arrays of inexpensive antennas spaced half of a wavelength apart. In another example, the RIS 450 may include metamaterial-based planar or conformal large surfaces whose elements (e.g., square elements) have sizes and inter-distances that are smaller than the wavelength. Each of the elements may have a configured impedance or other surface properties that are controlled by a voltage to the element. The RIS 450 may also be referred to as a “software-controlled metasurface” or an “intelligent reflecting surface. ”
[0122] Abeam-reflecting device, when configured to operate as the RIS 450, may not have antennas or RF chains of its own, but may include a large number of small, low-cost reflective elements on a surface to passively reflect incident electromagnetic signals transmitted from network entity 410. A controller of the RIS 450 may control the elements on the surface, and the surface may act as a phased array. The RIS 450 may be a smart device that is configured to use a specific angle of reflection for the signals. Network entity 410 may use a controller to control, as part of a reflective configuration, the angle of reflection (angle of arrival θi for an incident wave, angle of departure θr for a reflected wave) , an amplitude, a phase, and / or a width of the elements of the beam-reflecting device by controlling a voltage to each of the elements. The reflective configuration may also correspond to analog beamforming weights or coefficients that are provided by the RIS 450 when reflecting signals from one device to another. The reflective configuration may also be referred to as a “RIS reflection configuration, ” a “RIS reflection matrix, ” or a “P-MIMO configuration. ” In sum, the RIS 450 may help to control a propagation environment with less power consumption than AAUs. Beam-reflecting devices may even replace AAUs in the propagation environment. MIMO that uses passive devices or beam-reflecting devices may be referred to as “passive MIMO” or “P-MIMO. ” A beam-reflecting device may be also referred to as a “passive node, ” a “passive device, ” or a “P-MIMO device. ” A beam-reflecting device may provide an energy boost to nearby devices.
[0123] In some aspects, network entity 410 may configure the RIS 450 by sending a control signal with information for configuring the properties and / or timing of the elements. For example, network entity 410 may transmit a set of beam weights to the RIS 450 through explicit signaling (e.g., RRC signaling) instead of using beam sweeping.
[0124] In some aspects, the network entity 410 may transmit a control signal to the RIS 450 for operation of the RIS 450, and the RIS 450 may provide information back to the network entity 410. For example, the RIS 450 may provide a few bits of RIS-side information, such as an indication of an acknowledgement (ACK) or a negative acknowledgement (NACK) of the control signal. The information may also indicate a quality of the channel.
[0125] Various entities may control the RIS 450 in different scenarios. A transmitting UE (e.g., UE 440) may transmit a configuration to the RIS 450. The RIS 450 may provide a response. The RIS 450 may also be preconfigured by the network entity 410 (e.g., gNB) . A gNB-controlled RIS may also transmit a configuration to the RIS 450. The RIS 450 may provide a response. The UE 440 may provide traffic information to the network entity 410. In some scenarios, a special UE device (e.g., gateway) may control the RIS 450. In some scenarios, the RIS 450 may control itself with the help of the network entity 410 or the UE 440.
[0126] In 6G, larger arrays at the transmitter and receiver may be used to enable spatially multiplexed (more than one layer per polarization) line-of-sight (LOS) communication in a high mmWave or sub-THz band. A strong LOS channel can enable such spatially multiplexed communication. One or more transmitters may be expected to communicate with multiple receivers for which a direct LOS link may not exist or for which there is a weak link due to foliage or large distances. Reflective devices are not configured for spatially multiplexed communication.
[0127] As indicated above, Fig. 4 is provided as an example. Other examples may differ from what is described with regard to Fig. 4.
[0128] Fig. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example 500 of RIS operations, in accordance with the present disclosure.
[0129] Abeam-reflecting device (e.g., RIS) may have a surface that may have a large number of densely-placed reconfigurable meta-elements that can reflect or refract an electromagnetic wave to target directions. The meta-elements may include positive intrinsic-negative (PIN) or varactor diodes. Such elements may be low-cost elements. The RIS may also operate with lower power. The RIS may not use radiation power, and may use only control power.
[0130] The surface of the RIS may have different types of operation. In one example, the surface may be only reflective. Example 500 shows a reflective RIS 510 with a surface that reflects signals between the network entity 410 and the UE 440 at an angle θ1. In another example, the surface may be transmissive, or refractive. Example 500 also shows a transmissive RIS 520 with a surface that allows signals to pass through. The signals may be refracted such that the signal changes direction by an angle θ2.
[0131] In another example, the RIS may simultaneously transmit and reflect (STAR) . A hybrid-RIS may have active elements that have the ability to reflect and amplify incident signals to improve system performance. An omni-RIS may provide for both reflection and refraction.
[0132] As indicated above, Fig. 5 is provided as an example. Other examples may differ from what is described with regard to Fig. 5.
[0133] Fig. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example 600 of reflective beamforming by a RIS, in accordance with the present disclosure.
[0134] Example 600 shows a general model 602 for reflective beamforming by a RIS (e.g., beam-reflecting device 160) with N RIS elements (meta-elements) 606 that are at a distance d from each other. For an incident angle {θi, n} of a signal to the RIS and a reflection angle {θr, n} of the reflected signal, the reflection gain h by the RIS may be represented as where αn and φn are the amplitude and phase of the reflection coefficient of meta-element n. A reflection codebook may include a reflection coefficient for each meta-element n on a surface of the RIS.
[0135] The distance di, n (for incident signal i) is between the transmitter (Tx) (e.g., network entity 410) and the meta-element n. The distance di, 0 is between the Tx and the middle of the panel of meta-elements 606. The distance dr, n (for reflective signal r) is between the meta-element n and the receiver (Rx) (e.g., UE 440) . The distance dr, 0 is between the middle of the panel of meta-elements 606 and the Rx.
[0136] Example 600 also shows a far-field model 604 for reflective beamforming by the RIS elements 606, where the transmitter and / or the receiver are further away from the RIS. For incident angle θi and reflection angle θr, the reflection gain h by the RIS may be represented as Ideally, αn≡α and each element’s phase Practically, {αn, φn} may be derived from an enumerated set based on a meta-element realization. The phase shift and magnitude response may be defined for different configurations of the RIS.
[0137] In some aspects, some beams may be configured to avoid interference with other beams or nearby devices. The RIS may use a codebook subset restriction (CBSR) of a single-TRP Type-II or eType-II codebook that may reduce or avoid interference in certain directions by reducing the gain or amplitude of a beam for those directions. A codebook may involve multiple spatial basis groups with different oversampling offsets. A spatial basis group may include multiple spatial bases that are associated with one oversampling offset. A network entity may configure a bit sequence B = B1B2 for the UE. B1 may represent which spatial basis group is selected. B2 may represent the power restriction of each spatial basis in the selected spatial basis group. For each codeword in the selected spatial basis group, 2 bits may be used to indicate the maximum coefficient amplitude. For each codeword in the selected spatial basis group, the average value of coefficient amplitudes of multiple subbands may be restricted. A bit combination may indicate a maximum average coefficient amplitude of a beam, which corresponds to a spatial basis indexed by (k, x1, x2) . For example, bits “00” may indicate a maximum average coefficient amplitude of 0, bits “01” may indicate a maximum average coefficient of sqrt (1 / 4) , bits “10” may indicate a maximum average coefficient of sqrt (1 / 2) , and bits “11” may indicate a maximum average coefficient of 1.
[0138] As indicated above, Fig. 6 is provided as an example. Other examples may differ from what is described with regard to Fig. 6.
[0139] Fig. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example 700 of RIS use cases, in accordance with the present disclosure.
[0140] Example 700 shows a first use case 702, where only a reflection link exists. The direct communication link (channel matrix Hgu) between the network entity 410 and the UE 440 may be blocked by a building, tree, or any object. Therefore, only a RIS reflective communication link (channel matrices Hgr and Hru) exists between the network entity 410 and the UE 440. When the network entity 410 transmits a signal from one Tx antenna m, the received signal ym at the UE 440 with reflection codebook (wr) may be: ym=Hru·Diag (wr) ·Hgr (: , m) x+noise=Hru·Diag (Hgr (: , m) ) ·wrx+noise. then ym=Amwrx+ noise, where Am is a concatenated or cascaded channel matrix for the reflected signal. A cascaded matrix may be a multiplex of channel matrices. For example, for all of the Tx antennas of the network entity 410. When the network entity 410 transmits a precoded signal from all of the Tx antennas (with codebook Wg) , the received signal y at the UE 440 for transmitted signal x may be: where is a unit matrix with size Ng × Ng.
[0141] Example 700 also shows a second use case 704, where both a reflection link and a direct link exists. The direct communication link between the network entity 410 and the UE 440 may not be blocked. Therefore, there is both a RIS reflective communication link and a direct link between the network entity 410 and the UE 440. When the network entity 410 transmits a signal from one Tx antenna m, the received signal ym at the UE 440 may be: If then When the network entity 410 transmits a precoded signal from all of the Tx antennas, the received signal y at the UE 440 may be:
[0142] In each use case, the network entity 410 may transmit a reference signal from each Tx antenna while the RIS applies a set of assistant reflection coefficients such that the UE 440 can receive the reflected reference signal and estimate a two-hop cascaded channel matrix. Then, the UE 440 may determine and report the RIS reflection coefficient.
[0143] There may be two types of RIS reflection codebooks. A Type-1 codebook may involve the UE 440 selecting one codeword from a codebook as RIS reflection coefficients. A Type-2 codebook may involve the UE 440 selecting a set of codewords from the codebook and then determining the weighted combination of these codewords as RIS reflection coefficients. The codebook may be DFT-based or sine-based.
[0144] As indicated above, Fig. 7 is provided as an example. Other examples may differ from what is described with regard to Fig. 7.
[0145] Fig. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example 800 of target distances, in accordance with the present disclosure.
[0146] Example 800 shows distances with respect to an antenna panel 802 and a position 804 of a target object. The antenna panel 802 may have an inter-antenna distance d between antenna elements and a distance nd from a center of the antenna panel to an antenna n from the center of the antenna panel 802. A Fresnel distance may be used for target objects in the near-field to separate reactive near field and radiating near field. There may be a distance r from the center of the antenna panel 802 to the target object and a distance rn from antenna n to position 804 of the target object. Example 800 shows a Taylor series (sum of terms calculated from values of the function’s derivatives at a single point) of a near-field distance. A Rayleigh distance may be used separate the near field and the far-field. Rayleigh and Fresnel distances may be defined as the minimum distance such that the maximum phase error caused by approximations is no larger than π / 8.
[0147] Acodebook may be used for near-field uplink receiving. Due to downlink-uplink reciprocity, the codebook may also be used for downlink transmission. Each codeword in the codebook may be related to a direction angle θu and a distance away from the antenna panel center cos where sin is the maximum near-field communication distance, D= (Nt-1) d is the transmit panel size, d is an inter-antenna distance between two antenna elements, and Nθ and Nr are the number of antennas for dimensions of the antenna panel. Thus, the codeword may be expressed as for a uniform linear array (ULA) antenna panel with Nt transmit panel antennas in a dimension of the antenna panel, where rn is the distance between the position 804 of the target object and the nth antenna. For example, r1 is a distance between the position 804 and a first antenna element, r2 is a distance between the position 804 and a second antenna element, and so forth until for the Nt-th antenna element. Therein where dn is the distance between the nth antenna and the center of the antenna panel.
[0148] Considering cos and sin where if Nt is an odd number, or if Nt is an even number.
[0149] As indicated above, Fig. 8 is provided as an example. Other examples may differ from what is described with regard to Fig. 8.
[0150] Fig. 9 is a diagram illustrating an example 900 of beam coverage of a far-field and beam coverage of a near-field, in accordance with the present disclosure. Far-field coverage may cover a direction, while near-field coverage may cover a position. The angular domain a (θ) may be represented as where sin For the near-field, angular domain where ru, v= cos and λ is wavelength. For a near-field codeword coverage arrangement, non-uniform allocation in distance may have better coverage performance than uniform allocation in distance.
[0151] As indicated above, Fig. 9 is provided as an example. Other examples may differ from what is described with regard to Fig. 9.
[0152] Fig. 10 is a diagram illustrating examples 1000, 1002, and 1004 of use cases for a RIS, in accordance with the present disclosure.
[0153] With a large surface size and a high signal frequency, the near-field area of a RIS may have a large size. There are several use cases involving a near-field of the RIS 450. Example 1000 shows both the network entity 410 and the UE 440 located in the near-field of the RIS 450. Example 1002 shows the UE 440 located in the near-field of the RIS 450, while the network entity 410 is located in the far-field of the RIS 450. Example 1004 shows the network entity 410 located in the near-field of the RIS 450, while the UE 440 is located in the far-field of the RIS 450.
[0154] In these use cases, the network entity 410 may transmit a reference signal from each transmit antenna while the RIS 450 applies a set of reflection coefficients, such that the UE 440 may receive the reflected reference signal and estimate a two-hop cascaded channel matrix. Then, the UE 440 may determine and report the RIS reflection coefficient.
[0155] A codebook for direct link uplink reception or downlink transmission cannot be directly used for RIS near-field reflection. The difference between the direct link uplink / downlink codebook and the RIS reflection codebook is that the RIS reflection codebook is parameterized with two directions / positions (e.g., incident direction / position and reflection direction / position) . The direct link uplink / downlink codebook is parameterized for only one direction / position. Furthermore, for the RIS, the two directions / positions may be all or partially for near-field. Without a codebook for RIS near-field reflection, there may be suboptimal reflection at the RIS. Suboptimal reflection at the RIS may lead to a loss in the signal gain and degraded communications. Having degraded communications reduces throughput, increases latency, and wastes signaling resources.
[0156] As indicated above, Fig. 10 provides some examples. Other examples may differ from what is described with regard to Fig. 10.
[0157] Fig. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example 1100 of selecting reflection coefficients for a RIS, in accordance with the present disclosure. Example 1100 shows a network entity 1110 (e.g., network node 110) that may communicate with a UE 1120 (e.g., UE 120) , and a RIS 1130 (e.g., beam-reflecting device 160, RIS 450) that may reflect signals between the network entity 1110 and the UE 1120.
[0158] According to various aspects described herein, the network entity 1110, the UE 1120, and the RIS 1130 may use a reflection coefficient codebook for RIS-based near-field communication. The RIS near-field reflection codebook may be designed for each of use cases 1000 (codebook 1) , 1002 (codebook 2) , and 1004 (codebook 3) that involve a near-field. Each codeword of the RIS near-field reflection codebook may involve a direction angle of a transmitter (e.g., network entity 1110) from an element panel center of the RIS 1130, a distance of the transmitter from the element panel center of the RIS 1130, a direction angle of a receiver (e.g., UE 1120) from the element panel center of the RIS 1130, and a distance from the element panel center of the RIS 1130. As shown by reference number 1135, the network entity 1110 may transmit a configuration of RIS near-field codebook parameters of a selected codebook to the UE 1120. The configuration may indicate a CSI-RS resource. The network entity 1110 may transmit the configuration via RRC signaling, a MAC CE, and / or DCI.
[0159] As shown by reference number 1140, the network entity 1110 may transmit a CSI-RS. As shown by reference number 1145, the RIS 1130 may reflect the CSI-RS. The network entity 1110 may also transmit a CSI-RS directly to the UE 1120 if a direct link exists. As shown by reference number 1150, the UE 1120 may estimate a cascaded channel matrix for the signal reflected from the RIS 1130. The UE 1120 may also estimate a direct link channel matrix if a direct link exists.
[0160] As shown by reference number 1155, the UE 1120 may select a set of near-field reflection coefficients (aset may include one or more near-field reflection coefficients) based at least in part on the RIS near-field codebook. A near-field reflection coefficient (or coefficient vector) may be a per-element multiplication of two component weight vectors associated with the RIS 1130. The two component weight vectors may include a target component weight vector and a source component weight vector. The target component weight vector may be associated with a distance between a receiver (e.g., the UE 1120) and each element of the RIS 1130, and the source component weight vector may be associated with a distance between a transmitter (e.g., the network entity 1110) and each element of the RIS 1130. The target component weight vector may be associated with a position of the receiver (e.g., UE 1120) and a position of each element of the RIS 1130, and the source component weight vector may be associated with a position of the transmitter (e.g., network entity 1110) and a position of each element of the RIS 1130. If the reflection target position (with parameters ) is in the near-field of the RIS 1130, then the target component weight vector may be expressed as where and v= {1, 2, …, Nr, t} . If the reflection source position (with parameters ) is in the near field of the RIS 1130, then the source component weight vector may be expressed as where and v′={1, 2, …, Nr, s} . Therefore, if the target reflection position and the source reflection position are both in the near field of the RIS 1130, the complete RIS reflection coefficient vector element multiplication.
[0161] In total, there may be Nθ, tNd, tNθ, sNd, scodewords. An integer i∈ [1, Nθ, tNr, tNθ, sNr, s] or [0, Nθ, tNr, tNθ, sNr, s-1] may be used to represent a certain quadruple (u, v, u′, v′) . Then, the codebook is
[0162] While the network entity 1110 may transmit a reference signal (e.g., CSI-RS) and the RIS 1130 may reflect with reflection coefficients, the UE 1120 may estimate a RIS link cascaded channel matrix. At least one of the incident link and the reflective link are in the near-field of the RIS 1130. Based at least in part on the cascaded channel matrix and the RIS near-field codebooks configured for the UE 1120, the UE 1120 may determine the near-field reflection coefficients. After the UE 1120 selects the set of near-field reflection coefficients, the UE 1120 may transmit reflection coefficient information (e.g., CSI report message) to the network entity 1110 to report the set of near-field reflection coefficients.
[0163] The UE 1120 may estimate the cascaded channel matrix An for the network entity 1110’s Tx antenna n and for all of the network entity 1110’s Tx antennas, based at least in part on the received reference signal. If the UE 1120 may calculate the major singular vector of A as the optimal RIS reflection coefficient vector wopt . Next, the UE 1120 may select one or multiple codewords based at least in part on wopt.
[0164] In some aspects, the network entity 1110 may configure a Type-1 or Type-2 codeword reporting format. Type-1 may involve a single codeword from the configured RIS near-field codebook. Type-2 may involve multiple (K) codewords from the configured RIS near-field codebook and their respective combination coefficients. If multi-layer transmission is used (e.g., in an NLOS channel) , the network entity 1110 may configure the maximum number of layers (denoted as ) to the UE 1120. Each layer may be commonly or individually configured to use a Type-1 or Type-2 codeword reporting format.
[0165] If a Type-1 codeword reporting format is configured, the UE may select one codeword wsel with the maximum correlation coefficient with wopt. If a Type-2 codeword reporting format is configured, the UE 1120 may select K codewords {wsel, k} k=1~K with the maximum correlation coefficients with wopt, and the UE 1120 may calculate the combination coefficients α (e.g., based on an LS method, where Wsel= [wsel, 1, …, wsel, K] ) .
[0166] In some aspects, if the UE 1120 may determine the quantity (denoted as ) of layers, for example, based at least in part on the quantity of significant singular vectors of A (e.g., the singular values of these singular vectors are larger than other singular values) . The significant singular vectors may be the optimal RIS reflection coefficient vectors Next, for each layer one or multiple codewords may be selected from the RIS near-field codebook and the corresponding combination coefficients (α (l) ) may be generated, as above.
[0167] As shown by reference number 1160, the UE 1120 may transmit reflection coefficient information. The information may indicate the set of near-field reflection coefficients. Each near-field reflection coefficient may be specific to a particular element for use with a near-field. In some aspects, the information may include the near-field reflection coefficient for the elements of the RIS 1130.
[0168] In some aspects, when the UE 1120 reports the set of near-field reflection coefficients, if the UE 1120 may report For each layer, if the Type-1 codeword reporting format is configured, the UE 1120 may report the index of wsel. If the Type-2 codeword reporting format is configured, the UE 1120 may report the indices of {wsel, k} k=1~K and the values of α (e.g., with amplitude and phase quantized with configured numbers of bits) .
[0169] The network entity 1110 may receive the reflection coefficient information. As shown by reference number 1165, the network entity 1110 may forward the set of near-field reflection coefficients to the RIS 1130. As shown by reference number 1170, the UE 1120 may alternatively, or additionally, transmit the information directly to the RIS 1130.
[0170] In some aspects, if the RIS 1130 may configure all of the meta-elements based at least in part on the received codeword wsel or If the RIS 1130 may split the surface into multiple sub-surfaces. For each sub-surface, the RIS 1130 may configure the corresponding part of the meta-elements based on the received codeword
[0171] As shown by reference number 1175, the RIS 1130 may determine the near-field reflection coefficient for each element from the near-field reflection coefficients in consideration of the near-field. In some aspects, the RIS 1130 may select each reflection coefficient using a codebook associated with the reflection coefficient information.
[0172] As shown by reference number 1180, the network entity 1110 may transmit data that is reflected at the RIS 1130. As shown by reference number 1185, the RIS 1130 may reflect the data to the UE 1120. If uplink-downlink reciprocity exists, the near-field reflection coefficients may be used for uplink. By selecting reflection coefficients for the RIS that account for the near-field, the RIS 1130 may use more optimal reflection for better communications. Having better communications increases throughput (improves channel gain) , conserves resources, and reduces latency.
[0173] As indicated above, Fig. 11 is provided as an example. Other examples may differ from what is described with regard to Fig. 11.
[0174] Fig. 12 is a diagram illustrating examples 1200 and 1202 of using a RIS near-field-near-field (NF-NF) codebook, in accordance with the present disclosure.
[0175] If the incident link (from the network entity 1110 to the RIS 1130) or the reflective link (from the RIS 1130 to the UE 1120) is a line-of-sight (LOS) channel, as shown by example 1200, then the RIS reflection coefficients may be mainly for the single source position or the single target position. If the incident link or the reflective link is a non-LOS (NLOS) channel, as shown by example 1202, then the RIS reflection coefficients may be for the one or multiple source positions or the multiple target positions. Therefore, the UE 1120 may select a single RIS near-field codeword wi, or multiple RIS near field codewords and their combination coefficients to generate a composite codeword
[0176] As indicated above, Fig. 12 provides some examples. Other examples may differ from what is described with regard to Fig. 12.
[0177] Fig. 13 is a diagram illustrating examples 1300 and 1302 of using a RIS far-field-near-field (FF-NF) codebook, in accordance with the present disclosure.
[0178] If the reflection source position is in the far-field of the RIS 1130, as shown by example 1300, then only a direction (with parameter ) is considered, thus the RIS source component weight vector may be expressed as where u′= {1, 2, …, Nθ} . The RIS target component weight vector may be the same as in the RIS near-field-near-field codebook. Therefore, if the reflection target position is the near-field and the reflection source position is in the far field of the RIS 1130, as shown by example 1302, the complete RIS reflection coefficient vector In total, there may be (Nθ) 2Nr codewords. An integer i∈ [1, (Nθ) 2Nr] may be used to represent a certain triple (u, v, u′) . Then, the codebook may be
[0179] As indicated above, Fig. 13 provides some examples. Other examples may differ from what is described with regard to Fig. 13.
[0180] Fig. 14 is a diagram illustrating examples 1400 and 1402 of using a RIS near-field-far-field (NF-FF) codebook, in accordance with the present disclosure.
[0181] Example 1400 shows a reflection target position in the far-field with an LOS channel. Example 1402 shows an NLOS channel. If the reflection target position is in the far-field of RIS, then only a direction (with parameter ) is considered, and the RIS target component weight vector may be expressed as where u= {1, 2, …, Nθ} . The RIS source component weight vector may be the same as the RIS near-field-near-field codebook. Therefore, if the reflection source position is the near-field and the reflection target position is in the far-field of the RIS 1130, the complete RIS reflection coefficient vector In total, there may be (Nθ) 2Nr codewords. An integer i∈ [1, (Nθ) 2Nr] may be used to represent a certain triple (u, u′, v′) . Then, the codebook may be
[0182] As indicated above, Fig. 14 provides some examples. Other examples may differ from what is described with regard to Fig. 14.
[0183] Fig. 15 is a diagram illustrating an example 1500 of a 3D RIS near-field reflection codebook, in accordance with the present disclosure.
[0184] The near-field codebooks described in connection with Figs. 12, 13, and 14 involve a reflection source position 1502 and a reflection target position 1504 that are at the same height from the RIS. If the reflection source position and reflection target position are not at the same height from the RIS, a 3D codebook should be used.
[0185] In some aspects, each 3D direction may include an azimuth angle and an elevation angle θ. Each position may be represented by one distance, and each codeword may be parameterized by six parameters: for reflection target position and for reflection source position Therefore, sin u={1, 2, …, Nθ, t} ; and [′= {1, 2, …, Nr, s} .
[0186] If the position of the nth meta-element in the RIS is (dn, x, dn, y) , then for the target component weight vector, and for the source component weight vector. If the target component weight vector or source component weight vector is for far-field, then The RIS target component weight vector and the RIS source component weight vector and the complete RIS reflection coefficient vector
[0187] In some aspects, each 3D direction may include a horizontal angle θx and a vertical angle θy. The source / target position may be projected to the horizontal / vertical plane. Each position may be represented by two distances, such that there are eight parameters. The 3D RIS near field reflection codeword may be where uhor= {1, 2, …, Nθ, t, h} , vhor= {1, 2, …, Nr, t, h} , u′hor= {1, 2, …, Nθ, s, h} , v′hor={1,2, …, Nr, s, h} , uver= {1, 2, …, Nθ, t, v} , vver= {1, 2, …, Nr, t, v} , u′ver= {1, 2, …, Nθ, s, v} , and v′ver= {1, 2, …, Nr, s, v} . may be a Kronecker product, and may be a 2D codeword in the horizontal dimension, and and may be a 2D codeword in the vertical dimension.
[0188] As indicated above, Fig. 15 is provided as an example. Other examples may differ from what is described with regard to Fig. 15.
[0189] In some aspects, the network entity 1110 may configure the parameters of a RIS near-field codebook to the UE 1120 and the RIS 1130, including the selection of a codebook:
[0190] If codebook NF-NF is selected, for a 2D codebook, the parameters may include Nθ,t, Nr, t, Nθ, s, Nr, s. For a 3D codebook, the parameters may include Nθ,t, Nr, t, Nθ, s, Nr, sfor 3D with an azimuth angle and an elevation angle θ, or Nθ,t, h, Nr, t, h, Nθ, s, h, Nr, s, h, Nθ, t, v, Nr, t, v, Nθ, s, v, Nr, s, v for 3D with a horizontal angle θx and a vertical angle θy.
[0191] If codebook FF-NF is selected, for a 2D codebook, the parameters may include Nθ,t, Nr, t, Nθ, s. For a 3D codebook, the parameters may include Nθ, t, Nr, t, Nθ, s, for 3D with an azimuth angle and an elevation angle θ, or Nθ,t, h, Nr, t, h, Nθ, s, h, Nθ, t, v, Nr, t, v, Nθ, s, v for 3D with a horizontal angle θx and a vertical angle θy.
[0192] If codebook NF-FF is selected, for a 2D codebook, the parameters may include Nθ,t, Nθ, s, Nr, s. For a 3D codebook, the parameters may include Nθ,t, Nθ, s, Nr, sfor 3D with an azimuth angle and an elevation angle θ, or Nθ,t, h, Nθ, s, h, Nr, s, h, Nθ, t, v, Nθ, s, v, Nr, s, v for 3D with an azimuth angle and an elevation angle θ.
[0193] Fig. 16 is a diagram illustrating an example process 1600 performed, for example, at a beam-reflecting device or an apparatus of a beam-reflecting device, in accordance with the present disclosure. Example process 1600 is an example where the apparatus or the beam-reflecting device (e.g., a beam-reflecting device 160, RIS 1130) performs operations associated with selecting beam-reflecting device near-field coefficients.
[0194] As shown in Fig. 16, in some aspects, process 1600 may include receiving a set of near-field reflection coefficients (block 1610) . For example, the beam-reflecting device (e.g., using reception component 2002 and / or communication manager 2006, depicted in Fig. 20) may receive a set of near-field reflection coefficients, as described above.
[0195] As further shown in Fig. 16, in some aspects, process 1600 may include selecting, based at least in part on the set of near-field reflection coefficients, an element-specific near-field reflection coefficient for each element of a plurality of elements of the beam-reflecting device (block 1620) . For example, the beam-reflecting device (e.g., using communication manager 2006, depicted in Fig. 20) may select, based at least in part on the set of near-field reflection coefficients, an element-specific near-field reflection coefficient for each element of a plurality of elements of the beam-reflecting device, as described above.
[0196] As further shown in Fig. 16, in some aspects, process 1600 may include receiving a signal (block 1630) . For example, the beam-reflecting device (e.g., using reception component 2002 and / or communication manager 2006, depicted in Fig. 20) may receive a signal, as described above.
[0197] As further shown in Fig. 16, in some aspects, process 1600 may include reflecting the signal using the near-field element-specific reflection coefficients (block 1640) . For example, the beam-reflecting device (e.g., using communication manager 2006, depicted in Fig. 20) may reflect the signal using the near-field element-specific reflection coefficients, as described above.
[0198] Process 1600 may include additional aspects, such as any single aspect or any combination of aspects described below and / or in connection with one or more other processes described elsewhere herein.
[0199] In a first aspect, the set of near-field reflection coefficients uses a near-field reflection codebook, and each codeword of the near-field reflection codebook has a direction angle of a transmitter from an element panel center of the beam-reflecting device, a distance of the transmitter from the element panel center of the beam-reflecting device, a direction angle of a receiver from the element panel center of the beam-reflecting device, and a distance from the element panel center of the beam-reflecting device.
[0200] In a second aspect, alone or in combination with the first aspect, the near-field reflection codebook is for the transmitter being in a near-field and the receiver being in a near-field.
[0201] In a third aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first and second aspects, each near-field reflection coefficient of the set of near-field reflection coefficients is a per-element multiplication of a target component weight vector associated with a position of the receiver and a source component weight vector associated with a position of the transmitter.
[0202] In a fourth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through third aspects, the target component weight vector is associated with a distance between the receiver and each element of the beam-reflecting device, and the source component weight vector is associated with a distance between the transmitter and each element of the beam-reflecting device.
[0203] In a fifth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through fourth aspects, the target component weight vector is associated with a position of the receiver and a position of each element of the beam-reflecting device, and the source component weight vector is associated with a position of the transmitter and a position of each element of the beam-reflecting device.
[0204] In a sixth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through fifth aspects, the near-field reflection codebook is for the transmitter being in a far-field and the receiver being in a near-field.
[0205] In a seventh aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through sixth aspects, the set of near-field reflection coefficients is based at least in part on a target component weight vector associated with the receiver.
[0206] In an eighth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through seventh aspects, the near-field reflection codebook is for the transmitter being in a near-field and the receiver being in a far-field.
[0207] In a ninth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through eighth aspects, a near-field reflection coefficient of the set of near-field reflection coefficients is based at least in part on a source component weight vector associated with the transmitter.
[0208] In a tenth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through ninth aspects, process 1600 includes generating a composite codeword from at least multiple near-field codewords of the near-field reflection codebook.
[0209] In an eleventh aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through tenth aspects, process 1600 includes receiving the signal directly, where selecting the near-field reflection coefficient includes selecting the near-field reflection coefficient further using a channel matrix for the signal.
[0210] In a twelfth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through eleventh aspects, the near-field reflection coefficient uses a near-field reflection codebook that includes codewords for three dimensions, where a target component weight vector or a source component weight vector of each codeword for three dimensions includes an azimuth angle and an elevation angle.
[0211] In a thirteenth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through twelfth aspects, the set of near-field reflection coefficients uses a near-field reflection codebook that includes codewords for three dimensions, where a target component weight vector or a source component weight vector of each codeword for three dimensions includes a vertical angle and a horizontal angle.
[0212] In a fourteenth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through thirteenth aspects, a near-field reflection coefficient of set of near-field reflection coefficients is a Kronecker product of a two-dimensional codeword for a position of a transmitter and a position of a receiver in a horizontal dimension and a two-dimensional codeword in a vertical dimension.
[0213] Although Fig. 16 shows example blocks of process 1600, in some aspects, process 1600 may include additional blocks, fewer blocks, different blocks, or differently arranged blocks than those depicted in Fig. 16. Additionally, or alternatively, two or more of the blocks of process 1600 may be performed in parallel.
[0214] Fig. 17 is a diagram illustrating an example process 1700 performed, for example, at a UE or an apparatus of a UE, in accordance with the present disclosure. Example process 1700 is an example where the apparatus or the UE (e.g., UE 120, UE 1120) performs operations associated with selecting beam-reflecting device near-field coefficients.
[0215] As shown in Fig. 17, in some aspects, process 1700 may include receiving a configuration of near-field beam-reflecting device codebook parameters (block 1710) . For example, the UE (e.g., using reception component 2002 and / or communication manager 2006, depicted in Fig. 20) may receive a configuration of near-field beam-reflecting device codebook parameters, as described above.
[0216] As further shown in Fig. 17, in some aspects, process 1700 may include receiving a reflected signal of a signal (block 1720) . For example, the UE (e.g., using reception component 2002 and / or communication manager 2006, depicted in Fig. 20) may receive a reflected signal of a signal, as described above.
[0217] As further shown in Fig. 17, in some aspects, process 1700 may include selecting a set of near-field reflection coefficients using the near-field beam-reflecting device codebook parameters, and a channel matrix for the reflected signal (block 1730) . For example, the UE (e.g., using communication manager 2006, depicted in Fig. 20) may select a set of near-field reflection coefficients using the near-field beam-reflecting device codebook parameters, and a channel matrix for the reflected signal, as described above.
[0218] As further shown in Fig. 17, in some aspects, process 1700 may include transmitting reflection coefficient information indicating the set of near-field reflection coefficients (block 1740) . For example, the UE (e.g., using transmission component 2004 and / or communication manager 2006, depicted in Fig. 20) may transmit reflection coefficient information indicating the set of near-field reflection coefficients, as described above.
[0219] Process 1700 may include additional aspects, such as any single aspect or any combination of aspects described below and / or in connection with one or more other processes described elsewhere herein.
[0220] In a first aspect, the set of near-field reflection coefficients uses a near-field reflection codebook, and each codeword of the near-field reflection codebook has a direction angle of a transmitter from an element panel center of the beam-reflecting device, a distance of the transmitter from the element panel center of the beam-reflecting device, a direction angle of a receiver from the element panel center of the beam-reflecting device, and a distance from the element panel center of the beam-reflecting device.
[0221] In a second aspect, alone or in combination with the first aspect, the near-field reflection codebook is for the transmitter being in a near-field and the receiver being in a near-field.
[0222] In a third aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first and second aspects, a near-field reflection coefficient of the set of near-field reflection coefficients is a per-element multiplication of a target component weight vector associated with a position of the receiver and a source component weight vector associated with a position of the transmitter.
[0223] In a fourth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through third aspects, the target component weight vector is associated with a distance between the receiver and each element of the beam-reflecting device, and the source component weight vector is associated with a distance between the transmitter and each element of the beam-reflecting device.
[0224] In a fifth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through fourth aspects, the target component weight vector is associated with a position of the receiver and a position of each element of the beam-reflecting device, and the source component weight vector is associated with a position of the transmitter and a position of each element of the beam-reflecting device.
[0225] In a sixth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through fifth aspects, the near-field reflection codebook is for the transmitter being in a far-field and the receiver being in a near-field, and a near-field reflection coefficient of the set of near-field reflection coefficients is based at least in part on a target component weight vector associated with the receiver.
[0226] In a seventh aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through sixth aspects, the near-field reflection codebook is for the transmitter being in a near-field and the receiver being in a far-field, and a near-field reflection coefficient of the set of near-field reflection coefficients is based at least in part on a source component weight vector associated with the transmitter.
[0227] In an eighth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through seventh aspects, the set of near-field reflection coefficients uses a near-field reflection codebook that includes codewords for three dimensions, where a target component weight vector or a source component weight vector of each codeword for three dimensions includes an azimuth angle and an elevation angle.
[0228] In a ninth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through eighth aspects, the near-set of near-field reflection coefficients uses a near-field reflection codebook that includes codewords for three dimensions, where a target component weight vector or a source component weight vector of each codeword for three dimensions includes a vertical angle and a horizontal angle.
[0229] Although Fig. 17 shows example blocks of process 1700, in some aspects, process 1700 may include additional blocks, fewer blocks, different blocks, or differently arranged blocks than those depicted in Fig. 17. Additionally, or alternatively, two or more of the blocks of process 1700 may be performed in parallel.
[0230] Fig. 18 is a diagram illustrating an example process 1800 performed, for example, at a beam-reflecting device or an apparatus of a beam-reflecting device, in accordance with the present disclosure. Example process 1800 is an example where the apparatus or the beam-reflecting device (e.g., beam-reflecting device 160, RIS 1130) performs operations associated with selecting beam-reflecting device near-field coefficients.
[0231] As shown in Fig. 18, in some aspects, process 1800 may include receiving reflection coefficient information (block 1810) . For example, the beam-reflecting device (e.g., using reception component 2002 and / or communication manager 2006, depicted in Fig. 20) may receive reflection coefficient information, as described above.
[0232] As further shown in Fig. 18, in some aspects, process 1800 may include selecting a near-field reflection coefficient for each element of a plurality of elements of the beam-reflecting device using a near-field codebook associated with the reflection coefficient information (block 1820) . For example, the beam-reflecting device (e.g., using communication manager 2006, depicted in Fig. 20) may select a near-field reflection coefficient for each element of a plurality of elements of the beam-reflecting device using a near-field codebook associated with the reflection coefficient information, as described above.
[0233] As further shown in Fig. 18, in some aspects, process 1800 may include setting the plurality of elements using the selected near-field reflection coefficients (block 1830) . For example, the beam-reflecting device (e.g., using communication manager 2006, depicted in Fig. 20) may set the plurality of elements using the selected near-field reflection coefficients, as described above.
[0234] Process 1800 may include additional aspects, such as any single aspect or any combination of aspects described below and / or in connection with one or more other processes described elsewhere herein.
[0235] In a first aspect, process 1800 includes receiving a signal, and reflecting the signal using the plurality of elements.
[0236] Although Fig. 18 shows example blocks of process 1800, in some aspects, process 1800 may include additional blocks, fewer blocks, different blocks, or differently arranged blocks than those depicted in Fig. 18. Additionally, or alternatively, two or more of the blocks of process 1800 may be performed in parallel.
[0237] Fig. 19 is a diagram illustrating an example process 1900 performed, for example, at a network entity or an apparatus of a network entity, in accordance with the present disclosure. Example process 1900 is an example where the apparatus or the network entity (e.g., network node 110, network entity 1110) performs operations associated with selecting beam-reflecting device near-field coefficients.
[0238] As shown in Fig. 19, in some aspects, process 1900 may include generating a configuration of a near-field beam-reflecting device codebook (block 1910) . For example, the network entity (e.g., using communication manager 2206, depicted in Fig. 22) may generate a configuration of a near-field beam-reflecting device codebook, as described above.
[0239] As further shown in Fig. 19, in some aspects, process 1900 may include transmitting the configuration to a UE (block 1920) . For example, the network entity (e.g., using transmission component 2204 and / or communication manager 2206, depicted in Fig. 22) may transmit the configuration to a UE, as described above.
[0240] Process 1900 may include additional aspects, such as any single aspect or any combination of aspects described below and / or in connection with one or more other processes described elsewhere herein.
[0241] In a first aspect, the near-field beam-reflecting device codebook includes parameters for three dimensions, and the parameters include an azimuth angle and an elevation angle.
[0242] In a second aspect, alone or in combination with the first aspect, the near-field beam-reflecting device codebook includes parameters for three dimensions, and the parameters include a vertical angle and a horizontal angle.
[0243] Although Fig. 19 shows example blocks of process 1900, in some aspects, process 1900 may include additional blocks, fewer blocks, different blocks, or differently arranged blocks than those depicted in Fig. 19. Additionally, or alternatively, two or more of the blocks of process 1900 may be performed in parallel.
[0244] Fig. 20 is a diagram of an example apparatus 2000 for wireless communication, in accordance with the present disclosure. The apparatus 2000 may be a beam-reflecting device, or a beam-reflecting device may include the apparatus 2000. In some aspects, the apparatus 2000 includes a reception component 2002, a transmission component 2004, and / or a communication manager 2006, which may be in communication with one another (for example, via one or more buses and / or one or more other components) . In some aspects, the communication manager 2006 is the communication manager 170 described in connection with Fig. 1. As shown, the apparatus 2000 may communicate with another apparatus 2008, such as a UE or a network node (such as a CU, a DU, an RU, or a base station) , using the reception component 2002 and the transmission component 2004.
[0245] In some aspects, the apparatus 2000 may be configured to perform one or more operations described herein in connection with Figs. 1-15. Additionally, or alternatively, the apparatus 2000 may be configured to perform one or more processes described herein, such as process 1600 of Fig. 16, process 1800 of Fig. 18, or a combination thereof. In some aspects, the apparatus 2000 and / or one or more components shown in Fig. 20 may include one or more components of the beam-reflecting device described in connection with Fig. 2. Additionally, or alternatively, one or more components shown in Fig. 20 may be implemented within one or more components described in connection with Fig. 2. Additionally, or alternatively, one or more components of the set of components may be implemented at least in part as software stored in one or more memories. For example, a component (or a portion of a component) may be implemented as instructions or code stored in a non-transitory computer-readable medium and executable by one or more controllers or one or more processors to perform the functions or operations of the component.
[0246] The reception component 2002 may receive communications, such as reference signals, control information, data communications, or a combination thereof, from the apparatus 2008. The reception component 2002 may provide received communications to one or more other components of the apparatus 2000. In some aspects, the reception component 2002 may perform signal processing on the received communications (such as filtering, amplification, demodulation, analog-to-digital conversion, demultiplexing, deinterleaving, de-mapping, equalization, interference cancellation, or decoding, among other examples) , and may provide the processed signals to the one or more other components of the apparatus 2000. In some aspects, the reception component 2002 may include one or more antennas, one or more modems, one or more demodulators, one or more MIMO detectors, one or more receive processors, one or more controllers / processors, one or more memories, or a combination thereof, of the beam-reflecting device described in connection with Fig. 2.
[0247] The transmission component 2004 may transmit communications, such as reference signals, control information, data communications, or a combination thereof, to the apparatus 2008. In some aspects, one or more other components of the apparatus 2000 may generate communications and may provide the generated communications to the transmission component 2004 for transmission to the apparatus 2008. In some aspects, the transmission component 2004 may perform signal processing on the generated communications (such as filtering, amplification, modulation, digital-to-analog conversion, multiplexing, interleaving, mapping, or encoding, among other examples) , and may transmit the processed signals to the apparatus 2008. In some aspects, the transmission component 2004 may include one or more antennas, one or more modems, one or more modulators, one or more transmit MIMO processors, one or more transmit processors, one or more controllers / processors, one or more memories, or a combination thereof, of the beam-reflecting device described in connection with Fig. 2. In some aspects, the transmission component 2004 may be co-located with the reception component 2002 in one or more transceivers.
[0248] The communication manager 2006 may support operations of the reception component 2002 and / or the transmission component 2004. For example, the communication manager 2006 may receive information associated with configuring reception of communications by the reception component 2002 and / or transmission of communications by the transmission component 2004. Additionally, or alternatively, the communication manager 2006 may generate and / or provide control information to the reception component 2002 and / or the transmission component 2004 to control reception and / or transmission of communications.
[0249] In some aspects, the reception component 2002 may receive a near-field reflection coefficient. The communication manager 2006 may select, based at least in part on the near-field reflection coefficient, an element-specific near-field reflection coefficient for each element of a plurality of elements of the beam-reflecting device. The reception component 2002 may receive a signal. The reception component 2002 and the transmission component 2004 may reflect the signal using the near-field element-specific reflection coefficients.
[0250] In some aspects, the reception component 2002 may receive reflection coefficient information. The communication manager 2006 may select a near-field reflection coefficient for each element of a plurality of elements of the beam-reflecting device using a near-field codebook associated with the reflection coefficient information. The communication manager 2006 may set the plurality of elements using the selected near-field reflection coefficients.
[0251] In some aspects, the reception component 2002 may receive a signal. The reception component 2002 and the transmission component 2004 may reflect the signal using the plurality of elements.
[0252] The number and arrangement of components shown in Fig. 20 are provided as an example. In practice, there may be additional components, fewer components, different components, or differently arranged components than those shown in Fig. 20. Furthermore, two or more components shown in Fig. 20 may be implemented within a single component, or a single component shown in Fig. 20 may be implemented as multiple, distributed components. Additionally, or alternatively, a set of (one or more) components shown in Fig. 20 may perform one or more functions described as being performed by another set of components shown in Fig. 20.
[0253] Fig. 21 is a diagram of an example apparatus 2100 for wireless communication, in accordance with the present disclosure. The apparatus 2100 may be a UE, or a UE may include the apparatus 2100. In some aspects, the apparatus 2100 includes a reception component 2102, a transmission component 2104, and / or a communication manager 2106, which may be in communication with one another (for example, via one or more buses and / or one or more other components) . In some aspects, the communication manager 2106 is the communication manager 140 described in connection with Fig. 1. As shown, the apparatus 2100 may communicate with another apparatus 2108, such as a UE or a network node (such as a CU, a DU, an RU, or a base station) , using the reception component 2102 and the transmission component 2104.
[0254] In some aspects, the apparatus 2100 may be configured to perform one or more operations described herein in connection with Figs. 1-15. Additionally, or alternatively, the apparatus 2100 may be configured to perform one or more processes described herein, such as process 1700 of Fig. 17. In some aspects, the apparatus 2100 and / or one or more components shown in Fig. 21 may include one or more components of the UE described in connection with Fig. 2. Additionally, or alternatively, one or more components shown in Fig. 21 may be implemented within one or more components described in connection with Fig. 2. Additionally, or alternatively, one or more components of the set of components may be implemented at least in part as software stored in one or more memories. For example, a component (or a portion of a component) may be implemented as instructions or code stored in a non-transitory computer-readable medium and executable by one or more controllers or one or more processors to perform the functions or operations of the component.
[0255] The reception component 2102 may receive communications, such as reference signals, control information, data communications, or a combination thereof, from the apparatus 2108. The reception component 2102 may provide received communications to one or more other components of the apparatus 2100. In some aspects, the reception component 2102 may perform signal processing on the received communications (such as filtering, amplification, demodulation, analog-to-digital conversion, demultiplexing, deinterleaving, de-mapping, equalization, interference cancellation, or decoding, among other examples) , and may provide the processed signals to the one or more other components of the apparatus 2100. In some aspects, the reception component 2102 may include one or more antennas, one or more modems, one or more demodulators, one or more MIMO detectors, one or more receive processors, one or more controllers / processors, one or more memories, or a combination thereof, of the UE described in connection with Fig. 2.
[0256] The transmission component 2104 may transmit communications, such as reference signals, control information, data communications, or a combination thereof, to the apparatus 2108. In some aspects, one or more other components of the apparatus 2100 may generate communications and may provide the generated communications to the transmission component 2104 for transmission to the apparatus 2108. In some aspects, the transmission component 2104 may perform signal processing on the generated communications (such as filtering, amplification, modulation, digital-to-analog conversion, multiplexing, interleaving, mapping, or encoding, among other examples) , and may transmit the processed signals to the apparatus 2108. In some aspects, the transmission component 2104 may include one or more antennas, one or more modems, one or more modulators, one or more transmit MIMO processors, one or more transmit processors, one or more controllers / processors, one or more memories, or a combination thereof, of the UE described in connection with Fig. 2. In some aspects, the transmission component 2104 may be co-located with the reception component 2102 in one or more transceivers.
[0257] The communication manager 2106 may support operations of the reception component 2102 and / or the transmission component 2104. For example, the communication manager 2106 may receive information associated with configuring reception of communications by the reception component 2102 and / or transmission of communications by the transmission component 2104. Additionally, or alternatively, the communication manager 2106 may generate and / or provide control information to the reception component 2102 and / or the transmission component 2104 to control reception and / or transmission of communications.
[0258] The reception component 2102 may receive a configuration of near-field beam-reflecting device codebook parameters. The reception component 2102 may receive a reflected signal of a signal. The communication manager 2106 may select a near-field reflection coefficient using the near-field beam-reflecting device codebook parameters and a channel matrix for the reflected signal. The transmission component 2104 may transmit reflection coefficient information indicating the near-field reflection coefficient.
[0259] The number and arrangement of components shown in Fig. 21 are provided as an example. In practice, there may be additional components, fewer components, different components, or differently arranged components than those shown in Fig. 21. Furthermore, two or more components shown in Fig. 21 may be implemented within a single component, or a single component shown in Fig. 21 may be implemented as multiple, distributed components. Additionally, or alternatively, a set of (one or more) components shown in Fig. 21 may perform one or more functions described as being performed by another set of components shown in Fig. 21.
[0260] Fig. 22 is a diagram of an example apparatus 2200 for wireless communication, in accordance with the present disclosure. The apparatus 2200 may be a network entity, or a network entity may include the apparatus 2200. In some aspects, the apparatus 2200 includes a reception component 2202, a transmission component 2204, and / or a communication manager 2206, which may be in communication with one another (for example, via one or more buses and / or one or more other components) . In some aspects, the communication manager 2206 is the communication manager 150 described in connection with Fig. 1. As shown, the apparatus 2200 may communicate with another apparatus 2208, such as a UE or a network node (such as a CU, a DU, an RU, or a base station) , using the reception component 2202 and the transmission component 2204.
[0261] In some aspects, the apparatus 2200 may be configured to perform one or more operations described herein in connection with Figs. 1-15. Additionally, or alternatively, the apparatus 2200 may be configured to perform one or more processes described herein, such as process 1900 of Fig. 19. In some aspects, the apparatus 2200 and / or one or more components shown in Fig. 22 may include one or more components of the network entity described in connection with Fig. 2. Additionally, or alternatively, one or more components shown in Fig. 22 may be implemented within one or more components described in connection with Fig. 2. Additionally, or alternatively, one or more components of the set of components may be implemented at least in part as software stored in one or more memories. For example, a component (or a portion of a component) may be implemented as instructions or code stored in a non-transitory computer-readable medium and executable by one or more controllers or one or more processors to perform the functions or operations of the component.
[0262] The reception component 2202 may receive communications, such as reference signals, control information, data communications, or a combination thereof, from the apparatus 2208. The reception component 2202 may provide received communications to one or more other components of the apparatus 2200. In some aspects, the reception component 2202 may perform signal processing on the received communications (such as filtering, amplification, demodulation, analog-to-digital conversion, demultiplexing, deinterleaving, de-mapping, equalization, interference cancellation, or decoding, among other examples) , and may provide the processed signals to the one or more other components of the apparatus 2200. In some aspects, the reception component 2202 may include one or more antennas, one or more modems, one or more demodulators, one or more MIMO detectors, one or more receive processors, one or more controllers / processors, one or more memories, or a combination thereof, of the network entity described in connection with Fig. 2.
[0263] The transmission component 2204 may transmit communications, such as reference signals, control information, data communications, or a combination thereof, to the apparatus 2208. In some aspects, one or more other components of the apparatus 2200 may generate communications and may provide the generated communications to the transmission component 2204 for transmission to the apparatus 2208. In some aspects, the transmission component 2204 may perform signal processing on the generated communications (such as filtering, amplification, modulation, digital-to-analog conversion, multiplexing, interleaving, mapping, or encoding, among other examples) , and may transmit the processed signals to the apparatus 2208. In some aspects, the transmission component 2204 may include one or more antennas, one or more modems, one or more modulators, one or more transmit MIMO processors, one or more transmit processors, one or more controllers / processors, one or more memories, or a combination thereof, of the network entity described in connection with Fig. 2. In some aspects, the transmission component 2204 may be co-located with the reception component 2202 in one or more transceivers.
[0264] The communication manager 2206 may support operations of the reception component 2202 and / or the transmission component 2204. For example, the communication manager 2206 may receive information associated with configuring reception of communications by the reception component 2202 and / or transmission of communications by the transmission component 2204. Additionally, or alternatively, the communication manager 2206 may generate and / or provide control information to the reception component 2202 and / or the transmission component 2204 to control reception and / or transmission of communications.
[0265] The communication manager 2206 may generate a configuration of a near-field beam-reflecting device codebook. The transmission component 2204 may transmit the configuration to a UE.
[0266] The number and arrangement of components shown in Fig. 22 are provided as an example. In practice, there may be additional components, fewer components, different components, or differently arranged components than those shown in Fig. 22. Furthermore, two or more components shown in Fig. 22 may be implemented within a single component, or a single component shown in Fig. 22 may be implemented as multiple, distributed components. Additionally, or alternatively, a set of (one or more) components shown in Fig. 22 may perform one or more functions described as being performed by another set of components shown in Fig. 22.
[0267] The following provides an overview of some Aspects of the present disclosure:
[0268] Aspect 1: A method of wireless communication performed by a beam-reflecting device, comprising: receiving a set of near-field reflection coefficients; selecting, based at least in part on the set of near-field reflection coefficients, an element-specific near-field reflection coefficient for each element of a plurality of elements of the beam-reflecting device; receiving a signal; and reflecting the signal using the near-field element-specific reflection coefficients.
[0269] Aspect 2: The method of Aspect 1, wherein the set of near-field reflection coefficients uses a near-field reflection codebook, and wherein each codeword of the near-field reflection codebook has a direction angle of a transmitter from an element panel center of the beam-reflecting device, a distance of the transmitter from the element panel center of the beam-reflecting device, a direction angle of a receiver from the element panel center of the beam-reflecting device, and a distance from the element panel center of the beam-reflecting device.
[0270] Aspect 3: The method of Aspect 2, wherein the near-field reflection codebook is for the transmitter being in a near-field and the receiver being in a near-field.
[0271] Aspect 4: The method of Aspect 3, wherein each near-field reflection coefficient of the set of near-field reflection coefficients is a per-element multiplication of a target component weight vector associated with a position of the receiver and a source component weight vector associated with a position of the transmitter.
[0272] Aspect 5: The method of Aspect 4, wherein the target component weight vector is associated with a distance between the receiver and each element of the beam-reflecting device, and wherein the source component weight vector is associated with a distance between the transmitter and each element of the beam-reflecting device.
[0273] Aspect 6: The method of Aspect 4, wherein the target component weight vector is associated with a position of the receiver and a position of each element of the beam-reflecting device, and wherein the source component weight vector is associated with a position of the transmitter and a position of each element of the beam-reflecting device.
[0274] Aspect 7: The method of Aspect 2, wherein the near-field reflection codebook is for the transmitter being in a far-field and the receiver being in a near-field.
[0275] Aspect 8: The method of Aspect 7, wherein the set of near-field reflection coefficients is based at least in part on a target component weight vector associated with the receiver.
[0276] Aspect 9: The method of Aspect 2, wherein the near-field reflection codebook is for the transmitter being in a near-field and the receiver being in a far-field.
[0277] Aspect 10: The method of Aspect 9, wherein the set of near-field reflection coefficients is based at least in part on a source component weight vector associated with the transmitter.
[0278] Aspect 11: The method of Aspect 2, further comprising generating a composite codeword from at least multiple near-field codewords of the near-field reflection codebook.
[0279] Aspect 12: The method of any of Aspects 1-11, further comprising receiving the signal directly, wherein selecting the set of near-field reflection coefficients includes selecting the set of near-field reflection coefficients further using a channel matrix for the signal.
[0280] Aspect 13: The method of any of Aspects 1-12, wherein the set of near-field reflection coefficients uses a near-field reflection codebook that includes codewords for three dimensions, wherein a target component weight vector or a source component weight vector of each codeword for three dimensions includes an azimuth angle and an elevation angle.
[0281] Aspect 14: The method of any of Aspects 1-13, wherein the set of near-field reflection coefficients uses a near-field reflection codebook that includes codewords for three dimensions, wherein a target component weight vector or a source component weight vector of each codeword for three dimensions includes a vertical angle and a horizontal angle.
[0282] Aspect 15: The method of Aspect 14, wherein a near-field reflection coefficient of the set of near-field reflection coefficients is a Kronecker product of a two-dimensional codeword for a position of a transmitter and a position of a receiver in a horizontal dimension and a two-dimensional codeword in a vertical dimension.
[0283] Aspect 16: A method of wireless communication performed by a user equipment (UE) , comprising: receiving a configuration of near-field beam-reflecting device codebook parameters; receiving, from a beam-reflecting device, a reflected signal of a signal; selecting a set of near-field reflection coefficients using the near-field beam-reflecting device codebook parameters, and a channel matrix for the reflected signal; and transmitting, to the beam-reflecting device, reflection coefficient information indicating the set of near-field reflection coefficients.
[0284] Aspect 17: The method of Aspect 16, wherein the set of near-field reflection coefficients uses a near-field reflection codebook, and wherein each codeword of the near-field reflection codebook has a direction angle of a transmitter from an element panel center of the beam-reflecting device, a distance of the transmitter from the element panel center of the beam-reflecting device, a direction angle of a receiver from the element panel center of the beam-reflecting device, and a distance from the element panel center of the beam-reflecting device.
[0285] Aspect 18: The method of Aspect 17, wherein the near-field reflection codebook is for the transmitter being in a near-field and the receiver being in a near-field.
[0286] Aspect 19: The method of Aspect 18, wherein each near-field reflection coefficient of the set of near-field reflection coefficients is a per-element multiplication of a target component weight vector associated with a position of the receiver and a source component weight vector associated with a position of the transmitter.
[0287] Aspect 20: The method of Aspect 19, wherein the target component weight vector is associated with a distance between the receiver and each element of the beam-reflecting device, and wherein the source component weight vector is associated with a distance between the transmitter and each element of the beam-reflecting device.
[0288] Aspect 21: The method of Aspect 19, wherein the target component weight vector is associated with a position of the receiver and a position of each element of the beam-reflecting device, and wherein the source component weight vector is associated with a position of the transmitter and a position of each element of the beam-reflecting device.
[0289] Aspect 22: The method of Aspect 17, wherein the near-field reflection codebook is for the transmitter being in a far-field and the receiver being in a near-field, and wherein a near-field reflection coefficient of the set of near-field reflection coefficients is based at least in part on a target component weight vector associated with the receiver.
[0290] Aspect 23: The method of Aspect 17, wherein the near-field reflection codebook is for the transmitter being in a near-field and the receiver being in a far-field, and wherein a near-field reflection coefficient of the set of near-field reflection coefficients is based at least in part on a source component weight vector associated with the transmitter.
[0291] Aspect 24: The method of any of Aspects 16-23, wherein the set of near-field reflection coefficients uses a near-field reflection codebook that includes codewords for three dimensions, wherein a target component weight vector or a source component weight vector of each codeword for three dimensions includes an azimuth angle and an elevation angle.
[0292] Aspect 25: The method of any of Aspects 16-24, wherein the set of near-field reflection coefficients uses a near-field reflection codebook that includes codewords for three dimensions, wherein a target component weight vector or a source component weight vector of each codeword for three dimensions includes a vertical angle and a horizontal angle.
[0293] Aspect 26: A method of wireless communication performed by a beam-reflecting device, comprising: receiving reflection coefficient information; selecting a near-field reflection coefficient for each element of a plurality of elements of the beam-reflecting device using a near-field codebook associated with the reflection coefficient information; and setting the plurality of elements using the selected near-field reflection coefficients.
[0294] Aspect 27: The method of Aspect 26, further comprising: receiving a signal; and reflecting the signal using the plurality of elements.
[0295] Aspect 28: A method of wireless communication performed by a network entity, comprising: generating a configuration of a near-field beam-reflecting device codebook; and transmitting the configuration to a user equipment (UE) .
[0296] Aspect 29: The method of Aspect 28, wherein the near-field beam-reflecting device codebook includes parameters for three dimensions, and wherein the parameters include an azimuth angle and an elevation angle.
[0297] Aspect 30: The method of any of Aspects 28-29, wherein the near-field beam-reflecting device codebook includes parameters for three dimensions, and wherein the parameters include a vertical angle and a horizontal angle.
[0298] Aspect 31: An apparatus for wireless communication at a device, the apparatus comprising one or more processors; one or more memories coupled with the one or more processors; and instructions stored in the one or more memories and executable by the one or more processors to cause the apparatus to perform the method of one or more of Aspects 1-30.
[0299] Aspect 32: An apparatus for wireless communication at a device, the apparatus comprising one or more memories and one or more processors coupled to the one or more memories, the one or more processors configured to cause the device to perform the method of one or more of Aspects 1-30.
[0300] Aspect 33: An apparatus for wireless communication, the apparatus comprising at least one means for performing the method of one or more of Aspects 1-30.
[0301] Aspect 34: A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing code for wireless communication, the code comprising instructions executable by one or more processors to perform the method of one or more of Aspects 1-30.
[0302] Aspect 35: A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing a set of instructions for wireless communication, the set of instructions comprising one or more instructions that, when executed by one or more processors of a device, cause the device to perform the method of one or more of Aspects 1-30.
[0303] Aspect 36: A device for wireless communication, the device comprising a processing system that includes one or more processors and one or more memories coupled with the one or more processors, the processing system configured to cause the device to perform the method of one or more of Aspects 1-30.
[0304] Aspect 37: An apparatus for wireless communication at a device, the apparatus comprising one or more memories and one or more processors coupled to the one or more memories, the one or more processors individually or collectively configured to cause the device to perform the method of one or more of Aspects 1-30.
[0305] The foregoing disclosure provides illustration and description but is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the aspects to the precise forms disclosed. Modifications and variations may be made in light of the above disclosure or may be acquired from practice of the aspects.
[0306] As used herein, the term “component” is intended to be broadly construed as hardware or a combination of hardware and at least one of software or firmware. “Software” shall be construed broadly to mean instructions, instruction sets, code, code segments, program code, programs, subprograms, software modules, applications, software applications, software packages, routines, subroutines, objects, executables, threads of execution, procedures, or functions, among other examples, whether referred to as software, firmware, middleware, microcode, hardware description language, or otherwise. As used herein, a “processor” is implemented in hardware or a combination of hardware and software. It will be apparent that systems or methods described herein may be implemented in different forms of hardware or a combination of hardware and software. The actual specialized control hardware or software code used to implement these systems or methods is not limiting of the aspects. Thus, the operation and behavior of the systems or methods are described herein without reference to specific software code, because those skilled in the art will understand that software and hardware can be designed to implement the systems or methods based, at least in part, on the description herein. A component being configured to perform a function means that the component has a capability to perform the function, and does not require the function to be actually performed by the component, unless noted otherwise.
[0307] As used herein, “satisfying a threshold” may, depending on the context, refer to a value being greater than the threshold, greater than or equal to the threshold, less than the threshold, less than or equal to the threshold, equal to the threshold, or not equal to the threshold, among other examples.
[0308] As used herein, a phrase referring to “at least one of” a list of items refers to any combination of those items, including single members. As an example, “at least one of: a, b, or c” is intended to cover a, b, c, a + b, a + c, b + c, and a + b + c, as well as any combination with multiples of the same element (for example, a + a, a + a + a, a + a + b, a + a + c, a + b + b, a + c + c, b + b, b + b + b, b + b + c, c + c, and c + c + c, or any other ordering of a, b, and c) .
[0309] No element, act, or instruction used herein should be construed as critical or essential unless explicitly described as such. Also, as used herein, the articles “a” and “an” are intended to include one or more items and may be used interchangeably with “one or more. ” Further, as used herein, the article “the” is intended to include one or more items referenced in connection with the article “the” and may be used interchangeably with “the one or more. ” Furthermore, as used herein, the terms “set” and “group” are intended to include one or more items and may be used interchangeably with “one or more. ” Where only one item is intended, the phrase “only one” or similar language is used. Also, as used herein, the terms “has, ” “have, ” “having, ” and similar terms are intended to be open-ended terms that do not limit an element that they modify (for example, an element “having” A may also have B) . Further, the phrase “based on” is intended to mean “based on or otherwise in association with” unless explicitly stated otherwise. Also, as used herein, the term “or” is intended to be inclusive when used in a series and may be used interchangeably with “and / or, ” unless explicitly stated otherwise (for example, if used in combination with “either” or “only one of” ) . It should be understood that “one or more” is equivalent to “at least one. ”
[0310] Even though particular combinations of features are recited in the claims or disclosed in the specification, these combinations are not intended to limit the disclosure of various aspects. Many of these features may be combined in ways not specifically recited in the claims or disclosed in the specification. The disclosure of various aspects includes each dependent claim in combination with every other claim in the claim set.
Claims
1.An apparatus for wireless communication at a beam-reflecting device, comprising:one or more memories; andone or more processors, coupled to the one or more memories, individually or collectively configured to cause the beam-reflecting device to:receive a set of near-field reflection coefficients;select, based at least in part on the set of near-field reflection coefficients, an element-specific near-field reflection coefficient for each element of a plurality of elements of the beam-reflecting device;receive a signal; andreflect the signal using the near-field element-specific reflection coefficients.2.The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the set of near-field reflection coefficients uses a near-field reflection codebook, and wherein each codeword of the near-field reflection codebook has a direction angle of a transmitter from an element panel center of the beam-reflecting device, a distance of the transmitter from the element panel center of the beam-reflecting device, a direction angle of a receiver from the element panel center of the beam-reflecting device, and a distance from the element panel center of the beam-reflecting device.3.The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the near-field reflection codebook is for the transmitter being in a near-field and the receiver being in a near-field.4.The apparatus of claim 3, wherein each near-field reflection coefficient of the set of near-field reflection coefficients is a per-element multiplication of a target component weight vector associated with a position of the receiver and a source component weight vector associated with a position of the transmitter.5.The apparatus of claim 4, wherein the target component weight vector is associated with a distance between the receiver and each element of the beam-reflecting device, and wherein the source component weight vector is associated with a distance between the transmitter and each element of the beam-reflecting device.6.The apparatus of claim 4, wherein the target component weight vector is associated with a position of the receiver and a position of each element of the beam-reflecting device, and wherein the source component weight vector is associated with a position of the transmitter and a position of each element of the beam-reflecting device.7.The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the near-field reflection codebook is for the transmitter being in a far-field and the receiver being in a near-field.8.The apparatus of claim 7, wherein a near-field reflection coefficient of the set of near-field reflection coefficients is based at least in part on a target component weight vector associated with the receiver.9.The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the near-field reflection codebook is for the transmitter being in a near-field and the receiver being in a far-field.10.The apparatus of claim 9, wherein a near-field reflection coefficient of the set of near-field reflection coefficients is based at least in part on a source component weight vector associated with the transmitter.11.The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the one or more processors are individually or collectively configured to cause the beam-reflecting device to generate a composite codeword from at least multiple near-field codewords of the near-field reflection codebook.12.The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the one or more processors are individually or collectively configured to cause the beam-reflecting device to receive the signal directly, and wherein to select the set of near-field reflection coefficients, the one or more processors are individually or collectively configured to select the set of near-field reflection coefficients further using a channel matrix for the signal.13.The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the set of near-field reflection coefficients uses a near-field reflection codebook that includes codewords for three dimensions, and wherein a target component weight vector or a source component weight vector of each codeword for three dimensions includes an azimuth angle and an elevation angle.14.The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the set of near-field reflection coefficients uses a near-field reflection codebook that includes codewords for three dimensions, and wherein a target component weight vector or a source component weight vector of each codeword for three dimensions includes a vertical angle and a horizontal angle.15.The apparatus of claim 14, wherein a near-field reflection coefficient of the set of near-field reflection coefficients is a Kronecker product of a two-dimensional codeword for a position of a transmitter and a position of a receiver in a horizontal dimension and a two-dimensional codeword in a vertical dimension.16.An apparatus for wireless communication at a user equipment (UE) , comprising:one or more memories; andone or more processors, coupled to the one or more memories, individually or collectively configured to cause the UE to:receive a configuration of near-field beam-reflecting device codebook parameters;receive, from a beam-reflecting device, a reflected signal of a signal;select a set of near-field reflection coefficients using the near-field beam-reflecting device codebook parameters, and a channel matrix for the reflected signal; andtransmit, to the beam-reflecting device, reflection coefficient information indicating the set of near-field reflection coefficients.17.The apparatus of claim 16, wherein the set of near-field reflection coefficients uses a near-field reflection codebook, and wherein each codeword of the near-field reflection codebook has a direction angle of a transmitter from an element panel center of the beam-reflecting device, a distance of the transmitter from the element panel center of the beam-reflecting device, a direction angle of a receiver from the element panel center of the beam-reflecting device, and a distance from the element panel center of the beam-reflecting device.18.The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the near-field reflection codebook is for the transmitter being in a near-field and the receiver being in a near-field.19.The apparatus of claim 18, wherein each near-field reflection coefficients of the set of near-field reflection coefficients is a per-element multiplication of a target component weight vector associated with a position of the receiver and a source component weight vector associated with a position of the transmitter.20.The apparatus of claim 19, wherein the target component weight vector is associated with a distance between the receiver and each element of the beam-reflecting device, and wherein the source component weight vector is associated with a distance between the transmitter and each element of the beam-reflecting device.21.The apparatus of claim 19, wherein the target component weight vector is associated with a position of the receiver and a position of each element of the beam-reflecting device, and wherein the source component weight vector is associated with a position of the transmitter and a position of each element of the beam-reflecting device.22.The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the near-field reflection codebook is for the transmitter being in a far-field and the receiver being in a near-field, and wherein a near-field reflection coefficient of the set of near-field reflection coefficients is based at least in part on a target component weight vector associated with the receiver.23.The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the near-field reflection codebook is for the transmitter being in a near-field and the receiver being in a far-field, and wherein a near-field reflection coefficient of the set of near-field reflection coefficients is based at least in part on a source component weight vector associated with the transmitter.24.The apparatus of claim 16, wherein the set of near-field reflection coefficients uses a near-field reflection codebook that includes codewords for three dimensions, and wherein a target component weight vector or a source component weight vector of each codeword for three dimensions includes an azimuth angle and an elevation angle.25.The apparatus of claim 16, wherein the set of near-field reflection coefficients uses a near-field reflection codebook that includes codewords for three dimensions, and wherein a target component weight vector or a source component weight vector of each codeword for three dimensions includes a vertical angle and a horizontal angle.26.An apparatus for wireless communication at a beam-reflecting device, comprising:one or more memories; andone or more processors, coupled to the one or more memories, individually or collectively configured to cause the beam-reflecting device to:receive reflection coefficient information;select a near-field reflection coefficient for each element of a plurality of elements of the beam-reflecting device using a near-field codebook associated with the reflection coefficient information; andset the plurality of elements using the selected near-field reflection coefficients.27.The apparatus of claim 26, wherein the one or more processors are individually or collectively configured to cause the beam-reflecting device to:receive a signal; andreflect the signal using the plurality of elements.28.An apparatus for wireless communication at a network entity, comprising:one or more memories; andone or more processors, coupled to the one or more memories, individually or collectively configured to cause the network entity to:generate a configuration of a near-field beam-reflecting device codebook; andtransmit the configuration to a user equipment (UE) .29.The apparatus of claim 28, wherein the near-field beam-reflecting device codebook includes parameters for three dimensions, and wherein the parameters include an azimuth angle and an elevation angle.30.The apparatus of claim 28, wherein the near-field beam-reflecting device codebook includes parameters for three dimensions, and wherein the parameters include a vertical angle and a horizontal angle.
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