Blind detection of downlink control information, DCI, based on randomized user equipment, UE, specific information

Abstract

The present application relates to channel blind detection based on randomized information. In an example, channel detection involves a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) blind detection. The UE performance related to such a blind detection can be improved by using the randomized information. Particularly, on the transmit side, the base station can determine UE specific information and generate, by using a pseudo random generator, randomized information that is then input to a CRC-precoder, a polar encoder, and / or a scrambler. On the receive side, the UE can also determine the same UE specific information and generate, by using a pseudo random generator, the same randomized information that is then input to a de-scrambler, a polar decoder, and / or a CRC check module.

Description

PATENT Attorney DocketNo.: 090911-P71591WO1-1535913Client Ref. No.: P71591WO1 Channel Blind Detection Based On Randomized Information For A User Equipment (UE)CROSS-REFERENCES TO OTHER APPLICATIONS

[0001] This application claims benefit to and priority to U. S. Provisional Application No.63 / 774,708, entitled " Efficient Encoding and Decoding Techniques Related to at Least Physical Downlink Control Channels," filed on March 19, 2025, and U. S. Provisional Application No. 63 / 793,058, entitled " Channel Blind Detection Based On Randomized Information For a User Equipment (UE)," filed on April 23, 2025, which are herein incorporated by reference in their entireties for all purposes.BACKGROUND

[0002] Communications and data storage can implement techniques to detect and correct errors that may occur during communications or storage. For example, a base station can apply an encoding algorithm to information for transmission to a user equipment (UE). The UE can implement a decoding algorithm when processing information received from the base station. Similarly, memory write and read can implement encoding and decoding algorithms for information stored in memory. Ultimately, the decoded informatioBRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0003] FIG, 1 illustrates an example of a network environment in accordance with some embodiments.

[0004] FIG. 2 illustrates an example of a system for error detection and correction in accordance with some embodiments.

[0005] FIG, 3 illustrates an example of a transmit chain that does not implement a randomization scheme in accordance with some embodiments.

[0006] FIG. 4 illustrates an example of downlink control information (DCI) processing that implements a randomization scheme based on randomized information in accordance with some embodiments.

[0007] FIG. 5 illustrates another example of DCI processing that implements a randomization scheme in accordance with some embodiments.

[0008] FIG. 6 illustrates yet another example of DCI processing that implements a randomization scheme in accordance with some embodiments.

[0009] FIG. 7 illustrates an example of DCI processing that implements a randomization scheme in accordance with some embodiments.

[0010] FIG. 8 illustrates an example of an operational flow / algorithmic structure for processing DCI in a transmit chain in accordance with some embodiments.

[0011] FIG. 9 illustrates an example of an operational flow / algorithmic structure for processing DCI in a receive chain in accordance with some embodiments.

[0012] FIG. 10 illustrates an example of receive components in accordance with some embodiments.

[0013] FIG. 11 illustrates an example of a UE in accordance with some embodiments.

[0014] FIG. 12 illustrates an example of a base station in accordance with some embodiments.DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0015] Embodiments of the present disclosure relate to, among other things, channel blind detection based on randomized information. In an example, a base station (e.g., a modulator / demodulator (modem) thereof) processes information for transmission to a user equipment (UE), This information can include control information to be transmitted over a channel, such as downlink control information (DCI) to be transmitted over a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) for blind detection by the UE. The processing can include precoding, encoding, and / or scrambling. The base station can generate randomized information (e.g., by using a pseudo random number generator) based on UE specific information that is known to the base station. Such information can include any or a combination of a radio network temporary identifier (or a portion thereof), control information details (e.g., widths of bit fields included in the DCI), UE specific search space configurations, a control resource set configured for the UE, an identifier (ID) of a cell providing the channel, a slot number for the transmission of the control information, and / or any other type of information specific to the UE. The base station can use corresponding portions of the randomized information (e.g,, randomized precoding coefficients, randomized frozen values in the case of polar encoding, and / or randomized exclusive OR (XOR) masks) in any, a combination of, or all of the precoding, encoding, and / or scrambling. As a result, theencoded codeword that represents the control information can have enough randomization to differentiate it from other candidate codewords that the UE would process to determine the control information. More particularly, on the receive side, the UE processing of the control information can include de-scrambling, decoding, and pre-coded information-based error checking based (e.g., a cyclic redundancy check (CRC) in the case of DCI). Using the same UE specific information as an input to a pseudo random number generator, the UE can derive the same randomized information. The UE can use corresponding portions of the randomized information (e.g., randomized XOR masks, randomized frozen values, and / or randomized precoding coefficients) in the de-scrambling, decoding, and / or error checking. Because of the randomness introduced in the codeword, the UE can more efficiently determine whether the codeword is intended for it or not, thereby enabling early termination, reducing the demand on the precoding information (e.g., the CRC), and improving throughput. These and other features and advantageous technical effects are further described herein below.

[0016] In the interest of clarity of explanation, various embodiments are described in connection w ith codewords that encode downlink control information (DCI) and w ith blind DCI detection. However, the embodiments are not limited as such and can similarly and equivalently apply to decoding other types of information. Such information can be stored in a memory (e.g., in the use case of data storage) and / or can be transmitted (e.g., between a base station and a UE). For example, a memory’ (e.g., a Not And (NAND) flash memory) can store information, w'here a block of the information is encoded for the storage (e.g., using polar codes). This information can represent indexing or addressing of data that an application requests via a memory read and / or the data itself. Alternatively, the information can be transmitted from a transmitter and received at a receiver. On both cases, the randomization scheme can be used in a precoding, encoding, and / or scrambling and, correspondently in de-scrambling, decoding, and / or error checking, where the embodiments of the present disclosure can be applied to processing the information upon the memory' write and read and / or the transmit and receive.

[0017] Tire following detailed description refers to the accompanying drawings. The same reference numbers may be used in different drawings to identify the same or similar elements. In the following description, for purposes of explanation and not limitation, specific details are set forth, such as particular structures, architectures, interfaces, techniques, etc, in order to provide a thorough understanding of the various aspects of various embodiments. However, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art having tire benefit of thepresent disclosure that the various aspects of the various embodiments may be practiced in other examples that depart from these specific details. In certain instances, descriptions of well-known devices, circuits, and methods are omitted so as not to obscure the description of the various embodiments with unnecessary detail. For the purposes of the present document, the phrase “A or B” means (A), (B), or (A and B).

[0018] The following is a glossary of terms that may be used in this disclosure.

[0019] Tire term “circuitry” as used herein refers to, is part of, or includes hardware components, such as an electronic circuit, a logic circuit, a processor (shared, dedicated, or group) or memory (shared, dedicated, or group), an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), a field-programmable device (FPD) (e.g., a field-programmable gate array (FPGA), a programmable logic device (PLD), a complex PLD (CPLD), a high-capacity PLD (HCPLD), a structured ASIC, a programmable system-on-a-chip (SoC)), digital signal processors (DSPs), etc., that are configured to provide the described functionality. In some embodiments, the circuitry’ may execute one or more software or firmware programs to provide at least some of the described functionality. The term “circuitry’” may also refer to a combination of one or more hardware elements (or a combination of circuits used in an electrical or electronic system) with the program code used to carry’ out the functionality of that program code. In these embodiments, the combination of hardware elements and program code may be referred to as a particular type of circuitry.

[0020] Tire term “processor circuitry'” “or “processing circuitry ” as used herein refers to, is part of, or includes circuitry' capable of sequentially and automatically carrying out a sequence of arithmetic or logical operations, or recording, storing, or transferring digital data. The term “processor circuitry'” and “processing circuitry ” may refer to an application processor, baseband processor, a central processing unit (CPU), a graphics processing unit, a single-core processor, a dual-core processor, a triple-core processor, a quad-core processor, or any other device capable of executing or otherwise operating computer-executable instructions, such as program code, software modules, or functional processes.

[0021] The term “user equipment” or “UE” as used herein refers to a device with radio communication capabilities and may describe a remote user of network resources in a communications network. The term “user equipment” or “UE” may be considered synonymous to, and may be referred to as, client, device, mobile, mobile device, mobile terminal, user terminal, mobile unit, mobile station, mobile user, subscriber, user, remotestation, access agent, user agent, receiver, radio equipment, reconfigurable radio equipment, reconfigurable mobile device, etc. Furthermore, the term “user equipment"’ or “UE” may include any type of wireless / wired device or any computing device including a wireless communications interface. The UE may have a primary function of communication with another UE or a network and the UE may be integrated with other devices and / or systems (e.g,, in a vehicle).

[0022] The term “base station” as used herein refers to a device with radio communication capabilities, that is a device of a communications network (or, more briefly, network), and that may be configured as an access node in the communications network. A LTE’s access to the communications network may be managed at least in part by the base station, whereby the UE connects with the base station to access the communications network. Depending on the radio access technology (RAT), the base station can be referred to as a gNodeB (gNB), eNodeB (eNB), access point, repeater on a communications satellite, etc.

[0023] Tire term “channel” as used herein refers to any transmission medium, either tangible or intangible, which is used to communicate data or a data stream. Tire term “channel” may be synonymous with or equivalent to “communications channel,” “data communications channel,"’ “transmission channel,"’ “data transmission channel,"’ “access channel,” “data access channel,” “link,” “data link,” “carrier,” “radio-frequency carrier,” or any other like term denoting a pathway or medium through which data is communicated. Additionally, the term “link” as used herein refers to a connection between two devices for the purpose of transmitting and receiving information.

[0024] FIG. 1 illustrates a network environment 100, in accordance with some embodiments. The network environment 100 may include a UE 104 and abase station 108. The base station 108 provides a wireless access cell; for example, a Third-Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) New Radio (NR) cell, through which the UE 104 may communicate with the gNB. The base station 108 may include a set of transmission and reception points (TRPs). Tire UE 104 and the base station 108 may communicate over an interface compatible with 3GPP technical specifications, such as those that define Fifth- Generation (5G) NR system standards, Sixth-Generation (6G) standards, or the like.

[0025] The base station 108 may transmit information (for example, data and control signaling) in the downlink direction by mapping logical channels on the transport channels, then transport channels onto physical channels, lire logical channels may transfer databetween a radio link control (RLC) and media access control (MAC) layers; the transport channels may transfer data between the MAC and PHY layers; and the physical channels may transfer information across the air interface. Tire physical channels may include a physical broadcast channel (PBCH); a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH); and a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH).

[0026] The PBCH may be used to broadcast system information that the UE 104 may use for initial access to a serving cell. The PBCH may be transmitted along with physical synchronization signals (PSS) and secondary synchronization signals (SSS) in a synchronization signal (SS) / PBCH block. Tire SS / PBCH blocks (SSBs) may be used by the UE 104 during a cell search procedure and for beam selection.

[0027] The PDSCH may be used to transfer end-user application data, signaling radio bearer (SRB) messages, system information messages (other than, for example, M1B), and paging messages.

[0028] Tire PDCCH may transfer downlink control information (DCI) that is used by a scheduler of the base station 108 to allocate both uplink and downlink resources. The DCI may also be used to provide uplink power control commands, configure a slot format, or indicate that preemption has occurred.

[0029] Hie base station 108 may also transmit various reference signals to the UE 104. The reference signals may include demodulation reference signals (DMRSs) for the PBCH, PDCCH, and PDSCH. The UE 104 may compare a received version of the DMRS with a known DMRS sequence that was transmitted to estimate an impact of tire propagation channel. The UE 104 may then apply an inverse of the propagation channel during a demodulation process of a corresponding physical channel transmission.

[0030] Tire reference signals may also include a CSI reference signal (CSI-RS). Tire CSI-RS may be a multi-purpose downlink transmission signal that may be used for CSI reporting, beam management, connected mode mobility, radio link failure detection, beam failure detection and recovery, and fine-tuning of time and frequency synchronization.

[0031] The reference signals and information from the physical channels may be mapped to resources of a resource grid. There is one resource grid for a given antenna port, subcarrier spacing configuration, and transmission direction (for example, downlink or uplink). The basic unit of an NR downlink resource grid may be a resource element, which may be definedby one subcarrier in the frequency domain, and one orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) symbol in the time domain. Twelve consecutive subcarriers in the frequency domain may compose a physical resource block (PRB). A resource element group (REG) may include one PRB in the frequency domain, and one OFDM symbol in the time domain, for example, twelve resource elements. A control channel element (CCE) may represent a group of resources used to transmit PDCCH. One CCE may be mapped to a number of REGs; for example, six REGs

[0032] Transmissions that use different antenna ports may experience different radio channels. However, in some situations, different antenna ports may share common radio channel characteristics. For example, different antenna ports may have similar Doppler shifts, Doppler spreads, average delay, delay spread, or spatial receive parameters (for example, properties associated with a downlink received signal angle of arrival at a UE). Antenna ports that share one or more of these large-scale radio channel characteristics may be said to be quasi co-located (QCL) with one another. 3GPP has specified four types of QCL to indicate which particular channel characteristics are shared. In QCL Type A, antenna ports share Doppler shift, Doppler spread, average delay, and delay spread. In QCL Type B, antenna ports share Doppler shift and Doppler spread. In QCL Type C, antenna ports share Doppler shift and average delay. In QCL Type D, antenna ports share spatial receiver parameters.

[0033] The base station 108 may provide transmission configuration indicator (TCI) state information to the UE 104 to indicate QCL relationships between antenna ports used for reference signals (for example, synchronization signal / PBCH or CSI-RS) and downlink data or control signaling (for example, PDSCH or PDCCH). The base station 108 may use a combination of RRC signaling, MAC control element signaling, and DCI, to inform the UE 104 of these QCL relationships.

[0034] The UE 104 may transmit data and control information to the base station 108 using phy sical uplink channels. Different types of physical uplink channels are possible, including a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) and a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH). Whereas the PUCCH carries control information from the UE 104 to the base station 108, such as uplink control information (UCI), the PUSCH carries data traffic (e.g., end-user application data) and can carry UCI.

[0035] In an example, communications with the base station 108 can use channels in the frequency range 1 (FR1) band and / or frequency range 2 (FR2) band, although otherfrequency ranges are possible. The FR1 band includes a licensed band and an unlicensed band. The NR unlicensed band (NR-U) includes a frequency spectrum that is shared with other types of radio access technologies (RATs) (e.g., LTE-LAA, WiFi, etc.). A listen- before-talk (LBT) procedure can be used to avoid or minimize collision betw een the different RATs in the NR-U, whereby a device applies a clear channel assessment (CCA) check before using the channel,

[0036] The UE 104 can be located within a network coverage. In particular, the base station 108 may provide the network coverage with signaling (e.g,, which may be carried by one or more beams). Tire network coverage may represent a cell or a portion of the cell that the base station 108 provides. The network coverage may provide network connections to multiple UEs, similar to the UE 104. These UEs may communicate with the base station 108 on both the uplink and the downlink based on channels available to them wlien the UEs are in the network coverage.

[0037] In an example, the UE 104 supports carrier aggregation (CA), whereby the UE 104 can connect and exchange data simultaneously over multiple component carriers (CCs) with the base station 108. The CCs can belong to the same frequency band, in which case they are referred to as intra-band CCs. Intra-band CCs can be contiguous or non-contiguous. The CCs can also belong to different frequency bands, in which case they are referred to as inter-band CCs. A serving cell can be configured for the UE 104 to use a CC. A serving cell can be a primary (PCell), a primary7secondary cell (PSCell), or a secondary cell (SCell). Multiple SCells can be activated via an SCell activation procedures where the component carriers of these serving cells can be intra-band contiguous, intra-band non-contiguous, or inter-band. The serving cells can be collocated or non-collocated.

[0038] The UE 104 can also support dual connectivity (DC), where it can simultaneously transmit and receive data on multiple CCs from two serving nodes or cell groups (a master node (MN) and a secondary node (SN)). DC capability can be used with two serving nodes operating in the same RAT or in different RATs (e.g., an MN operating in NR, while an SN operates in LTE). These different DC modes include, for instance, evolved-universal terrestrial radio access-new7radio (EN)-DC, NR-DC, and NE-DC (the MN is a NR gNB and the SN is an LTE eNB).

[0039] As further described in connection with the next figures, the base station 108 can send DCI 120 in PDCCH to the UE 104. The UE 104 can perform blind DCI decoding 110 on the PDCCH to determine the DCI 120.

[0040] In one example, the base station 108 (e.g., an RF transmit chain thereof, or a component of this chain such as a precoder) processes the DCI 120 by using a randomization scheme. This scheme is further described in the next figures and, generally, includes generating randomized information based on UE specific information known to the base station 108 and using such information in the pre-coding, encoding, and / or scrambling of the DCI 120. Doing so enables introducing randomness in the codeword that represents the DCI 120. In turn, the randomness can improve the UE’s 104 performance in decoding the DCI 120.

[0041] The UE 104 (e.g., an RF receive chain thereof) can receive and process the signals. Due to noise, interference, and other signals, errors may have been introduced in the transmission and / or reception. Tire processing can include decoding candidate codewords (e.g., detected blocks of information that correspond to the codewords and that may include errors; shown as codewords 114 upon the decoding) to correct, and accordingly determining the DCI 120 based on the codewords 114. The UE 104 can take advantage of the randomization scheme. Particularly, the UE 104 can generate and use the randomized information in the de-scrambling, decoding, and / or error checking as applicable. Because of the randomization, tire UE 104 can more quickly determine whether a codeword is intended to it or not (and if not, terminate the decoding, thereby improving early termination), possibly rely less on CRC (thereby reducing the CRC need and possibly increasing the throughput).

[0042] FIG. 2 illustrates examples of a system 200 for error detection and correction in accordance with some embodiments. As illustrated, the system 200 includes a transmit chain 201 and a receive chain 203 for a downlink path. The transmit chain 201 can be included in a radio frequency front end of a base station for processing information 202 (including DCI) and transmitting signals that represent the information 202 to UEs. The receive chain 203 can be included in a radio frequency front end of a UE for receiving and processing such signals to determine information 204. Equivalently for an uplink path, a similar transmit chain can be included in the UE (e.g., for transmitting UCI or other information) and a similar receive chain can be included in the base station (e.g., for receiving such information).

[0043] Error detection and / or correction can be implemented such that the information 204 is the same as the information 202 or any resulting error rate is smaller than an acceptable threshold error rate. To do so, the transmit chain 201 can include several components including a pre-coder, an encoder, and a scrambler as further described in the next figures, whereas the receive chain can include a de-scrambler, a decoder, and an error checker as further described in the next figures.

[0044] In an example, in the transmit chain 201 and in the context of DCI, randomized information can be added as part of processing 210 (including any, a combination, or all of the precoding, encoding, or scrambling). An RF interface 230 of the transmit chain 201 (e.g., a transmitter coupled with a set of antennas) can then output the corresponding signals.

[0045] The signals can be received by an RF interface 240 of the receive chain 203 (e.g., a receiver coupled with a set of antennas). Follow ing a set of operations (e.g., amplifying, frequency shifting, filtering, analog to digital conversion, etc.), physical layer components 250 of the receive chain (e.g., descrambler, demodulator, etc.) can output candidate codewords to the decoder (e.g., one using successive cancellation list decoding algorithms) that in turn decodes the candidate codewords and checks for errors (e.g., a CRC check based on the pre-coded CRC bits) and, if the decoding is successful, can output bits that represent the information 204. In the context of DCI, these various components are illustrated as performing DCI processing 260. Here also, the DCI processing can use randomized information.

[0046] In an example, the information 202 includes DCI. The decoder can be used for DCI blind decoding. In this case, a maximum candidate number codewords can be decoded. This maximum number can be, for example, forty-four in the use case of a 5G NR system,

[0047] Many types of the decoder in the receive chain are possible 203 including a successive cancellation decoder (including one implementing successive cancellation list (SCL) and cyclic redundancy check (CRC)-aided successive cancellation list (CA-SCL) decoding) and flip-based iterative decoders (including a successive cancellation flip (SCF) decoding and a dynamic successive cancellation flip decoder (DSCF) decoding).

[0048] FIG. 3 illustrates an example of DCI processing 300 that does not implement a randomization scheme in accordance with some embodiments. DCI data 301 is input to the DCI processing 300, whereby an output of the DCI processing 300 can be modulated signal for transmission to a UE (e.g., via an RF interface such as the RF interface 230 of FIG. 2).The DCI processing 300 can be an example of the DCI processing 210 of FIG. 2, whereby no randomization is used.

[0049] The DCI processing 300 can involve multiple modules of a transmit chain, such as a CRC pre-coder 310, a polar encoder 320, a rate matching module 330, a scrambler 340, a layer / resource element mapping module 360, and an OFDM transmission module 370. Each of these modules 310-370 can be in compliance with a 3GPP technical specification for cellular communications.

[0050] In the context of 5G NR, the DCI processing 300 calls for scrambling after CRC attachment, polar encoding, and rate-matching and prior to modulation mapping. In the CRC precoding, RNTI can be used. Specific to the scrambling, scrambling in 5G NR PDCCH is a process used to enhance signal reliability and security. Scrambling is applied to the encoded control information prior to modulation, mostly to help with randomizing the sequence which in turn improves the following PDCCH aspects: interference mitigation, security and privacy, and avoiding repeated patterns. The interference mitigation reduces the risk of interference between different transmissions by ensuring that the encoded control information appears as noise-like. Depending on the source of the randomization, the scrambling may prevent unauthorized users from easily detecting control information. As far as avoiding repeated patterns, the scrambling can remove repetitive patterns that may cause spectral peaks causing non-linearity errors. The randomization of the scrambling has no impact on the polar code structure itself as it only masks the computed codeword according to the randomization seed. Generally, such a randomization may not rely on UE specific information beyond coreset, cell ID, and slot number configured for the UE. Examples of the polar encoding and the scrambling are further described in 3GPP TS 38.212 V18.6.0 (2025-03), the content of which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.

[0051] To better improve the performance of the UE decoding the DCI candidate codewords, a randomization procedure can be used in the scrambling and, additionally or alternatively, the precoding / or encoding. The randomization scheme here relies on UE specific information and is further described in the next figures.

[0052] In 5G NR, RNTI is only applied to the CRC-mask, which is a part of the pre-coding process. While there is a scrambling block in 5G NR PDCCH, it may not provide enough randomness / uniqueness to the codeword to differentiate it from the unintended PDCCH candidates. As a result, the UE typically needs to fully decode each PDCCH candidate withinthe configured search space and cross validate the CRC bits against its RNTI sequence(s) to determine if there is a valid DCI or not. This process may not be inefficient as it relies on a full decoding of all candidates as well as high dependence on the CRC precoding bits. CRC-precoding and appending CRC bits to the DCI payload may be inefficient as it consumes communication rate (throughput).

[0053] FIG. 4 illustrates an example of DCI processing 400 that implements a randomization scheme based on randomized information in accordance with some embodiments. Similar to FIG. 3, the DCI processing 400 can involve the CRC pre-coder 310, the polar encoder 320, the rate matching module 330, the scrambler 340, the layer / resource element mapping module 360, and the OFDM transmission module 370. Here also, the DCI data 301 is input to the DCI processing 400, whereby an output of the DCI processing 400 can be modulated signal for transmission to a UE (e.g., via an RF interface such as the RF interface 230 of FIG. 2). The DCI processing 400 can be an example of the DCI processing 210 of FIG. 2, whereby the randomization scheme is used.

[0054] In an example, the randomization scheme involves a pseudo random number generator 401. UE specific information 401 is input to the pseudo random number generator 410 that outputs randomized information 402. Generally, the UE specific information 401 can include information that is specific to the UE for which the DCI is to be transmitted. This information can be unique to the UE (e.g., different from information specific to another UE) and / or unique to a configuration used for the transmission of the DCI to the UE.

[0055] For instance, the UE specific information can include DCI details 403, such as information related to the DCI format to be used for the DCI or any other non-DCl payload information (e.g., the width of the fields of the DCI). Additionally, or alternatively, the UE specific information 401 can include RNTI of tire UE (e.g., one of the RNTI sequences used in the masking of CRC) or a portion of the RNTI (e.g., also referred to as partial RNTI, where this portion can be common to two or more of the RNTI sequences of the UE). This is illustrated in FIG. 4 as RNTI / RNTI portion 404. Additionally, or alternatively, the UE specific information can include information about one or more UE specific search space configuration 406 of the UE. This can identify PDCCH resource elements in the time and / or frequency domains configured for the UE for blind detection, where this information may have been previously indicated to the UE in radio resource control (RRC) signaling to the UE and / or is predefined in a technical specification with which the UE complies. Additionally,the UE specific information 401 can include a slot number 408 at which the DCI transmission may start, a coreset and / or cell ID 409 to be used for the DCI transmission.

[0056] in comparison, the randomized information 402 can include randomized precoding coefficients 412. Such coefficients 412 can be input to the CRC precoder 310 (in addition to the DCI data 301) and used in the CRC pre-coding applied to the DCI data 301. Additionally, or alternatively, the randomized information 402 can include randomized frozen values 414. Such values 414 can be used by the polar encoder 320 in its encoding of the output of the CRC pre-coder 310 (instead of using predefined or default frozen values in the encoding). Additionally, or alternatively, the randomized information 402 can include a randomized XOR mask 416. Such a mask 416 can be used by the scrambler 340 in the scrambling of the output from the rate matching module 330.

[0057] When multiple types of information are included in the UE specific information 401, this information can be an information vector that is input as a seed to the pseudo random generator 410, In turn, the output of the pseudo random generator can be a randomized information vector that includes the randomized precoding coefficients 412, randomized frozen values 414, and / or the XOR mask 416. Different types of a pseudo random number generator 410 are possible. Generally, the pseudo random number generator 410 represents a computational algorithm that produces a sequence of numbers approximating true randomness and that operates by initializing with a seed value and applying mathematical operations to generate a predictable, yet seemingly random, sequence.

[0058] Tire implementation of the pseudo random number generator 410 can use any pseudo randomization scheme with reasonable collision probability. For example, the generator can be based on linear feedback shift register (LFSR) circuits. All the UE-specific parameters mentioned above can contribute to the seed generation for the pseudo random number generator 410. Any method that provides reasonable collision chance can be implemented to generate the seed. An example would be a simple concatenation of these vectors.

[0059] The added randomization in the DCI processing 400 enhances the UE's ability to perform blind detection, particularly for those detection algorithms that depend on statistical randomness of the unintended PDCCH candidates. An example is tire blind detection of polar codes and polar-like codes such as PAC codes based on monitoring the list path metric through the decoding process.

[0060] In an example, the PDCCH scrambling design can be enhanced in the following aspects. First, additional dependencies to the scrambling seed can be added such as DCI-specific details, DCI format, and a composite RNTI vector that combines multiple RNTIs into a single seed. Second, the pseudo random number generator mechanics can be implemented into the code design itself by modifying the CRC precoding scheme. A randomized pre-coding scheme such as a time-varying convolutional pre-coding, or simply a random linear pre-coder whose coefficients are generated according to the scrambling seed can further enhance the scrambling benefits such as separation between different candidates and interference mitigation. In presence of the scrambler, the decoder often flips the input LLR values according to the scrambler prior to the decoding process. However, the scrambling can be implemented by modifying the frozen bit values in the polar coding scheme, which creates further separation throughout the decoding process as the frozen bits for different candidates are assigned different values. Lastly, by further enhancing the scrambling techniques in PDCCH, enough statistical separation between PDCCH candidates intended for the UE and those that are not can be guaranteed, which can reduce the required CRC lengths for blind detection purposes through decoding reliability checks.

[0061] The randomization scheme can maximize the benefits of the scrambler by incorporating the randomization into the code structure itself, which can determine the decision makings of the decoder at UE side. The UE can cancel out the randomized parameters by simply reproducing the pseudo random number generator sequence from the initialization seed values such as the DCI details, RNTI sequence, UE-specific search space configurations, coreset / Cell ID, and the radio frame slot number. Together, these parameters provide enough randomization such that the unintended PDCCH candidates appears as completely random modulation coding scheme (MCS) vectors to the UE (e.g., quadrature phase shift keying vectors).

[0062] In most forward error correction (FEC) schemes, a complete random MCS vector can be easily distinguishable from the noise-affected codewords by monitoring the decoder’s confidence in the estimated codeword. Such processing can rely on distance computation as further described in FIG. 7.

[0063] FIG. 5 illustrates another example of DCI processing 500 that implements a randomization scheme in accordance with some embodiments. The DCI processing 500 is similar to the DCI processing 400, with a few variations. The similarities are not repeatedherein in the interest of brevity. Particularly, the DCI processing 500 can involve the CRC pre-coder 310, the polar encoder 320, the rate matching module 330, the scrambler 340, the layer / resource element mapping module 360, and the OFDM transmission module 370. Here also, the DCI data 301 is input to the DCI processing 500, whereby an output of the DCI processing 500 can be modulated signal for transmission to a UE. Input to the CRC precoder 310, the polar encoder 320, and / or the scrambler 340 can include corresponding portions of the randomized information 402. The randomized information is output from the pseudo random generator 410 based on the UE specific information 401. However here, and unlike FIG. 4, a seed generator 510 is used. In particular, the UE specific information 401 is input to the seed generator 510 that outputs a seed 512. In turn, the seed 512 is input to the pseudo random generator 410 that outputs the randomized information 402.

[0064] FIG. 6 illustrates yet another example of DCI processing 600 that implements a randomization scheme in accordance with some embodiments. The DCI processing 600 is similar to the DCI processing 600, with a few variations. The similarities are not repeated herein in the interest of brevity. Particularly, the DCI processing 600 can involve the CRC pre-coder 310, the polar encoder 320, the rate matching module 330, the scrambler 340, the layer / resource element mapping module 360, and the OFDM transmission module 370. Here also, the DCI data 301 is input to the DCI processing 600, whereby an output of the DCI processing 600 can be modulated signal for transmission to a UE. However here, instead of using the same pseudo random number generator, multiple pseudo random number generators are used.

[0065] In the illustration of Fig. 6, a first pseudo random number generator 610 is used to generate first randomized information (e.g., randomized precoding coefficients) that is input to the CRC pre-coder 310. A second pseudo random number generator 620 is used to generate second randomized information (e.g,, randomized frozen values) that is input to the polar encoder 320. A third pseudo random number generator 630 is used to generate third randomized information (e.g., a randomized XOR mask) that is input to the scrambler 340. Although three pseudo random number generators are illustrated, using a different number of such generators is possible. For example, one pseudo random number generator can be used for one of the CRC pre-coder 310, the polar encoder 320, and the scrambler 340, another one pseudo random number generator can be used for both remaining modules of the CRC precoder 310, the polar encoder 320, and the scrambler 340.

[0066] In one example, the same user specific information can be input to all the pseudo random number generators 610, 620, and 630. In another example, each of the pseudo random number generators 610, 620, and 630 can use a different set of user specific information or a different portion of the same user specific information.

[0067] Although not illustrated in FIG. 6, the seed generator 510 (or multiple of such modules) can be used to generate the same seed or different seeds that are input to the pseudo random number generators 610, 620, and 630. Relevantly, the UE implements an equivalent pseudo number generators that would use the same input(s) to generate the same output. Such outputs are used in the UE’s de-scrambler, decoder, and error checker.

[0068] FIG. 7 illustrates an example of DCI processing 700 that implements a randomization scheme in accordance with some embodiments. Here, the DCI processing 700 is performed in a receive chain of a UE (e.g., tire receive chain 203). The DCI processing 700 can involve multiple modules, such as a demodulator 710, a descrambler 720, a rate matching module 730, a polar decoder 740, and a CRC check module 750, The de-scrambler 720 can perform de-scrambling operations that correspond to the scrambling operations of the scramble 340. The polar decoder 740 can perform decoding operations that correspond to the encoding operations of the polar encoder 320. The CRC check module 750 checks whether decoded CRC bi ts of a candidate codeword pass a CRC check. The CRC check module 750 may alternatively be a sub-module of the polar decoder 740. The CRC check can involve computing a CRC value for decoded DCI data and comparing this value to the decoded CRC bits appended to the decoded DCI data (where the CRC bits were appended by the CRC precoder 310). If the calculated CRC matches the decoded CRC bits, the CRC check is passed. Otherwise, the CRC check fails.

[0069] The UE’s receive chain can also implement a pseudo random number generator 780. This generator 780 can be of the same type and structure as the pseudo random number generator 410 used by the base station’s transmit chain. Of course, if the pseudo random number generator architecture of FIG. 5 or 6 is used in the transmit chain, an equivalent pseudo random number generator architecture is also used in the receive chain (e.g., one using a seed generator and / or one using multiple pseudo random number generators).

[0070] In an example, UE specific information 701 is input to the pseudo random number generator 780 that outputs randomized information 702. Generally, the UE specific information 701 can be the same as the UE specific information 401 used in the transmitchain. As such, the randomized information 702 can also be the same as the randomized information 402 and can include a randomized XOR mask 782 (the same as the randomized XOR mask 416), randomized frozen values 784 (the same as the randomized frozen values 414), and randomized pre-coding coefficients 786 (the same as the randomized pre-coding coefficients 412).

[0071] The randomized precoding coefficients 786 can be input to the CRC check module 750 (in addition to the output of the polar precoder 740) and used in the CRC check computation (e.g., in the computation of the CRC value for the decoded DCI data that is output by the polar decoder 740). Additionally, or alternatively, the randomized frozen values 414 can be used by the polar decoder 740 in its decoding of the output of the rate matching module 730 (instead of using predefined or default frozen values in the decoding).Additionally, or alternatively, the randomized XOR mask 416 can be used by the descrambler 720 in the de-scrambling of the output from the demodulator 710.

[0072] As explained herein above, the randomization scheme in the transmit chain can introduce enough randomization such that the unintended PDCCH candidates appears as completely random MCS vectors to the UE. A random MCS vector is easily distinguishable from the noise-affected codewords, whereby the UE can monitor the decoder's confidence in the estimated codeword. As an example, the decoder can measure the probabilistic distance, Euclidean distance, or even Hamming distance between the received vector and the estimated codeword and simply reject the output if the distance is larger than a pre-defined threshold. Such thresholds may depend on the channel parameters as well as the code parameters, which are both known to the UE at the time of the decoding. The probabilistic distance for example can be computed as PD(y,ŷ) = ∑ᵢ₌₁ⁿ log(1 + exp(αᵢΛᵢ)), where:α_i = {-1 if y_i and ŷ_i have the same sign, 1 otherwise} and Λ_i is the log likelihood ratio (LLR)assigned to the i-th received symbol. As can be seen, the probabilistic distance (PD) grows larger when y and y get further from each other. In the case where the UE is attempting to decode an unintended candidate, the randomizations introduced in the transmit chain can force a large distance between the received vector and the estimated polar codeword, which can be traced by monitoring the parameter above.

[0073] In an example, the probabilistic distance above is equivalent to the path metric computed throughout the successive cancellation list (SCL) decoding of polar codes, whichnot only makes this parameter trackable for free but also provides a new mean for early decoding termination when the SCL decoding is used in the receive chain, The path metric variable increases in magnitude throughout the SCL decoding. Hence, if its value surpasses the designed blind detection threshold, the decoder is free to terminate its process, resulting in significant savings in power consumption and processing timeline.

[0074] Incorporating the UE-specific information into the randomization of the codestructure itself, including the frozen bit values and the precoding coefficients, enables the decoder to gradually (in)validate the PDCCH candidates without fully relying on the CRC check upon the end of the decoding process. This feature can reduce the dependence on CRC for blind detection of PDCCH, which in turn can decrease the needed CRC length in a PDCCH design. The reduced CRC length can translate to increased DCI payload size or reduced hardware complexity for the UE, or both. Furthermore, the natural early decoding termination method provided by monitoring the path metric is superior to legacy protocols based on partially distributed CRC bits in 5G NR, as it allows a flexible and dynamic structure to terminate the decoding at any point throughout the decoding,

[0075] Incorporating UE-specific data into the scrambler and randomization of PDCCH processing is disclosed herein. The UE-specific data can include partial RNTI sequence, a combination of multiple RNTI sequences, search space configurations, DCI format, DCI details, or other UE-specific variables that differentiate PDCCH candidates intended for the UE from others. Randomized parameters can be incorporated into the code structure through both modified precoding and alternative frozen bit values. In a perfect synchronization between the decoder and encoder, -which occurs when UE is attempting to decode an intended (valid) PDCCH candidate, these randomized values are cancelled out with no impact on the error correction performance. Tire enhanced UE-specific randomization of the PDCCH symbols virtually transform the unintended PDCCH candidates to random QPSK symbols, which are more easily traceable by the decoder. Soft and hard information available to the decoder can be used to measure the decoder’s confidence in its estimated codeword and reject the outcome for low-reliability stances. The added randomization can reduce the needed CRC length in PDCCH, which in turn increases the payload size and improves the throughput. The reduced CRC requirements can also translate to improved channel conditions (SNR) or reduced hardware complexity, lire confidence level can be tracked by monitoring the path metric throughout the decoding which can enhance early termination in PDCCH.

[0076] FIG. 8 illustrates an example of an operational flow / algorithmic structure 800 for processing DCI in a transmit chain in accordance with some embodiments. The operational flow / algorithmic structure 800 can be implemented by a base station (e.g., performed by components thereof including, for example, an apparatus of the base station, where the apparatus includes processing circuitry; a modem is an example of such an apparatus), The base station can be any of the base stations described herein. In some embodiments, the operational flow / algorithmic structure 800 may be implemented by executing instructions stored in a tangible, non-transitory, computer-readable storage medium, such as a memory of the base station. While the operational flow / algorithmic structure 800 is described using steps in a specific sequence, it should be understood that the present disclosure contemplates that the described steps may be performed in different sequences than the sequence illustrated, and certain described steps may be omitted or not performed altogether.

[0077] In an example, the operational flow / algorithmic structure 800 includes, at 802, determining UE specific information, the UE specific information corresponding to a UE. For instance, the UE specific information can include some or all of the UE specific information 401 described herein above and can be determined from a configuration created for the communication with the UE and the related PDCCH blind decoding.

[0078] In an example, the operational flow / algorithmic structure 800 includes, at 804, generating, by using one or more pseudo-random number generators based on the UE specific information, randomized information for DCI processing, wherein the DCI processing includes at least one of precoding, error correction coding, or scrambling. For instance, the UE specific information is used as a seed that is input to the one or more pseudo-random number generators. The output of the one or more pseudo-random number generators includes the randomized information. The randomized information can include some or all of the randomized information 402 described herein above,

[0079] In an example, the operational flow / algorithmic structure 800 includes, at 806, generating, by using the randomized information as part of the DCI processing, a signal that indicates DCI to the UE. For instance, the randomized information, or corresponding portions thereof, are input to a CRC precoder, a polar encoder and / or a scrambler of the base station’s transmit chain.

[0080] FIG. 9 illustrates an example of an operational flow / algorithmic structure for processing DCI in a receive chain in accordance with some embodiments, The operationalflow / algorithmic structure 900 can be implemented by a UE (e.g., performed by components thereof including, for example, an apparatus of the UE, where the apparatus includes processing circuitry; a modem is an example of such an apparatus). The UE can be any of the UEs described herein. In some embodiments, the operational flow / algorithmic structure 900 may be implemented by executing instructions stored in a tangible, non-transitory, computer- readable storage medium, such as a memory of the UE. While the operational flow / algorithmic structure 900 is described using steps in a specific sequence, it should be understood that the present disclosure contemplates that the described steps may be performed in different sequences than the sequence illustrated, and certain described steps may be omitted or not performed altogether.

[0081] In an example, the operational flow / algorithmic structure 900 includes, at 902, determining UE specific information, the UE specific information corresponding to a UE, For ins tance, the UE specific information can include some or all of the UE specific information 701 described herein above and can be determined from a configuration created for the communication of the UE with a base station and the related PDCCH blind decoding,

[0082] In an example, the operational flow / algorithmic structure 900 includes, at 904, generating, by using one or more pseudo-random number generators based on the UE specific information, randomized information. For instance, the UE specific information is used as a seed that is input to the one or more pseudo-random number generators. The output of the one or more pseudo-random number generators includes the randomized information, The randomized information can include some or all of the randomized information 702 described herein above.

[0083] In an example, the operational flow / algorithmic structure 900 includes, at 906, using the randomized information as part of DCI processing of received DCI. For instance, the randomized information, or corresponding portions thereof, are input to de-scramble, a polar decoder and / or a CRC check module of the UE’s receive chain.

[0084] FIG. 10 illustrates receive components 1000 of a receiver, such as any of the UE’s described herein above, in accordance with some embodiments. The receive components 1000 may include an antenna panel 1004 that includes a number of antenna elements. Tire panel 1004 is shown with four antenna elements, but other embodiments may include other numbers.

[0085] The antenna panel 1004 may be coupled to analog beamforming (BF) components that include a number of phase shifters 1008(1)— 1008(4). The phase shifters 1008(1)— 1008(4) may be coupled with a radio-frequency (RF) chain 1012. The RF chain 1012 may amplify a receive analog RF signal, downconvert the RF signal to baseband, and convert the analog baseband signal to a digital baseband signal that may be provided to a baseband processor for further processing. In an example, receive components 1000 can include multiple antenna panels 1004 and / or multiple RF chains 1012. An MR can include an antenna panel 1004 and an RF chain 1012. An LP-WUR can include the same antenna panel 1004 or a different antenna panel and a different RF chain 1012.

[0086] In various embodiments, control circuitry, which may reside in a baseband processor, may provide BF weights (for example W1 - W4), which may represent phase shift values, to the phase shifters 1008(1)–1008(4) to provide a receive beam at the antenna panel 1004. These BF weights may be determined based on the channel-based beamforming.

[0087] FIG. 11 illustrates a UE 1100, in accordance with some embodiments. The UE 1100 may be similar to and substantially interchangeable with any of the UEs described herein above. Particularly, the UE 1100 can support a randomization scheme in the processing of DCI in its receive chain.

[0088] Similar to that described above with respect to UE 104, the UE 1100 may be any mobile or non-mobile computing device, such as mobile phones, computers, tablets, industrial wireless sensors (for example, microphones, carbon dioxide sensors, pressure sensors, humidity sensors, thermometers, motion sensors, accelerometers, laser scanners, fluid level sensors, inventory sensors, electric voltage / current meters, actuators, etc.), video surveillance / monitoring devices (for example, cameras, video cameras, etc.), wearable devices, or relaxed-IoT devices. In some embodiments, the UE may be a reduced capacity UE or NR-Light UE.

[0089] The UE 1100 may include processors 1104, RF interface circuitry’ 1108, memory / storage 1112, user interface 1116, sensors 1120, driver circuitry 1122, power management integrated circuit (PMIC) 1124, and battery 1128. The processors 1104, or portions thereof, can represent processing circuitry that can be coupled with an RF chain to form an MR or the LP-WUR. The components of the UE 1100 may be implemented as integrated circuits (ICs), portions thereof, discrete electronic devices, or other modules, logic, hardware, software, firmware, or a combination thereof. The block diagram of FIG. 11 isintended to show a high-level view of some of the components of the UE 1100. However, some of the components shown may be omitted, additional components may be present, and different arrangements of the components shown may occur in other implementations.

[0090] The components of the UE 1100 may be coupled with various other components over one or more interconnects 1132, which may represent any type of interface, input / output, bus (local, system, or expansion), transmission line, trace, optical connection, etc. that allows various circuit components (on common or different chips or chipsets) to interact with one another.

[0091] The processors 1104 may include processor circuitry, such as baseband processor circuitry (BB) 1104A, central processor unit circuitry (CPU) 1104B, and graphics processor unit circuitry (GPU) 1104C. The processors 1104 may include any type of circuitry or processor circuitry that executes or otherwise operates computer-executable instructions, such as program code, software modules, or functional processes from memory / storage 1112 to cause the UE 1100 to perform operations as described herein.

[0092] In some embodiments, the baseband processor circuitry 1104A may access a communication protocol stack 1136 in the memory / storage 1112 to communicate over a 3GPP compatible network. In general, the baseband processor circuitry 1104A may access the communication protocol stack to: perform user plane functions at a PHY layer, MAC layer, RLC layer, PDCP layer, SDAP layer, and PDU layer; and perform control plane functions at a PHY layer, MAC layer, RLC layer, PDCP layer, RRC layer, and a non-access stratum “NAS” layer. In some embodiments, the PHY layer operations may additionally / alternatively be performed by the components of the RF interface circuitry 1108.

[0093] The baseband processor circuitry' 1104A may generate or process baseband signals or waveforms that carry information in 3 GPP-compatible networks. In some embodiments, the waveforms for NR may be based on cyclic prefix OFDM (CP-OFDM) in the uplink or downlink, and discrete Fourier transform spread OFDM (DFT-S-OFDM) in the uplink.

[0094] The baseband processor circuitry 1104A may also access group information from memory / storage 1112 to determine search space groups in which a number of repetitions of a PDCCH may be transmitted.

[0095] The memory / storage 1112 may include any type of volatile or non-volatile memory' that may be distributed throughout the UE 1100. In some embodiments, some of thememory / storage 1112 may be located on the processors 1104 themselves (for example, Li and L2 cache), while other memory / storage 1112 is external to the processors 1104 but accessible thereto via a memory interface. Tire memory / storage 1112 may include any suitable volatile or non-volatile memory, such as, but not limited to, dynamic random-access memory (DRAM), static random-access memory (SRAM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), Flash memory, solid-state memory, or any other type of memory device technology.

[0096] Tire RF interface circuitry’ 1108 may include transceiver circuitry and a radio frequency front module (RFEM) that allows the UE 1100 to communicate with other devices over a radio access network. The RF interface circuitry 1108 may include various elements arranged in transmit or receive paths. These elements may include, for example, switches, mixers, amplifiers, filters, synthesizer circuitry, control circuitry, etc.

[0097] In the receive path, the RFEM may receive a radiated signal from an air interface via an antenna 1150 and proceed to filter and amplify (with a low-noise amplifier) the signal. The signal may be provided to a receiver of the transceiver that down-converts the RF signal into a baseband signal that is provided to the baseband processor of the processors 1104.

[0098] In the transmit path, the transmitter of the transceiver up-converts the baseband signal received from the baseband processor and provides the RF signal to the RFEM. The RFEM may amplify the RF signal through a power amplifier prior to the signal being radiated across the air interface via the antenna 1150.

[0099] In various embodiments, the RF interface circuitry 1108 may be configured to transmit / receive signals in a manner compatible with NR access technologies,

[0100] The antenna 1150 may include a number of antenna elements that each convert electrical signals into radio waves to travel through the air and to convert received radio waves into electrical signals. The antenna elements may be arranged into one or more antenna panels. The antenna 1150 may have antenna panels that are omnidirectional, directional, or a combination thereof to enable beamforming and multiple input, multiple output communications. The antenna 1150 may include microstrip antennas, printed antennas fabricated on the surface of one or more printed circuit boards, patch antennas, phased array antennas, etc. The antenna 1150 may have one or more panels designed for specific frequency bands including bands in FR1 or FR2.

[0101] The user interface circuitry 1116 includes various input / output (I / O) devices designed to enable user interaction with the UE 1100. The user interface 1116 includes input device circuitry and output device circuitry. Input device circuitry includes any physical or virtual means for accepting an input including, inter alia, one or more physical or virtual buttons (for example, a reset button), a physical keyboard, keypad, mouse, touchpad, touchscreen, microphones, scanner, headset, or the like. The output device circuitry includes any physical or virtual means for showing information or otherwise conveying information, such as sensor readings, actuator position(s), or other like information. Output device circuitry may include any number or combinations of audio or visual display, including, inter alia, one or more simple visual outputs / indicators (for example, binary’ status indicators, such as light emitting diodes (LEDs) and multi -character visual outputs, or more complex outputs, such as display devices or touchscreens (for example, liquid crystal displays (LCDs), LED displays, quantum dot di splays, projectors, etc,), with the output of characters, graphics, multimedia objects, and the like being generated or produced from the operation of the UE 1100.

[0102] Tire sensors 1120 may include devices, modules, or subsystems whose purpose is to detect events or changes in its environment and send the information (sensor data) about the detected events to some other device, module, subsystem, etc. Examples of such sensors include, inter alia, inertia measurement units comprising accelerometers; gyroscopes; or magnetometers; microelectromechanical systems or nanoelectromechanical systems comprising 3-axis accelerometers; 3-axis gyroscopes; or magnetometers; level sensors; flow sensors; temperature sensors (for example, thermistors); pressure sensors; barometric pressure sensors; gravimeters; altimeters; image capture devices (for example; cameras or lensless apertures); light detection and ranging sensors; proximity sensors (for example, infrared radiation detector and the like); depth sensors; ambient light sensors; ultrasonic transceivers; microphones or other like audio capture devices; etc,

[0103] The driver circuitry 1122 may include software and hardware elements that operate to control particular devices that are embedded in the UE 1100, attached to the UE 1100, or otherwise communicatively coupled with the UE 1100. The driver circuitry 1122 may include individual drivers allowing other components to interact with or control various input / output (I / O) devices that may be present within, or connected to, the UE 1100. For example, driver circuitry 1122 may include a display driver to control and allow access to a display device, a touchscreen driver to control and allow access to a touchscreen interface, sensor drivers toobtain sensor readings of sensor circuitry 1120 and control and allow access to sensor circuitry 1120, drivers to obtain actuator positions of electro-mechanic components or control and allow access to the electro-mechanic components, a camera driver to control and allow access to an embedded image capture device, audio drivers to control and allow access to one or more audio devices.

[0104] The PMIC 1124 may manage power provided to various components of the UE 1100. In particular, with respect to the processors 1104, the PMIC 1124 may control powersource selection, voltage scaling, battery charging, or DC-to-DC conversion.

[0105] In some embodiments, the PMIC 1124 may control, or otherwise be part of, various power saving mechanisms of the UE 1100. For example, if the platform UE is in an RRC Connected state, where it is still connected to the RAN node as it expects to receive traffic shortly, then it may enter a state known as Discontinuous Reception Mode (DRX) after a period of inactivity. During this state, the UE 1100 may power down for brief intervals of time and thus save power. If there is no data traffic activity for an extended period of time, then the UE 1100 may transition off to an RRC Idle state, where it disconnects from the network and does not perform operations, such as channel quality feedback, handover, etc. lire UE 1100 goes into a very low power state and it performs paging where again it periodically wakes up to listen to the network and then powers down again. The UE 1100 may not receive data in this state; in order to receive data, it must transition back to RRC Connected state. An additional power saving mode may allow a device to be unavailable to the network for periods longer than a paging interval (ranging from seconds to a few hours). During this time, the device is totally unreachable to the network and may power down completely. Any data sent during this time incurs a large delay and it is assumed the delay is acceptable.

[0106] A battery 1128 may pow er the UE 1100, although in some examples the UE 1100 may be mounted deployed in a fixed location and may have a pow er supply coupled to an electrical grid. The battery 1128 may be a lithium-ion battery, a metal-air battery, such as a zinc-air battery, an aluminum-air battery, a lithium-air battery, and the like. In some implementations, such as in vehicle-based applications, the battery 1128 may be a typical lead-acid automotive battery.

[0107] FIG. 12 illustrates a gNB 1200, in accordance with some embodiments. The gNB 1200 may be similar to and substantially interchangeable with the base station 108 of FIG. 1and other base stations described herein above. Particularly, the gNB 1200 can support a randomization scheme in the DCI processing in its transmit chain.

[0108] The gNB 1200 may include processors 1204, RAN interface circuitry 1208, core network (CN) interface circuitry 1212, and memory / storage circuitry 1216.

[0109] The components of the gNB 1200 may be coupled with various other components over one or more interconnects 1228.

[0110] The processors 1204, RAN interface circuitry 1208, memory / storage circuitry 1216 (including communication protocol stack 1210), antenna 1250, and interconnects 1228 may be similar to like-named elements shown and described with respect to FIG. 11.

[0111] The CN interface circuitry 1212 may provide connectivity to a core network, for example, a Fifth Generation Core network (5GC) using a 5GC-compatible network interface protocol, such as carrier Ethernet protocols, or some other suitable protocol. Network connectivity may be provided to / from the gNB 1200 via a fiber optic or wireless backhaul, The CN interface circuitry 1212 may include one or more dedicated processors or FPGAs to communicate using one or more of the aforementioned protocols. In some implementations, the CN interface circuitry 1212 may include multiple controllers to provide connectivity to other networks using the same or different protocols.

[0112] It is well understood that the use of personally identifiable information should follow privacy policies and practices that are generally recognized as meeting or exceeding industry or governmental requirements for maintaining the privacy of users. In particular, personally identifiable information data should be managed and handled so as to minimize risks of unintentional or unauthorized access or use, and the nature of authorized use should be clearly indicated to users.

[0113] For one or more embodiments, at least one of the components set forth in one or more of the preceding figures may be configured to perform one or more operations, techniques, processes, or methods as set forth in the example section below. For example, the baseband circuitry as described above in connection with one or more of the preceding figures may be configured to operate in accordance w ith one or more of the examples set forth below. For another example, circuitry associated with a UE, base station, network element, etc. as described above in connection with one or more of the preceding figures maybe configured to operate in accordance with one or more of the examples set forth below in the example section.Examples

[0114] In the following sections, further exemplary embodiments are provided.

[0115] Example 1 includes a method comprising: determining user equipment (UE) specific information, the UE specific information corresponding to a UE; generating, by using one or more pseudo-random number generators based on the UE specific information, randomized information for downlink control information (DCI) processing, wherein the DCI processing includes at least one of: precoding, error correction coding, or scrambling; and generating, by using the randomized information as part of the DCI processing, a signal that indicates DCI to the UE.

[0116] Example 2 includes a method comprising: determining user equipment (UE) specific information, the UE specific information corresponding to a UE; generating, by using one or more pseudo-random number generators based on the UE specific information, randomized information; and using the randomized information as part of downlink control information (DCI) processing of received DCI.

[0117] Example 3 includes the method of any example 1-2, wherein the UE specific information includes DCI details that indicates width of bit fields of the DCI.

[0118] Example 4 includes the method of any example 1-3, wherein the DCI processing comprises precoding cyclic redundancy check (CRC) bits masked with a radio network temporary identifier (RNTI), wherein the UE specific information includes a portion of the RNTI instead of an entirety of the RNTI.

[0119] Example 5 includes the method of example 4, wherein the UE is configured to perform physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) blind decoding based on a plurality of RNTIs, wherein the portion corresponds to a common portion of the plurality of RNTIs.

[0120] Example 6 includes the method of any example 1-5, wherein the UE is configured to perform physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) blind decoding based on one or more UE specific search space configurations, wherein the UE specific information corresponds to at least one of the one or more UE specific search space configurations.T1

[0121] Example 7 includes the method of any example 1-6, wherein the UE specific information includes a slot number associated with the transmission and at least one of: randomized precoding coefficients for a cyclic redundancy check (CRC) precoder, randomized frozen values for a polar encoder, or randomized exclusive OR (XOR) masks for a scrambler.

[0122] Example 8 includes the method of example 7, wherein the UE specific information further corresponds to at least one of a control resource set (coreset) or a cell identifier (ID) associated with the transmission.

[0123] Example 9 includes the method of any example 1 -8, wherein the randomized information comprises randomized precoding coefficients, and wherein the precoding comprises cyclic redundancy check (CRC) precoding that uses the randomized precoding coefficients as an input.

[0124] Example 10 includes the method of any example 1-9, wherein the randomized information comprises randomized frozen values, and wherein the error correction coding comprises polar encoding that uses the randomized frozen values as an input.

[0125] Example 11 includes the method of any example 1-10, wherein the randomized information comprises randomized exclusive OR (XOR) masks, and wherein the scrambling that uses the randomized XOR masks as an input.

[0126] Example 12 includes the method of any example 1-11, wherein the UE specific information includes any or a combination of: DCI details that indicates width of bit fields of the DCI, a portion or an entirety of a radio network temporary identifier (RNTI), information about one or more UE specific search space configurations, a combination of multiple RNTIs, or a DCI format.

[0127] Example 13 includes the method of any example 1-12, w herein the randomized information is generated by using the UE specific information as a seed to the one or more pseudo-random number generators and includes at least one of: randomized precoding coefficients for a cyclic redundancy check (CRC) precoder, randomized frozen values for a polar encoder, or randomized exclusive OR (XOR) masks for a scrambler.

[0128] Example 14 includes the method of example 13, wherein the one or more pseudo¬ random number generators include a corresponding pseudo-random number generator for each one of the CRC precoder, the polar encoder, and the scrambler.

[0129] Example 15 includes the method of example 13-14, wherein the DCI includes cyclic redundancy check (CRC) bits, wherein a total number of the CRC bits is less than twenty- four.

[0130] Example 16 includes the method of any example 1-15, wherein the DCI processing includes polar decoding candidate physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) codewords, wherein the polar decoding comprises determining a distance between a received candidate PDCCH codeword and a decoded PDCCH codeword and rejecting or accepting the decoded PDCCH codeword based on the distance. The distance can comprise a probabilistic distance indicating a decoding confidence, a Hamming distance between received symbols and estimated symbols post decoding, or a Euclidian distance between the received symbols and the estimated symbols

[0131] Example 17 includes the method of example 16, wherein the polar decoding corresponds to polar encoding used in generating the DCI for transmission, wherein the polar encoding uses the randomized information.

[0132] Example 18 includes the method of any example 16-17, wherein the polar decoding includes successive cancellation list (SCL) decoding, wherein the distance corresponds to a path metric computed in the SCL decoding, and wherein a decoding of a candidate PDCCH codeword is terminated prior to decoding of an entirety of the candidate PDCCH codeword based on the distance. The path metric can include a summation of decoding reliabilities based on soft values or can be computed based on approximations of the decoding reliabilities. A distance check can be performed by at least comparing the path metric with one or more values, wherein at least one of the one or more values is predefined or is defined based on a channel condition, a polar code configuration, and / or a search space configuration.

[0133] Example 19 includes the method of any example 16-18, wherein the candidate PDCCH codewords correspond to modulation and coding scheme (MCS) symbols that are randomized based on the randomized information.

[0134] Example 20 includes a user equipment (UE) or an apparatus comprising: one or more processors; and one or more memory storing instructions that, upon execution by the one or more processors, configure the UE or the apparatus to perform a method described in or related to any of the preceding examples.

[0135] Example 21 includes one or more computer-readable media storing instructions that, when executed on a user equipment (UE) or an apparatus, cause the UE or the apparatus to perform operations comprising one or more elements of a method described in or related to any of the preceding examples.

[0136] Example 22 includes an apparatus comprising means to perform one or more elements of a method described in or related to any of the preceding examples.

[0137] Example 23 includes one or more non-transitory computer-readable media comprising instructions to cause an apparatus, upon execution of the instructions by one or more processors of the apparatus, to perform one or more elements of a method described in or related to any of the preceding examples.

[0138] Example 24 includes an apparatus comprising logic, modules, or processing circuitry configured to perform one or more elements of a method described in or related to any of the preceding examples.

[0139] Example 25 includes an apparatus or a system comprising: one or more processors and one or more computer-readable media comprising instructions that, when executed by tire one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform one or more elements of a method described in or related to any of the preceding examples.

[0140] Any of the above-described examples may be combined with any other example (or combination of examples), unless explicitly stated otherwise. The foregoing description of one or more implementations provides illustration and description but is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the scope of embodiments to the precise form disclosed. Modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teachings or may be acquired from practice of various embodiments.

[0141] Although the embodiments above have been described in considerable detail, numerous variations and modifications will become apparent to those skilled in the art once the above disclosure is fully appreciated. It is intended that the following claims be interpreted to embrace all such variations and modifications.

Claims

CLAIMSWhat is claimed is:

1. A method comprising:determining user equipment (UE) specific information, the UE specific information corresponding to a UE;generating, by using one or more pseudo-random number generators based on the UE specific information, randomized information for downlink control information (DCI) processing, wherein the DCI processing includes at least one of: precoding, error correction coding, or scrambling; andgenerating, by using the randomized information as part of the DCI processing, a signal that indicates DCI to the UE.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the UE specific information includes DCI details that indicates width of bit fields of the DCI,3. The method of claim 1, wherein the DCI processing comprises precoding cyclic redundancy check (CRC) bits masked with a radio network temporary identifier (RNTI), wherein the UE specific information includes a portion of the RNTI instead of an entirety of the RNTI.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the UE is configured to perform physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) blind decoding based on a plurality of RNTIs, wherein the portion corresponds to a common portion of the plurality of RNTIs.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the UE is configured to perform physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) blind decoding based on one or more UE specific search space configurations, wherein the UE specific information corresponds to at least one of the one or more UE specific search space configurations.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the UE specific information includes a slot number associated with the transmission and at least one of: randomized precoding coefficients for a cyclic redundancy check (CRC) precoder, randomized frozen values for a polar encoder, or randomized exclusive OR (XOR) masks for a scrambler.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the UE specific information further corresponds to at least one of a control resource set (coreset) or a cell identifier (ID) associated with tire transmission.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the randomized information comprises randomized precoding coefficients, and wherein the precoding comprises cyclic redundancy check (CRC) preceding that uses the randomized precoding coefficients as an input.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the randomized information comprises randomized frozen values, and wherein the error correction coding comprises polar encoding that uses the randomized frozen values as an input.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the randomized information comprises randomized exclusive OR (XOR) masks, and wherein the scrambling uses the randomized XOR masks as an input.

11. An apparatus comprising:processing circuitry configured to:determine user equipment (UE) specific information, the UE specific information corresponding to a UE;generate, by using one or more pseudo-random number generators based on the UE specific information, randomized information for downlink control information (DCI) processing, wherein the DCI processing includes at least one of: precoding, error correction coding, or scrambling; andgenerate, by using the randomized information as part of the DCI processing, a signal that indicates DCI to the UE.

12. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the UE specific information includes any or a combination of: DCI detai ls that indicates width of bit fields of the DCI, a portion or an entirety of a radio network temporary identifier (RNTI), information about one or more UE specific search space configurations, a combination of multiple RNTIs, or a DCI format.

13. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the randomized information is generated by using the UE specific information as a seed to the one or more pseudo-random number generators and includes at least one of: randomized precoding coefficients for a cyclic redundancy check(CRC) precoder, randomized frozen values for a polar encoder, or randomized exclusive OR (XOR) masks for a scrambler.

14. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the one or more pseudo-random number generators include a corresponding pseudo-random number generator for each one of the CRC precoder, the polar encoder, and the scrambler.

15. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the DCI includes cyclic redundancy check (CRC) bits, wherein a total number of the CRC bits is less than twenty-four.

16. One or more computer-readable storage media storing instructions that, upon execution, cause operations comprising:determining user equipment (UE) specific information, the UE specific information corresponding to a UE;generating, by using one or more pseudo-random number generators based on the UE specific information, randomized information; andusing the randomized information as part of downlink control information (DCI) processing of received DCI.

17. The one or more computer-readable storage media of claim 16, wherein the DCI processing includes polar decoding candidate physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) codewords, wherein the polar decoding comprises determining a distance between a received candidate PDCCH codeword and a decoded PDCCH codeword and rejecting or accepting the decoded PDCCH codeword based on the distance.

18. The one or more computer-readable storage media of claim 17, wherein the distance comprises a probabilistic distance indicating a decoding confidence, a Hamming distance between received symbols and estimated symbols post decoding, or a Euclidian distance betw een the received symbols and the estimated symbols,19. The one or more computer-readable storage media of claim 17, wherein the polar decoding corresponds to polar encoding used in generating the DCI for transmission, wdierein the polar encoding uses the randomized information.

20. The one or more computer-readable storage media of claim 17, wherein the polar decoding includes successive cancellation list (SCL) decoding, wherein the distancecorresponds to a path metric computed in the SCL decoding, and wherein a decoding of a candidate PDCCH codeword is terminated prior to decoding of an entirety of the candidate PDCCH codeword based on the distance.

21. The one or more computer-readable storage media of claim 20, wherein the path metric includes a summation of decoding reliabilities based on soft values or is computed based on approximations of the decoding reliabilities.

22. The one or more computer-readable storage media of claim 20, wherein a distance check is performed by at least comparing the path metric with one or more values, wherein at least one of the one or more values is predefined or is defined based on a channel condition, a polar code configuration, and / or a search space configuration.

23. The one or more computer-readable storage media of claim 17, wherein the candidate PDCCH codewords correspond to modulation and coding

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