MAPPING REFERENCE SIGNAL RESOURCES TO VIRTUAL PANELS

Various aspects of the present disclosure generally relate to wireless communication. In some aspects, a user equipment (UE) may determine a plurality of virtual antenna panels, wherein the plurality of virtual antenna panels correspond to a plurality of groups of antenna ports and map to one or more portions of at least one physical antenna panel. The UE may map a plurality of reference signal resources to the plurality of virtual antenna panels. The UE may transmit, to a base station and based at least in part on the mapping, reference signals using the plurality of reference signal resources. Numerous other aspects are provided.

FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

Aspects of the present disclosure generally relate to wireless communication and to techniques and apparatuses for mapping reference signal resources to virtual panels.

BACKGROUND

SUMMARY

In some aspects, a method of wireless communication performed by a user equipment (UE) includes determining a plurality of virtual antenna panels, wherein the plurality of virtual antenna panels correspond to a plurality of groups of antenna ports and map to one or more portions of at least one physical antenna panel; mapping a plurality of reference signal resources to the plurality of virtual antenna panels; and transmitting, to a base station and based at least in part on the mapping, reference signals using the plurality of reference signal resources.

In some aspects, a method of wireless communication performed by a base station includes transmitting, to a UE, an indication of a plurality of reference signal resources; receiving, from the UE, an indication of a plurality of virtual antenna panels, wherein the plurality of virtual antenna panels correspond to a plurality of groups of antenna ports and map to one or more portions of at least one physical antenna panel; and receiving, from the UE and based at least in part on the plurality of virtual antenna panels, reference signals using the plurality of reference signal resources.

In some aspects, a UE for wireless communication includes a memory and one or more processors coupled with the memory, the memory and the one or more processors configured to determine a plurality of virtual antenna panels, wherein the plurality of virtual antenna panels correspond to a plurality of groups of antenna ports and map to one or more portions of at least one physical antenna panel; map a plurality of reference signal resources to the plurality of virtual antenna panels; and transmit, to a base station and based at least in part on the mapping, reference signals using the plurality of reference signal resources.

In some aspects, a base station for wireless communication includes a memory and one or more processors coupled with the memory, the memory and the one or more processors configured to transmit, to a UE, an indication of a plurality of reference signal resources; receive, from the UE, an indication of a plurality of virtual antenna panels, wherein the plurality of virtual antenna panels correspond to a plurality of groups of antenna ports and map to one or more portions of at least one physical antenna panel; and receive, from the UE and based at least in part on the plurality of virtual antenna panels, reference signals using the plurality of reference signal resources.

In some aspects, a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing a set of instructions for wireless communication includes one or more instructions that, when executed by one or more processors of a UE, cause the UE to determine a plurality of virtual antenna panels, wherein the plurality of virtual antenna panels correspond to a plurality of groups of antenna ports and map to one or more portions of at least one physical antenna panel; map a plurality of reference signal resources to the plurality of virtual antenna panels; and transmit, to a base station and based at least in part on the mapping, reference signals using the plurality of reference signal resources.

In some aspects, a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing a set of instructions for wireless communication includes one or more instructions that, when executed by one or more processors of a base station, cause the base station to transmit, to a UE, an indication of a plurality of reference signal resources; receive, from the UE, an indication of a plurality of virtual antenna panels, wherein the plurality of virtual antenna panels correspond to a plurality of groups of antenna ports and map to one or more portions of at least one physical antenna panel; and receive, from the UE and based at least in part on the plurality of virtual antenna panels, reference signals using the plurality of reference signal resources.

In some aspects, an apparatus for wireless communication includes means for determining a plurality of virtual antenna panels, wherein the plurality of virtual antenna panels correspond to a plurality of groups of antenna ports and map to one or more portions of at least one physical antenna panel; means for mapping a plurality of reference signal resources to the plurality of virtual antenna panels; and means for transmitting, to a base station and based at least in part on the mapping, reference signals using the plurality of reference signal resources.

In some aspects, an apparatus for wireless communication includes means for transmitting, to a UE, an indication of a plurality of reference signal resources; means for receiving, from the UE, an indication of a plurality of virtual antenna panels, wherein the plurality of virtual antenna panels correspond to a plurality of groups of antenna ports and map to one or more portions of at least one physical antenna panel; and means for receiving, from the UE and based at least in part on the plurality of virtual antenna panels, reference signals using the plurality of reference signal resources.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

On the uplink, at UE120, a transmit processor264may receive and process data from a data source262and control information (e.g., for reports that include RSRP, RSSI, RSRQ, CQI, and/or the like) from controller/processor280. Transmit processor264may also generate reference symbols for one or more reference signals. The symbols from transmit processor264may be precoded by a TX MIMO processor266if applicable, further processed by modulators254athrough254r(e.g., for DFT-s-OFDM, CP-OFDM, and/or the like), and transmitted to base station110. In some aspects, the UE120includes a transceiver. The transceiver may include any combination of antenna(s)252, modulators and/or demodulators254, MIMO detector256, receive processor258, transmit processor264, and/or TX MIMO processor266. The transceiver may be used by a processor (e.g., controller/processor280) and memory282to perform aspects of any of the methods described herein, for example, as described with reference toFIGS.5-6B.

In some aspects, a UE (e.g., UE120and/or apparatus900ofFIG.9) may include means for determining a plurality of virtual antenna panels, wherein the plurality of virtual antenna panels correspond to a plurality of groups of antenna ports and map to one or more portions of at least one physical antenna panel; means for mapping a plurality of reference signal resources to the plurality of virtual antenna panels; and/or means for transmitting, to a base station (e.g., base station110and/or apparatus1000ofFIG.10) and based at least in part on the mapping, reference signals using the plurality of reference signal resources. The means for the UE to perform operations described herein may include, for example, antenna252, demodulator254, MIMO detector256, receive processor258, transmit processor264, TX MIMO processor266, modulator254, controller/processor280, and/or memory282. In some aspects, the UE may further include means for applying a same spatial-domain transmission filter when transmitting on the plurality of reference signal resources.

In some aspects, the UE may further include means for transmitting, to the base station, two or more gap times based at least in part on power statuses of the plurality of virtual antenna panels and means for receiving, from the base station and based at least in part on the two or more gap times, two or more time-domain resources configurations corresponding to each of the plurality of reference signal resources.

Additionally, or alternatively, the UE may include means for transmitting, to the base station, information indicating the power statuses of the plurality of virtual antenna panels. As an alternative, the UE may include means for receiving, from the base station, instructions to reconfigure the power statuses of the plurality of virtual antenna panels.

In some aspects, a base station (e.g., base station110and/or apparatus1000ofFIG.10) may include means for transmitting, to a UE (e.g., UE120and/or apparatus900ofFIG.9), an indication of a plurality of reference signal resources; means for receiving, from the UE, an indication of a plurality of virtual antenna panels, wherein the plurality of virtual antenna panels correspond to a plurality of groups of antenna ports and map to one or more portions of at least one physical antenna panel; and/or means for receiving, from the UE and based at least in part on the plurality of virtual antenna panels, reference signals using the plurality of reference signal resources. The means for the base station to perform operations described herein may include, for example, transmit processor220, TX MIMO processor230, modulator232, antenna234, demodulator232, MIMO detector236, receive processor238, controller/processor240, memory242, and/or scheduler246. In some aspects, the base station may further include means for transmitting, to the UE, a spatial-domain transmission filter to use on the plurality of reference signal resources.

In some aspects, the base station may further include means for receiving, from the UE, two or more gap times based at least in part on power statuses of the plurality of virtual antenna panels and means for transmitting, to the UE and based at least in part on the two or more gap times, two or more time-domain resources configurations corresponding to each of the plurality of reference signal resources.

Additionally, or alternatively, the base station may include means for receiving, from the UE, information indicating the power statuses of the plurality of virtual antenna panels. As an alternative, the base station may include means for transmitting, to the UE, instructions to reconfigure the power statuses of the plurality of virtual antenna panels.

FIG.3is a diagram illustrating an example300of antenna ports, in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure. As shown inFIG.3, a first physical antenna305-1may transmit information via a first channel h1, a second physical antenna305-2may transmit information via a second channel h2, a third physical antenna305-3may transmit information via a third channel h3, and a fourth physical antenna305-4may transmit information via a fourth channel h4. Such information may be conveyed via a logical antenna port, which may represent some combination of the physical antennas and/or channels. In some cases, a UE120may not have knowledge of the channels associated with the physical antennas, and the UE120may only operate based on knowledge of the channels associated with antenna ports, as defined below.

An antenna port may be defined such that a channel, over which a symbol on the antenna port is conveyed, can be inferred from a channel over which another symbol on the same antenna port is conveyed. In example300, a channel associated with antenna port 1 (AP1) is represented as h1−h2+h3+j*h4, where channel coefficients (e.g., 1, −1, 1, and j, in this case) represent weighting factors (e.g., indicating phase and/or gain) applied to each channel. Such weighting factors may be applied to the channels to improve signal power and/or signal quality at one or more receivers. Applying such weighting factors to channel transmissions may be referred to as precoding, and a precoder may refer to a specific set of weighting factors applied to a set of channels.

Similarly, a channel associated with antenna port 2 (AP2) is represented as h1+j*h3, and a channel associated with antenna port 3 (AP3) is represented as 2*h1−h2+(1+j)*h3+j*h4. In this case, antenna port 3 can be represented as the sum of antenna port 1 and antenna port 2 (e.g., AP3=AP1+AP2) because the sum of the expression representing antenna port 1 (h1−h2+h3+j*h4) and the expression representing antenna port 2 (h1+j*h3) equals the expression representing antenna port 3 (2*h1−h2+(1+j)*h3+j*h4). It can also be said that antenna port 3 is related to antenna ports 1 and 2 [AP1,AP2] via the precoder [1,1] because 1 times the expression representing antenna port 1 plus 1 times the expression representing antenna port 2 equals the expression representing antenna port 3.

As indicated above,FIG.3is provided merely as an example. Other examples may differ from what is described with regard toFIG.3.

FIG.4is a diagram illustrating an example400of sounding reference signal (SRS) resource sets, in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure. A base station110may configure a UE120with one or more SRS resource sets to allocate resources for SRS transmissions by the UE120. For example, a configuration for SRS resource sets may be indicated in a radio resource control (RRC) message (e.g., an RRC configuration message, an RRC reconfiguration message, and/or the like). As shown by reference number405, an SRS resource set may include one or more resources (e.g., shown as SRS resources), which may include time resources and/or frequency resources (e.g., a slot, a symbol, a resource block, a periodicity for the time resources, and/or the like).

As shown by reference number410, an SRS resource may include one or more antenna ports on which an SRS is to be transmitted (e.g., in a time-frequency resource). Thus, a configuration for an SRS resource set may indicate one or more time-frequency resources in which an SRS is to be transmitted and may indicate one or more antenna ports on which the SRS is to be transmitted in those time-frequency resources. In some aspects, the configuration for an SRS resource set may indicate a use case (e.g., in an SRS-SetUse information element) for the SRS resource set. For example, an SRS resource set may have a use case of antenna switching, codebook, non-codebook, beam management, and/or the like.

An antenna switching SRS resource set may be used to indicate a downlink channel state indication (CSI) with reciprocity between an uplink and downlink channel. For example, when there is reciprocity between an uplink channel and a downlink channel, a base station110may use an antenna switching SRS (e.g., an SRS transmitted using a resource of an antenna switching SRS resource set) to acquire the downlink CSI (e.g., to determine a downlink precoder to be used to communicate with the UE120).

A codebook SRS resource set may be used to indicate an uplink CSI when a base station110indicates an uplink precoder to the UE120. For example, when the base station110is configured to indicate an uplink precoder to the UE120(e.g., using a precoder codebook), the base station110may use a codebook SRS (e.g., an SRS transmitted using a resource of a codebook SRS resource set) to acquire the uplink CSI (e.g., to determine an uplink precoder to be indicated to the UE120and used by the UE120to communicate with the base station110). In some aspects, virtual ports (e.g., a combination of two or more antenna ports) with a maximum transmit power may be supported at least for a codebook SRS.

A non-codebook SRS resource set may be used to indicate the uplink CSI when the UE120selects an uplink precoder (e.g., instead of the base station110indicated an uplink precoder to be used by the UE120). For example, when the UE120is configured to select an uplink precoder, the base station110may use a non-codebook SRS (e.g., an SRS transmitted using a resource of a non-codebook SRS resource set) to acquire the uplink CSI. In this case, the non-codebook SRS may be precoded using a precoder selected by the UE120(e.g., which may be indicated to the base station110). A beam management SRS resource set may be used for indicating a CSI for millimeter wave communications.

An SRS resource can be configured as periodic, semi-persistent (sometimes referred to as semi-persistent scheduling (SPS)), or aperiodic. A periodic SRS resource may be configured via a configuration message that indicates a periodicity of the SRS resource (e.g., a slot-level periodicity, where the SRS resources occurs every Y slots) and a slot offset. In some cases, a periodic SRS resource may always be activated, and may not be dynamically activated or deactivated. A semi-persistent SRS resource may also be configured via a configuration message that indicates a periodicity and a slot offset for the semi-persistent SRS resource, and the semi-persistent SRS resource may be dynamically activated and deactivated (e.g., using DCI or a medium access control (MAC) control element (CE) (MAC-CE)). An aperiodic SRS resource may be triggered dynamically, such as via DCI (e.g., UE-specific DCI or group common DCI) or a MAC-CE.

In some aspects, the UE120may be configured with a mapping between SRS ports (e.g., antenna ports) and corresponding SRS resources. The UE120may transmit an SRS on a particular SRS resource using an SRS port indicated in the configuration. In some aspects, an SRS resource may span N adjacent symbols within a slot (e.g., where N equals 1, 2, or 4). The UE120may be configured with X SRS ports (e.g., where X≤4). In some aspects, each of the X SRS ports may mapped to a corresponding symbol of the SRS resource and used for transmission of an SRS in that symbol.

As shown inFIG.4, in some aspects, different SRS resource sets indicated to the UE120(e.g., having different use cases) may overlap (e.g., in time, in frequency, and/or the like, such as in the same slot). For example, as shown by reference number415, a first SRS resource set (e.g., shown as SRS Resource Set 1) is shown as having an antenna switching use case. As shown, this example antenna switching SRS resource set includes a first SRS resource (shown as SRS Resource A) and a second SRS resource (shown as SRS Resource B). Thus, antenna switching SRS may be transmitted in SRS Resource A (e.g., a first time-frequency resource) using antenna port 0 and antenna port 1 and may be transmitted in SRS Resource B (e.g., a second time-frequency resource) using antenna port 2 and antenna port 3.

As shown by reference number420, a second SRS resource set (e.g., shown as SRS Resource Set 2) may be a codebook use case. As shown, this example codebook SRS resource set includes only the first SRS resource (shown as SRS Resource A). Thus, codebook SRSs may be transmitted in SRS Resource A (e.g., the first time-frequency resource) using antenna port 0 and antenna port 1. In this case, the UE120may not transmit codebook SRSs in SRS Resource B (e.g., the second time-frequency resource) using antenna port 2 and antenna port 3.

In some situations, a UE may use antenna switching for more than four antennas. For example, the UE may allow for 1T6R (one transmit chain and six reception chains), 2T6R, 4T6R, or other configurations with more than four reception chains. Accordingly, the UE may include multiple antenna panels, where each panel includes a plurality of antenna elements. For example, the UE may include three panels, where each panel has N antenna elements (e.g., cross-polarized elements and/or other similar antenna elements).

In order to obtain downlink CSI, the UE should transmit SRS across antenna ports of the panels. However, the UE may not want to explicitly indicate how many antenna panels are included in the UE to a base station. Moreover, the UE will use additional time during antenna switching when a target antenna panel is idle (or otherwise not fully powered) as compared with when the target antenna panel is active. Accordingly, the base station will not measure the correct SRS resources in the time domain when the UE120requires a longer gap time between transmissions.

Techniques and apparatuses described herein allow a UE (e.g., UE120) to map physical antenna panels to virtual antenna panels. Accordingly, the UE120may communicate with a base station (e.g., base station110) to configure SRS transmission without explicitly indicating how many antenna panels are included in the UE120. Moreover, the base station110may configure different gap times across the SRS resource set to allow the UE120to perform antenna switching when one or more target antenna panels is idle (or otherwise not fully powered). Accordingly, the base station110may measure the correct SRS resources in the time domain when the UE120requires a longer gap time between transmissions.

FIG.5is a diagram illustrating an example500associated with virtual antenna panels, in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure. As shown inFIG.5, example500includes a UE (e.g., UE120) with at least two physical antenna panels (e.g., physical panel505, physical panel510, and/or other physical panels). Although the description below will focus on the UE120having two physical antenna panels, the description equally applies to the UE120having one physical antenna panel or additional physical antenna panels (e.g., three panels, four panels, or so on).

As further shown inFIG.5, the UE120may determine a plurality of virtual antenna panels (e.g., virtual panel515, virtual panel520, virtual panel525, virtual panel530, and/or other virtual panels) that correspond to a plurality of groups of antenna ports (e.g., as described above in connection withFIG.3) and map to one or more portions of at least one physical antenna panel (e.g., physical panel505, physical panel510, and/or other physical panels). In example500, virtual panel515includes a first group of antenna ports on physical panel505, and virtual panel520includes a second group of antenna ports on physical panel505. Similarly, virtual panel525includes a first group of antenna ports on physical panel510, and virtual panel530includes a second group of antenna ports on physical panel510. Although the description below will focus on virtual panels that include portions of physical panels, the description equally applies to virtual panels that include multiple physical panels (e.g., one virtual panel include all or part of physical panel505and/or all or part of physical panel510) and/or to virtual panels that include full physical panels (e.g., one virtual panel that maps to physical panel505and/or one virtual panel that maps to physical panel510).

In some aspects, the groups of antenna ports are configured for simultaneous reception and are not configured for simultaneous transmission. For example, the UE120in example500may be configured for 1T4R such that the antenna port groups included in virtual panel515, virtual panel520, virtual panel525, and virtual panel530may all receive simultaneously but may only transmit individually. Accordingly, reference signals in a reference signal resource set (e.g., SRSs in an SRS resource set as described above in connection withFIG.4) may be time duplexed across the virtual panels.

In some aspects, the UE120may transmit, and the base station110may receive, an indication of the plurality of virtual antenna panels. For example, the UE120may transmit (e.g., using RRC signaling or other similar signaling) a UE capability message (e.g., as defined in 3GPP specifications or other technical standards), or other similar message, to the base station110. The UE capability message may indicate a number of virtual antenna panels included in the UE120.

In some aspects, the base station110may transmit, and the UE120may receive, an indication of a plurality of reference signal resources. For example, the base station110may indicate an SRS resource set, as described above in connection withFIG.4. Accordingly, the UE120may map the plurality of reference signal resources to the plurality of virtual antenna panels. In some aspects, the UE120may explicitly associate each resource (e.g., each SRS resource) to a corresponding virtual panel. As an alternative, the UE120may associate each resource (e.g., each SRS resource) to a corresponding group of antenna ports such that the resource is implicitly mapped to the virtual panel including that group of antenna ports.

In some aspects, the base station110may transmit, and the UE120may receive, a spatial-domain transmission filter to use on the plurality of reference signal resources. For example, the base station110may transmit a transmission configuration indicator (TCI) state (e.g., as defined in 3GPP specifications or other technical standards), or other similar data structure defining a spatial filter, to the UE120. Accordingly, the UE120may apply the spatial-domain transmission filter when transmitting on the plurality of reference signal resources. In some aspects, the UE120may apply the same spatial-domain transmission filter across the plurality of reference signal resources (e.g., across all SRS resources of the SRS resource set).

The UE120may transmit, to a base station and based at least in part on the mapping, reference signals using the plurality of reference signal resources. For example, the UE120may transmit SRSs using the groups of antenna ports included in the virtual antenna panels (e.g., virtual panel515, virtual panel520, virtual panel525, virtual panel530, and/or other virtual panels). In some aspects, as described below in connection withFIGS.6A and6B, the SRSs may be time duplexed (e.g., time division multiplexed (TDM) or otherwise divided in time).

By using the technique described in connection withFIG.5, the UE120may coordinate with the base station110to perform antenna switching when transmitting SRSs without revealing, to the base station110, a number of physical antenna panels included in the UE120. Additionally, the UE120may group antenna ports that can perform simultaneous transmission into a single virtual panel regardless of whether those ports are included in a same physical panel. Accordingly, when the UE120includes a capability for multiple active antenna panels, the UE120may configure groups of antenna ports for higher-quality transmission and communication than if the UE120were only to use physical antenna panels to group antenna ports.

FIGS.6A and6Bare diagrams illustrating examples600and650, respectively, associated with flexible gap time between reference signal resources, in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure. As shown inFIG.6A, example600includes an SRS resource set with four SRS signals. Similarly, as shown inFIG.6B, example650includes an SRS resource set with four SRS signals. Although the description below will focus on a UE (e.g., UE120) transmitting four SRS signals, the description equally applies to the UE120transmitting fewer SRS signals (e.g., three signals, two signals, or so on) or additional SRS signals (e.g., five signals, six signals, or so on).

In some aspects, as described above in connection withFIG.5, the UE120may map a plurality of reference signal resources (e.g., SRS resources from an SRS resource set) to a plurality of virtual antenna panels. Additionally, as shown inFIG.6A, the UE120may time duplex (e.g., TDM or otherwise divide in time) reference signals (e.g., SRS signals as shown inFIG.6A) that are transmitted on the plurality of reference signal resources.

In some aspects, as further shown inFIG.6A, one or more gap times within the time duplexing may be based at least in part on a power status of a target one of the plurality of virtual antenna panels. In example600, SRS #1 and SRS #2 may be assigned to virtual antenna panels that are active, while SRS #3 and SRS #4 may be assigned to virtual antenna panels that are idle or otherwise not fully powered. Accordingly, a gap time between SRS #2 and SRS #3 may be longer than gap times between SRS #1 and SRS #2 and between SRS #3 and SRS #4 based at least in part on time for the UE120to fully power the virtual antenna panels to which SRS #3 and SRS #4 are assigned.

Additionally, or alternatively, the one or more gap times within the time duplexing may be based at least in part on a mapping between the one or more portions of the at least one physical antenna panel and the plurality of virtual antenna panels. In example600, SRS #1 and SRS #2 may be assigned to virtual antenna panels that are on a first physical antenna panel, and SRS #3 and SRS #4 may be assigned to virtual antenna panels that are on a second physical antenna panel. Accordingly, a gap time between SRS #2 and SRS #3 may be longer than gap times between SRS #1 and SRS #2 and between SRS #3 and SRS #4 based at least in part on the UE120using more time to fully power a different physical antenna panel as compared with fully powering a different portion of a same physical antenna panel.

In some aspects, the UE120may use more than two gap times. For example, the UE120may use a longest gap time (e.g., 100 ms, 50 ms, or so on) between two SRSs mapped to two virtual antenna panels that are included in different physical antenna panels and when a target panel of the two virtual antenna panels is idle or otherwise not fully powered; a medium gap time (e.g., 40 ms, 20 ms, or so on) between two SRSs mapped to two virtual antenna panels that are included in a same physical antenna panel and when a target panel of the two virtual antenna panels is idle or otherwise not fully powered; and a shortest gap time (e.g., 2 ms, 1 ms, or so on) between two SRSs mapped to two virtual antenna panels that are included in a same physical antenna panel and when a target panel of the two virtual antenna panels is active. In another example, the UE120may use a longest gap time (e.g., 100 ms, 50 ms, or so on) between two SRSs mapped to two virtual antenna panels that are included in different physical antenna panels and when a target panel of the two virtual antenna panels is in a deep sleep state; a medium gap time (e.g., 40 ms, 20 ms, or so on) between two SRSs mapped to two virtual antenna panels that are included in different physical antenna panels and when a target panel of the two virtual antenna panels is in a light sleep state and also between two SRSs mapped to two virtual antenna panels that are included in a same physical antenna panel and when a target panel of the two virtual antenna panels is in a deep sleep state; and a shortest gap time (e.g., 2 ms, 1 ms, or so on) between two SRSs mapped to two virtual antenna panels that are included in a same physical antenna panel and when a target panel of the two virtual antenna panels is active or in a light sleep state. Additional examples may include four gap times, five gap times, and so on, based at least in part on power statuses of the virtual antenna panels and/or the mapping between the one or more portions of the at least one physical antenna panel and the virtual antenna panels.

As shown inFIG.6B, the one or more gap times may be same when the virtual antenna panels are active and/or when the virtual antenna panels are on a same physical antenna panel. Accordingly, example650includes the same gap time. In some aspects, the UE120may use a same gap time for different situations. For example, the UE120may use one gap time between two SRSs mapped to two virtual antenna panels that are included in different physical antenna panels and when a target panel of the two virtual antenna panels is active. Moreover, the UE120may use the same gap time between two SRSs mapped to two virtual antenna panels that are included in a same physical antenna panels and when a target panel of the two virtual antenna panels is idle or otherwise not fully powered.

In some aspects, the UE120may transmit, to the base station, two or more gap times based at least in part on power statuses of the plurality of virtual antenna panels. For example, the UE120may report a plurality of gap times, as described above, based at least in part on power statuses of the virtual antenna panels and/or the mapping between the one or more portions of the at least one physical antenna panel and the virtual antenna panels. The UE120may use RRC signaling, a MAC-CE, and/or other message to indicate the two or more gap times to the base station110.

Accordingly, the base station110may transmit, and the UE120may receive, two or more time-domain resources configurations, corresponding to each of the plurality of reference signal resources, based at least in part on the two or more gap times. For example, the base station110may configure different slot offsets, starting positions, and/or other timing parameters based at least in part on the two or more gap times. In some aspects, the base station110may transmit (e.g., using RRC signaling or other similar signaling) an SRS-ResourceSet data structure (e.g., as defined in 3GPP specifications or other technical standards), or other similar data structure, indicating the two or more time-domain resources configurations, to the UE120.

Accordingly, the UE120may select from the two or more time-domain resources configurations when transmitting the reference signals (e.g., the SRSs) based at least in part on the power statuses of the plurality of virtual antenna panels (e.g., as described above). In some aspects, the base station110may monitor all resources indicated by the two or more time-domain resources configurations such that the power statuses may be inferred based at least in part on which resources the UE120uses for transmitting. Additionally, in some aspects, the UE120may additionally transmit, and the base station110may additionally receive, information indicating the power statuses of the plurality of virtual antenna panels. For example, the UE120may transmit a MAC-CE and/or other message to indicate the power statuses to the base station110. Accordingly, the base station110may monitor only a portion of resources indicated by the two or more time-domain resources configurations based at least in part on the information indicating the power statuses of the plurality of virtual antenna panels.

In some aspects, the MAC-CE and/or other message may further indicate gap times associated with powering up the plurality of virtual antenna panels. Accordingly, the base station110may determine the two or more time-domain resources configurations based at least in part on the indicated gap times. As an alternative, the base station110may transmit, and the UE120may receive, one time-domain resource configuration, corresponding to each of the plurality of reference signal resources, based at least in part on the information indicating the power statuses of the plurality of virtual antenna panels and the indicated gap times.

As an alternative, the base station110may transmit, and the UE120may receive, instructions to reconfigure the power statuses of the plurality of virtual antenna panels. For example, the base station110may transmit (e.g., using RRC signaling or other similar signaling) a command to activate one or more virtual antenna panels of the UE120and/or deactivate one or more virtual antenna panels of the UE120. Accordingly, the base station110may monitor only a portion of resources indicated by the two or more time-domain resources configurations based at least in part on the instructions to reconfigure the power statuses of the plurality of virtual antenna panels. As an alternative, the base station110may transmit, and the UE120may receive, one time-domain resource configuration, corresponding to each of the plurality of reference signal resources, based at least in part on the instructions to reconfigure the power statuses of the plurality of virtual antenna panels.

The UE120may transmit, to the base station110and based at least in part on the time-domain resources configurations, reference signals using the plurality of reference signal resources. For example, the UE120may transmit SRSs using the groups of antenna ports included in the virtual antenna panels, and the SRSs may be time duplexed (e.g., TDM'd or otherwise divided in time), as described above.

By using the technique described in connection withFIGS.6A and6B, the UE120may coordinate with the base station110to perform antenna switching when transmitting SRSs. Additionally, the UE120may indicate to the base station110different gap times between SRSs based at least in part on the power status of virtual antenna panels. Accordingly, the base station110may accurately monitor for the SRSs from the UE120, improving communication quality and reliability (e.g., when the base station110configures one or more downlink channels based at least in part on measuring the SRSs).

As indicated above,FIGS.6A and6Bare provided as examples. Other examples may differ from what is described with respect toFIGS.6A and6B.

FIG.7is a diagram illustrating an example process700performed, for example, by a UE, in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure. Example process700is an example where the UE (e.g., UE120and/or apparatus900ofFIG.9) performs operations associated with mapping reference signal resources to virtual panels.

As shown inFIG.7, in some aspects, process700may include determining a plurality of virtual antenna panels (block710). For example, the UE (e.g., using determination component908, depicted inFIG.9) may determine the plurality of virtual antenna panels, as described above. In some aspects, the plurality of virtual antenna panels correspond to a plurality of groups of antenna ports and map to one or more portions of at least one physical antenna panel.

As further shown inFIG.7, in some aspects, process700may include mapping a plurality of reference signal resources to the plurality of virtual antenna panels (block720). For example, the UE (e.g., using determination component908) may map the plurality of reference signal resources to the plurality of virtual antenna panels, as described above.

As further shown inFIG.7, in some aspects, process700may include transmitting, to a base station (e.g., base station110and/or apparatus1000ofFIG.10) and based at least in part on the mapping, reference signals using the plurality of reference signal resources (block730). For example, the UE (e.g., using transmission component904, depicted inFIG.9) may transmit, to the base station and based at least in part on the mapping, the reference signals using the plurality of reference signal resources, as described above.

In a first aspect, the groups of antenna ports are configured for simultaneous reception and are not configured for simultaneous transmission.

In a second aspect, alone or in combination with the first aspect, process700further includes applying a same spatial-domain transmission filter (e.g., using transmission component904) when transmitting on the plurality of reference signal resources.

In a third aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first and second aspects, process700further includes time duplexing the reference signals (e.g., using transmission component904) that are transmitted on the plurality of reference signal resources.

In a fourth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through third aspects, one or more gap times within the time duplexing are based at least in part on a power status of a target one of the plurality of virtual antenna panels.

In a fifth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through fourth aspects, the one or more gap times within the time duplexing are further based at least in part on a mapping between the one or more portions of the at least one physical antenna panel and the plurality of virtual antenna panels.

In a sixth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through fifth aspects, process700further includes transmitting (e.g., using transmission component904), to the base station, two or more gap times based at least in part on power statuses of the plurality of virtual antenna panels.

In a seventh aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through sixth aspects, process700further includes receiving (e.g., using reception component902, depicted inFIG.9), from the base station and based at least in part on the two or more gap times, two or more time-domain resources configurations corresponding to each of the plurality of reference signal resources, and the reference signals are transmitted on the plurality of reference signal resources based at least in part on the power statuses of the plurality of virtual antenna panels.

In an eighth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through seventh aspects, process700further includes transmitting (e.g., using transmission component904), to the base station, information indicating the power statuses of the plurality of virtual antenna panels.

In a ninth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through eighth aspects, the information further indicates gap times associated with powering up the plurality of virtual antenna panels.

In a tenth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through ninth aspects, process700further includes receiving (e.g., using reception component902), from the base station, instructions to reconfigure the power statuses of the plurality of virtual antenna panels.

FIG.8is a diagram illustrating an example process800performed, for example, by a base station, in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure. Example process800is an example where the base station (e.g., base station110and/or apparatus1000ofFIG.10) performs operations associated with receiving reference signals based at least in part on virtual panels.

As shown inFIG.8, in some aspects, process800may include transmitting, to a UE (e.g., UE120and/or apparatus900ofFIG.9), an indication of a plurality of reference signal resources (block810). For example, the base station (e.g., using transmission component1004, depicted inFIG.10) may transmit, to the UE, the indication of the plurality of reference signal resources, as described above.

As further shown inFIG.8, in some aspects, process800may include receiving, from the UE, an indication of a plurality of virtual antenna panels (block820). For example, the base station (e.g., using reception component1002, depicted inFIG.10) may receive, from the UE, the indication of the plurality of virtual antenna panels, as described above. In some aspects, the plurality of virtual antenna panels correspond to a plurality of groups of antenna ports and map to one or more portions of at least one physical antenna panel.

As further shown inFIG.8, in some aspects, process800may include receiving, from the UE and based at least in part on the plurality of virtual antenna panels, reference signals using the plurality of reference signal resources (block830). For example, the base station (e.g., using reception component1002) may receive, from the UE and based at least in part on the plurality of virtual antenna panels, the reference signals using the plurality of reference signal resources, as described above.

In a first aspect, process800further includes transmitting (e.g., using transmission component1004), to the UE, a spatial-domain transmission filter to use on the plurality of reference signal resources.

In a second aspect, alone or in combination with the first aspect, the reference signals that are received on the plurality of reference signal resources are time duplexed.

In a third aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first and second aspects, one or more gap times within the time duplexing are based at least in part on a power status of a target one of the plurality of virtual antenna panels.

In a fourth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through third aspects, the one or more gap times within the time duplexing are further based at least in part on a mapping between the one or more portions of the at least one physical antenna panel and the plurality of virtual antenna panels.

In a fifth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through fourth aspects, process800further includes receiving (e.g., using reception component1002), from the UE, two or more gap times based at least in part on power statuses of the plurality of virtual antenna panels.

In a sixth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through fifth aspects, process800further includes transmitting (e.g., using transmission component1004), to the UE and based at least in part on the two or more gap times, two or more time-domain resources configurations corresponding to each of the plurality of reference signal resources, and the reference signals are received on the plurality of reference signal resources based at least in part on the power statuses of the plurality of virtual antenna panels.

In a seventh aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through sixth aspects, process800further includes receiving (e.g., using reception component1002), from the UE, information indicating the power statuses of the plurality of virtual antenna panels.

In an eighth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through seventh aspects, the information further indicates gap times associated with powering up the plurality of virtual antenna panels.

In a ninth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through eighth aspects, process800further includes transmitting (e.g., using transmission component1004), to the UE, instructions to reconfigure the power statuses of the plurality of virtual antenna panels.

In some aspects, the determination component908may determine a plurality of virtual antenna panels that correspond to a plurality of groups of antenna ports and that map to one or more portions of at least one physical antenna panel. In some aspects, the determination component908may include a transmit MIMO processor, a transmit processor, a controller/processor, a memory, or a combination thereof, of the UE described above in connection withFIG.2. The determination component908may further map a plurality of reference signal resources to the plurality of virtual antenna panels. Accordingly, the transmission component904may transmit, to the apparatus906and based at least in part on the mapping, reference signals using the plurality of reference signal resources. In some aspects, the transmission component904may apply a same spatial-domain transmission filter when transmitting on the plurality of reference signal resources.

In some aspects, the transmission component904may additionally transmit, to the apparatus906, two or more gap times based at least in part on power statuses of the plurality of virtual antenna panels. Moreover, the reception component902may receive, from the apparatus906and based at least in part on the two or more gap times, two or more time-domain resources configurations corresponding to each of the plurality of reference signal resources. Accordingly, the transmission component904may transmit the reference signals on the plurality of reference signal resources based at least in part on the power statuses of the plurality of virtual antenna panels.

Additionally, or alternatively, the transmission component904may transmit, to the apparatus906, information indicating the power statuses of the plurality of virtual antenna panels. As an alternative, the reception component902may receive, from the apparatus906, instructions to reconfigure the power statuses of the plurality of virtual antenna panels.

In some aspects, the transmission component1004may transmit, to the apparatus1006, an indication of a plurality of reference signal resources. Moreover, the reception component1002may receive, from the apparatus1006, an indication of a plurality of virtual antenna panels that correspond to a plurality of groups of antenna ports and that map to one or more portions of at least one physical antenna panel. Accordingly, the reception component1002may receive, from the apparatus1006and based at least in part on the plurality of virtual antenna panels, reference signals using the plurality of reference signal resources. The measurement component1008may measure the reference signals. In some aspects, the measurement component1008may include one or more antennas, a demodulator, a MIMO detector, a receive processor, a controller/processor, a memory, or a combination thereof, of the base station described above in connection withFIG.2. In some aspects, the transmission component1004may transmit, to the apparatus1006, a spatial-domain transmission filter to use on the plurality of reference signal resources.

In some aspects, the reception component1002may receive, from the apparatus1006, two or more gap times based at least in part on power statuses of the plurality of virtual antenna panels. Accordingly, the transmission component1004may transmit, to the apparatus1006and based at least in part on the two or more gap times, two or more time-domain resources configurations corresponding to each of the plurality of reference signal resources. The reception component1002may receive the reference signals on the plurality of reference signal resources based at least in part on the power statuses of the plurality of virtual antenna panels.

Additionally, or alternatively, the reception component1002may receive, from the apparatus1006, information indicating the power statuses of the plurality of virtual antenna panels. As an alternative, the transmission component1004may transmit, to the apparatus1006, instructions to reconfigure the power statuses of the plurality of virtual antenna panels.

As used herein, the term “component” is intended to be broadly construed as hardware, firmware, and/or a combination of hardware and software. As used herein, a processor is implemented in hardware, firmware, and/or a combination of hardware and software. It will be apparent that systems and/or methods described herein may be implemented in different forms of hardware, firmware, and/or a combination of hardware and software. The actual specialized control hardware or software code used to implement these systems and/or methods is not limiting of the aspects. Thus, the operation and behavior of the systems and/or methods were described herein without reference to specific software code—it being understood that software and hardware can be designed to implement the systems and/or methods based, at least in part, on the description herein.