Group-based beam reporting using phase continuity

A UE may determine that two or more resources on two or more beams from a base station have phase continuity. The UE may determine, based on the two or more resources on the two or more beams having the phase continuity, a joint channel information associated with the two or more beams using individual measurements respectively corresponding to the two or more beams. The UE may then transmit, to the base station, a group-based beam report including the joint channel information. The base station may provide the UE with an indication that the two or more resources on the two or more beams from the base station have phase continuity. The base station may receive the group-based beam report from the UE based on the indication, and the base station may configure communication with the UE on a joint channel based on the group-based beam report.

BACKGROUND

Technical Field

The present disclosure relates generally to communication systems, and more particularly, to at least one user equipment (UE) configured to report information associated with beamformed communication to a base station.

INTRODUCTION

Wireless communication systems are widely deployed to provide various telecommunication services such as telephony, video, data, messaging, and broadcasts. Typical wireless communication systems may employ multiple-access technologies capable of supporting communication with multiple users by sharing available system resources. Examples of such multiple-access technologies include code division multiple access (CDMA) systems, time-division multiple access (TDMA) systems, frequency-division multiple access (FDMA) systems, orthogonal frequency-division multiple access (OFDMA) systems, single-carrier frequency-division multiple access (SC-FDMA) systems, and time-division synchronous code division multiple access (TD-SCDMA) systems.

SUMMARY

In order to improve link performance and to increase throughput, wireless communication between a base station and a user equipment (UE) may use multi-beam simultaneous transmission and reception. The use of multiple beams may provide macro-diversity as well as higher rates using multiple-input and multiple-output (MIMO) techniques. Beam grouping and group-based beam reporting may support simultaneous reception at a UE, e.g., using the same spatial filters or different spatial filters at the receiver (e.g., of the UE).

Limitations on beam and time/frequency resources may affect the UE's ability to perform simultaneous beam management measurements for multiple beams, e.g., in order to determine joint quasi-co-location (QCL) properties for simultaneous transmission/reception. Aspects presented herein enable a UE to determine joint beam characteristics using individual measurements for the beams.

In a first aspect of the disclosure, a first method, a first computer-readable medium, and a first apparatus for wireless communication are provided. The first apparatus, for example, may be implemented by a UE. The first apparatus may be configured to determine that two or more resources on two or more beams from a base station have phase continuity. The first apparatus may be further configured to determine, based on the two or more resources on the two or more beams having the phase continuity, joint channel information associated with the two or more beams using individual measurements respectively corresponding to the two or more beams. The first apparatus may then transmit, to the base station, a group-based beam report including the joint channel information associated with the two or more beams.

In a second aspect of the disclosure, a second method, a second computer-readable medium, and a second apparatus for wireless communication are provided. The second apparatus, for example, may be implemented by a base station. The second apparatus may be configured to transmit, to a UE, an indication that two or more resources on two or more beams from the second apparatus have phase continuity. The second apparatus may be further configured to receive, from the UE based on the indication, a group-based beam report including joint channel information associated with the two or more beams.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In order to improve link performance and to increase throughput, wireless communication between a base station and a UE may use multi-beam simultaneous transmission and reception. The use of multiple beams may provide macro-diversity as well as higher rates using MIMO techniques. Beam grouping and group-based beam reporting may support simultaneous reception at a UE, e.g., using the same spatial filters or different spatial filters at the receiver.

Limitations on beam and time/frequency resources may affect the ability of the UE to perform simultaneous beam management measurements for multiple beams, e.g., in order to determine joint quasi-co-location (QCL) properties for simultaneous transmission/reception. Aspects presented herein enable a UE to determine joint channel and/or joint beam information (e.g., properties and/or characteristics) using individual measurements respectively corresponding to the beams. In some aspects, a UE may determine that resources (e.g., reference signal resources) on two or more beams from a base station have phase continuity. A base station may provide the UE with an implicit indication or an explicit indication that two or more resources on two or more beams from the base station have phase continuity. The UE may determine, based on the two or more resources on the two or more beams having the phase continuity, joint channel and/or joint beam information for the two or more beams using respective individual measurements for each of the two or more beams. The UE may then transmit, to the base station, a group-based beam report including the joint channel and/or joint beam information (e.g., properties and/or characteristics) for the two or more beams.

A base station102, whether a small cell102′ or a large cell (e.g., macro base station), may include and/or be referred to as an eNB, gNodeB (gNB), or another type of base station. Some base stations180, such as a gNB may operate in a traditional sub 6 GHz spectrum, in millimeter wave (mmW) frequencies, and/or near mmW frequencies in communication with the UE104. When the gNB, e.g., base station180, operates in mmW or near mmW frequencies, the gNB may be referred to as an mmW base station. Extremely high frequency (EHF) is part of the radio frequency (RF) in the electromagnetic spectrum. EHF has a range of 30 GHz to 300 GHz and a wavelength between 1 millimeter and 10 millimeters. Radio waves in the band may be referred to as a millimeter wave. Near mmW may extend down to a frequency of 3 GHz with a wavelength of 100 millimeters. The super high frequency (SHF) band extends between 3 GHz and 30 GHz, also referred to as centimeter wave. Communications using the mmW/near mmW radio frequency band (e.g., 3 GHz-300 GHz) has extremely high path loss and a short range. The mmW base station, e.g., base station180, may utilize beamforming182with the UE104to compensate for the extremely high path loss and short range. The base station180and the UE104may each include a plurality of antennas, such as antenna elements, antenna panels, and/or antenna arrays to facilitate the beamforming.

Referring again toFIG.1, in some aspects, the base station102/180may include a phase continuity component199configured to transmit an indication that implicitly or explicitly indicates to the UE104that two or more resources respectively on two or more beams from the base station102/180have phase continuity. For example, each of the two or more resources may be a resource of a reference signal (e.g., including a synchronization signal) communicated via a respective beam of the two or more beams from the base station102/180. Accordingly, the UE104may receive the implicit or explicit indication that two or more resources on two or more beams from the base station102/180have phase continuity.

The UE104may include a joint channel estimation component198configured to determine that two or more resources respectively on two or more beams from a base station102/180have phase continuity. The joint channel estimation component198may be further configured to determine, based on the two or more resources on the two or more beams having the phase continuity, joint channel and/or joint beam information (e.g., joint channel/beam characteristic(s) and/or properties) for the two or more beams using individual measurements respectively corresponding to the two or more beams. The UE104, and in particular the joint channel estimation component198, may use the indication from the base station102/180to determine the phase continuity of resources on the two or more beams and/or to determine the joint channel/beam information.

The UE104may be further configured to transmit, to the base station102/180, a group-based beam report including the joint channel/beam information for the two or more beams, e.g., based on a respective individual measurement corresponding to each of the two or more beams. Correspondingly, the base station102/180may receive the group-based beam report including the joint channel/beam information for the two or more beams, and the base station102/180may configure (multi-beam) communication with the UE104based on the joint channel/beam information for the two or more beams included in the group-based beam report.

Although the present disclosure may focus on 5G NR, the concepts and various aspects described herein may be applicable to other similar areas, such as LTE, LTE-Advanced (LTE-A), Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Global System for Mobile communications (GSM), or other wireless/radio access technologies.

As illustrated inFIG.2A, some of the REs carry at least one reference signal (RS) and/or pilot signal for the UE. The at least one RS may include at least one demodulation RS (DM-RS) (e.g., indicated as RX for one particular configuration, where 100× is the port number, but other DM-RS configurations are possible) and/or at least one channel state information (CSI) RS (CSI-RS) for channel estimation at the UE. The at least one RS may additionally or alternatively include one or more beam measurement RS (BRS), beam refinement RS (BRRS), and/or phase tracking RS (PT-RS).

FIG.2Dillustrates an example of various UL channels within a subframe of a frame. The PUCCH may be located as indicated in one configuration. The PUCCH carries uplink control information (UCI), such as scheduling requests, a channel quality indicator (CQI), a precoding matrix indicator (PMI), a rank indicator (RI), a layer indicator (LI), and/or hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) ACK/NACK feedback. The PUSCH carries data, and may additionally be used to carry a buffer status report (BSR), a power headroom report (PHR), and/or UCI. In some configurations, some ACK/NACK feedback may be carried on the PUSCH, in addition or alternative to the PUCCH.

In some aspects, at least one of the TX processor368, the RX processor356, and the controller/processor359may be configured to perform aspects in connection with198ofFIG.1.

As generally described herein, some communication in an example access network may occur in a mmW/near-mmW access network, and therefore, may be beamformed. By way of illustration,FIG.1shows a UE104and a base station102/180that utilize beamforming182to communicate using beams, e.g., so that the base station102/180may transmit signaling in one or more transmit directions182′ and the UE104may correspondingly receive such signaling in one or more receive directions182″.

A base station and UE may perform beam management in order to select and adjust beams for communication between the base station and the UE. In downlink beam management, the base station may provide opportunities for the UE to measure beamformed channels having different combinations of TX beams of the base station and RX beams of the UE by transmitting a respective RS using one or more of the TX beams. The UE may report, to the base station, one or more measurements respectively corresponding to one or more of the TX beams (e.g., combined with one or more RX beams to form one or more beam pair links). In response to such reporting, the base station may provide a beam management configuration to UE. For example, a beam management configuration may include at least one of resource configuration(s) associated with CSI-RS(s) and/or SSB(s), beam report setting, and/or other information associated with configuring beamformed communication between the base station and the UE.

According to various aspects, the base station may perform periodic beam sweeping with the UE by transmitting a respective RS using individual TX beams of the base station, which may be received by RX beams of the UE. The UE may measure information about a beamformed channel state using different RX beams of the UE, and based thereon, may report measurement information to the base station. For example, the UE may report measurement information associated with at least one TX beam (e.g., which may be paired with at least one RX beam), such as a reference signal received power (RSRP), reference signal received quality (RSRQ), signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio (SINR), CSI, and/or other measurement information, which may be indicative of a beam quality.

In some aspects, the measurement information reported by the UE may be included in a CSI report, such as a periodic, aperiodic, and/or semi-persistent CSI report. The UE may use CSI-RS(s) and/or SSB(s) to perform measurements for different beams, and thus, to provide a CSI report. For example, an SSB may be used for initial access and may not involve additional overhead for use in beam management (e.g., including CSI reporting). SSBs may have limited bandwidth, whereas CSI-RSs may be configured with different frequency ranges. However, the transmission of CSI-RS(s) for beam management may use additional overhead, but may enable flexibility in the allocation of resources for RSs.

Beam management may be performed on a per-beam basis, with the UE measuring and reporting for individual beams. In addition or alternative to measurement and reporting for individual beams, the UE may be configured for group-based beam reporting, e.g., in which beam management may be performed and reported for a group of beams rather than for individual beams. For example, group-based beam management may be performed such that beam tracking and/or beam refinement within a group of beams or multiple groups of beams can be supported.

Group-based beam reporting may reduce some overhead, e.g., in terms of signaling, feedback, etc., for beam management associated with TX/RX (e.g., simultaneous TX/RX or non-simultaneous TX/RX). For example, group-based beam reporting may reduce signaling associated with reporting measurement information relative to signaling associated with non-group-based beam reporting, such as CSI and/or other measurement reporting for individual beams.

In some aspects, a group-based beam report may include measurement information associated with a representative beam via which the UE receives some signaling that is measured by the UE—that is, measurement(s) by the UE of one or more RSs received by the UE via the representative beam may be used to indicate the quality of the representative beam. The representative beam may be one of the beams in the group of beams or may represent an average of the measurements for the beams in the group. For example, the representative beam may be a beam via which an RS having a maximum (e.g., highest, best, etc.) measurement value is received, e.g., relative to other measurement values for other RSs received via other beams.

In addition to measurement information associated with the representative beam, a group-based beam report may include some measurement information associated with one or more other beams, such as one or more beams associated with one or more of the next consecutive measurement value(s) (e.g., the next highest measurement values(s), the next best measurement value(s), etc.). Illustratively, a group-based beam report may include measurement information associated with the representative beam, which may be the beam via which an RS having the “best” measurement value is received, as well as measurement information associated with one or more other beams of a group of beams. The one or more other beams of the group of beams may be the beam(s) via which respective RS(s) having the next best measurement value(s) is received. In the group-based beam report, however, the measurement information associated with the one or more other beams of the group of beams may be indicated relative to the measurement information associated with the representative beam.

For example, a group-based beam report may include a measurement value of an RSRP measured for an RS received via the representative beam—e.g., the group-based beam report may include information indicating the highest decibel-milliwatts (dBm) measured for an RS received on the representative beam. Further, the group-based beam report may include measurement information associated with one or more other beams having the next highest dBm value(s). However, the measurement information associated with the one or more other beams may be indicated as a respective differential value (e.g., relative to the highest dBm value of the representative beam) measured for another RS(s) received via another beam(s) in the group of beams. Potentially, a differential value may be represented as a certain number of intervals or fixed amounts lower than the measurement value associated with the representative beam—e.g., a group-based beam report may indicate a measurement value associated with another beam of the beam group as x number of 2 dBm intervals less than the highest dBm value associated with the representative beam.

In some aspects, group-based beam reporting may be based on a report quantity set, a CRI-RSRP, and/or an SSB-index-RSRP. In some other aspects, group-based beam reporting may be based on a metric at L1, such as a metric for L1-SINR and/or L1-RSRP. For example, the UE may report a largest L1-RSRP (e.g., 7 bits) from measured RSs and/or a differential L1-RSRP (e.g., 4 bits) relative to the largest measured RSRP (e.g., as a differential value may be indicated using fewer bits than a true or actual measurement value). Further, where a beam-based report may include measurement information for individual beams, a group-based beam report may have less information about individual beams than the beam-based report. In some aspects, a group-based beam reporting might not include CSI quantities per CSI-RS resource indicator (CRI)/SSB resource block indicator (SSBRI), e.g., which may be present in some beam-based reporting.

A base station may configure a UE for L1-SINR-based beam report for non-group-based and/or group-based beam reporting. When the base station configures the UE to report an SSBRI and/or a CRI and a corresponding L1-SINR, a report format may include a range and/or a step size (e.g., interval) associated with differential SINR. For example, a differential SINR for a group of M beams, may be determined based on the difference between the measured SINR corresponding to the CRI/SSBRI for the M beams and the measured SINR corresponding to CRI/SSBRI for a beam having the largest SINR among the reported SINRs.

In order to improve link performance and to increase throughput, wireless communication between a base station and a UE may use multi-beam simultaneous TX/RX. The use of multiple beams may provide macro-diversity, as well as higher rates (e.g., relative to TX/RX using a single beam pair), using MIMO techniques. Beam grouping and group-based beam reporting may support simultaneous reception at a UE, e.g., using the same or different spatial filters at the receiver (e.g., at the UE), which may be simultaneous. Additionally or alternatively, a UE may use multi-beam TX/RX that is non-simultaneous. For example, a UE may employ time-division multiplexing (TDM) for non-simultaneous TX/RX using multiple beams.

When a UE is configured to enable group-based beam reporting, the UE can report multiple different CRI/SSBRI per report setting, such as two different CRI/SSBRI per report setting. The CSI-RS and/or SSB resources, e.g., for CRI and/or SSBRI, respectively, may be simultaneously received by the UE either with a single beam or with multiple (simultaneous) beams. Measurement of the RSs by the UE, and grouping of beams, may be used for simultaneous TX/RX, e.g., with joint QCL on a data channel. In some aspects, capabilities of the UE for simultaneous reception using a single beam or multiple (simultaneous) beams for CSI-RS and/or SSB resources may be assumed. While some SSB resources may be time-division multiplexed, transmission configuration indicator (TCI) states that are quasi-colocated with SSB resources may be simultaneously received.

A base station may have a limit on the maximum number of CSI resource sets that can be configured for joint measurement. Thus, the amount of resources that can be configured by the network for the UE to perform simultaneous beam management measurements may be limited. Limitations on beam and time/frequency resources may affect the ability of a UE to perform simultaneous beam management measurements for multiple beams, e.g., in order to determine joint QCL properties for simultaneous TX/RX. Therefore, a group-based beam report may not include information about all possible joint QCL combinations.

FIG.4is a diagram illustrating an example communication system400including a base station402and a UE404configured to communicate on at least one channel H410(e.g., the at least one channel H410may be the raw channel), in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure. The base station402and the UE404may be configured for mmW/near-mmW communication the on at least one channel H410using directional beams, with the base station402having M beams412and the UE404having N beams414. For example, with mmW/near-mmW communication, the base station402may configure a MIMO scheme with the UE404. In order to configure MIMO schemes, one or more beam pair links may be configured for communication between the base station402and the UE404. A beam pair may include one of TX beams412for the base station402and one of RX beams414for the UE404.

In some aspects, the conditions of the channel H410(e.g., the environment affecting the channel H410, such as blockages, reflectors, etc.) and/or the characteristics/capabilities of the base station402and/or the UE404(e.g., a respective number of antenna elements, the number of antenna ports with which the UE404can measure the channel H410, etc.) may influence beam training/channel measurements on the channel H410. As such, the channel H410may be represented as an effective channel Heff. The effective channel Heffmay be a function of the receiver (e.g., an analog combiner of the UE404) WRF=[w1, w2, . . . , WN] and the transmitter (e.g., an analog precoder of the base station402) FRF=[f1, f2, . . . , fM], where each of WRFand FRFmay be a respective matrix including beam weights w1, w2, . . . , wNand f1, f2, . . . , fM, respectively.

In some aspects, the base station402and/or the UE404(e.g., at respective lower layers, such as respective PHY layers and/or baseband-related layers) may observe the effective channel Heffaccording to Equation 1 (where WRF* is the conjugate).
He=WRF*HFRF(Equation 1)

In some aspects, the base station402and the UE404may be configured with two or more beam pairs, e.g., for spatial diversity on the at least one channel H410. For example, the effective (joint) channel Heffbased on the joint QCL properties for simultaneous reception/transmission for two beam pairs may be given according to Equation 2:
Heff=[qk,wl]*H[fi,fj]   (Equation 2)

Configuration of multiple beam pairs may rely on beam training/channel measurements, e.g., to account for the conditions of the at least one channel H410on which the base station402and the UE404communicate. Beam training/channel measurements on the order O(M2N2) may be commensurate with estimating the effective (joint) channel Heff, e.g., as shown in Equation 2, for two beam pairs. The beam training/channel measurements may correspond to joint QCL properties for simultaneous reception/transmission for each of the possible sets of two (or more) beam pairs between the base station402and the UE404.

However, the order O(M2N2) of such beam training/channel measurements may incur significant overhead, e.g., in terms of over-the-air signaling, processing consumption, etc. This overhead may appreciably affect communication on the at least one channel H410, such as by increasing the latency experienced by the UE404and/or reducing the data rate at which the base station402transmits to the UE404. Additionally, configuration of multiple (e.g., two or more) beam pairs between the base station402and the UE404may be limited by the potential signaling configuration, such as the number of available RSs (e.g., CSI-RSs) that can be configured for group-based beam reporting.

The effective channel Heffmay be represented based on pair-wise estimation of individual components, e.g., by the UE404, as shown in Equation 3:

Each element of the matrix shown in Equation 3 may correspond to one beam pair. For example, wi*Hfjmay represent the effective channel Heffwith the lthRX beam (e.g., of beams414of the UE404) and the jthTX beam (e.g., of the beams412of the base station402). Thus, Equation 3 may model the effective channel Heffwith two beams i and j selected from the beams412of the base station402paired with the two beams k and l selected from the beams414of the UE404. In particular, wk* and wl* respectively correspond to conjugate transposes of the kthand lthRx beams of the UE404.

As described herein, the order of beam training/channel measurements may be reduced from O(M2N2) to O(M N) through signaling configuration (e.g., configuration of CSI-RSs for group-based beam reporting), e.g., assuming the at least one channel H410to be quasi-static. Such order reduction (e.g., from O(M2N2) to O(M N)) may reduce the overhead commensurate with beam training/channel measurements.

Determination by the UE404of the effective channel Heffmay be useful because MIMO rates, diversity gains, and the like may be based on joint QCL properties of the effective channel Heff. For example, at least one of rank, per-stream CQI, precoding, and/or other similar communication parameter(s) may be based on singular value decomposition (SVD) of Heff. Furthermore, beam pairs providing satisfactory performance (e.g., communication quality, throughput, etc.) individually, such as (wk, fi) and/or (wi, fj), may fail to provide such satisfactory performance when jointly configured for simultaneous transmission/reception.

However, individual training/measurement of beams used for the joint channel (e.g., according to Equation 3) may cause errors in computation of the joint channel as a consequence of phase discontinuity between resources on beams, such as phase discontinuity between CSI-RS resources on TX beams412of the base station402. Phase discontinuity may be caused by delays in beam switching, alternation of beam weights across symbols, and/or other phase noise.

Thus, the order O(M N) of beam training/channel measurements may be attainable when beams used for the joint channel are individually trained/measured if resources on TX beams of the two (or more) beam pairs have phase continuity. Accordingly, the UE404may be provided with information indicating at least two resources on at least two beams (e.g., as least two of the TX beams412of the base station402) have phase continuity.

The signaling of a phase continuity indication from the base station402may enable the UE404to calculate mutual channel information for multiple beam pairs based on estimation of the effective channel Heff, which may be determined based on individual measurements of the respective beams, such as described herein. Therefore, the overhead (e.g., processing load, over-the-air signaling, etc.) on the UE404and/or base station402may be reduced when resources (e.g., CSI-RS resources) on TX beams of two or more beams pairs have phase continuity, e.g., in association with group-based beam reporting for simultaneous transmission/reception and/or configuration of multiple beam pairs to improve throughput.

In particular, the base station402may indicate to the UE404whether resources of RSs on multiple beams have phase continuity. For example, the base station402may signal, to the UE404, that two (or more) CSI-RS resources on two (or more) TX beams of the beams412have phase continuity. Accordingly, the UE404may perform pair-wise estimation of individual components for the joint channel with sufficient accuracy for group-based beam reporting for simultaneous transmission/reception.

FIG.5is a call flow diagram illustrating an example communication flow500between a base station502and a UE504, in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure. As shown in the example communication flow500, the base station502may transmit a beam management configuration501to the UE504. For example, the beam management configuration501may be (or may include) a CSI reporting configuration. The beam management configuration501may enable group-based beam reporting by the UE504to the base station502. For example, the beam management configuration501may include information configuring the UE504to report up to two CRI/SSBRI per report setting.

The base station502may transmit the beam management configuration501to the UE504via RRC signaling, such as in an information element (IE) and/or field of an RRC message. For example, the beam management configuration501may include an RRC message having an IE for a CSI reporting configuration (e.g., CSI-ReportConfig IE), and the CSI reporting configuration IE may include information (e.g., a field) indicating that group-based beam reporting is enabled for CSI reporting by the UE504that is based on the CSI reporting configuration IE.

According to various aspects, the beam management configuration501may configure respective RSs on one or more resources of one or more beams from the base station502. For example, the beam management configuration501may include information configuring the UE504to receive at least one CSI-RS carried on at least one resource respectively on each of a set of TX beams of the base station502. Accordingly, each of the CSI-RSs (on a respective CSI-RS resource) may be associated with a respective TX beam of the set of TX beams of the base station502.

Additionally or alternatively, the beam management configuration501may configure the UE504to report at least one (e.g., one or two) CRI/SSBRI and/or some information associated therewith, such as measurement information (e.g., SINR and/or RSRP) and/or other CSI information (e.g., CQI, PMI, RI, and/or LI) derived from CSI-RS(s)/SSB(s) received via beam(s) respectively corresponding to the at least one CRI/SSBRI. The at least one CRI/SSBRI and/or associated information (e.g., measurement values, CSI, etc.) may be used by the base station502to configure communication with the UE504for simultaneous TX/RX with joint QCL on a data channel. Additionally or alternatively, the base station502may use the at least one CRI/SSBRI and/or associated information to configure the UE504for multi-beam non-simultaneous TX/RX.

Further, the base station502may transmit, to the UE504, an indication503associated with phase continuity of resources on multiple beams (e.g., two or more beams) of the base station502. In particular, the base station502may transmit the indication503to the UE504to indicate to the UE504whether two or more resources on two or more beams are continuous with respect to phase. For example, the indication503may indicate to the UE504whether two or more CSI-RS resources respectively on two or more TX beams of the base station502have phase continuity. The base station502may transmit the indication503to the UE504via at least one of RRC signaling, DCI, and/or a MAC control element (CE).

In some aspects, the base station502may explicitly transmit the indication503to the UE504. That is, the base station502may transmit some information (e.g., one or more values, etc.) explicitly defined or configured to convey whether two or more resources on two or more beams of the base station502have phase continuity. For example, the base station502may include the indication503in the beam management configuration501and/or in another message, which may or may not be dedicated to carrying the indication503.

According to some examples of an indication503that may be considered explicit, the base station502may indicate two or more CSI-RS resources on two or more beams of the base station502have phase continuity when the two or more CSI resources are associated with a same CSI report configuration ID and/or are associated with a same CSI report configuration enabling group-based beam reporting. For example, the base station502may indicate that the UE504may assume that a first set of CSI-RS resources (e.g., CSI-RS resources 1, 4, 6, and 10) have phase continuity. In some aspects, the UE504may then determine that CSI-RS resources excluded from the first set (e.g., CSI-RS resources other than 1, 4, 6, and 10) do not have phase continuity. In some other aspects, the base station502may indicate, to the UE504, that a second set of CSI-RS resources (e.g., CSI-RS resources different from CSI-RS resources 1, 4, 6, and 10) have phase continuity, but are discontinuous in terms of phase with respect to the first set of CSI-RSs (e.g., CSI-RS resources 1, 4, 6, and 10). Thus, the base station502may indicate phase continuity for each of multiple groups of CSI-RS resources, with CSI-RS resources having phase continuity within a respective group but not necessarily having phase continuity across different groups. Effectively, the base station502may indicate to the UE504which CSI-RS resources may be grouped together (e.g., CSI-RS resources assumed to have phase continuity) to derive joint channel properties based on individual measurements respectively associated with CSI-RS resources having phase continuity.

In some other aspects, the base station502may implicitly transmit, to the UE504, the indication503, which potentially may be based on at least one rule and/or defined relationship. For example, the base station502may transmit some information to the UE504that is not dedicated to indicating phase continuity of multiple resources on multiple beams, and the UE504may be configured to derive the indication503from such information.

Some illustrative configurations of an indication503that is implicit may include an indication of a multiplexing mode of communication and/or an indication of a use case associated with CSI (and/or beam) reporting (e.g., a group-based beam report or a non-group-based beam report). According to one example, the UE504may determine that all CSI-RS resources (e.g., on two or more beams of the base station502) associated with the same CSI reporting configuration having group-based beam reporting enabled have phase continuity if the base station502indicates that the CSI reporting is associated with a spatial-division multiplexing (SDM) mode of communication and/or associated with enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB) communication. According to some other examples, the multiplexing mode may include frequency-division multiplexing (FDM), SDM, and/or TDM.

According to some further examples, the use case associated with CSI and/or beam reporting (e.g., group-based beam reporting) may include ultra-reliable low latency communication (URLLC) (e.g., in addition or alternative to eMBB), and such URLLC-related use case (and/or eMBB-related use case) may implicitly indicate whether resources on two or more beams of the base station502have phase continuity. According to still other example, a CSI reporting configuration enabling the group-based beam report (e.g., the beam management configuration501), such as a CSI reporting configuration that enables the group-based beam reporting for SDM-mode communication and/or eMBB communication, may implicitly indicate whether resources on two or more beams of the base station502have phase continuity.

At operation505, the UE504may determine whether two or more RS resources respectively on two or more beams of the base station502have phase continuity. The operation505by the UE504may be based on the explicit or implicit indication503received from the base station502. For example, phase continuity between multiple RS resources on multiple beams from the base station502may be configured (e.g., enabled, implemented, etc.) and/or maintained (e.g., enforced, applied, etc.) by the base station502, and therefore, the operation505by the UE504of whether multiple RS resources on multiple beams from the base station502may be derived by the UE504according to information received from the base station502, such as the (explicit or implicit) indication503.

The operation505by the UE504may be further based on the beam management configuration501, which may configure the RS resources on two or more beams from the base station502. For example, the beam management configuration501may configure two or more CSI-RS resources carrying respective CSI-RSs on two or more TX beams of the base station502. Thus, at operation505, the UE504may determine whether the two or more CSI-RS resources respectively on the two or more TX beams have phase continuity (e.g., based on the explicit or implicit indication503).

Illustratively, the base station502may configure (e.g., enable, enforce, apply, etc.) phase continuity for all RS resources (e.g., all CSI-RS resources) associated with the same CSI reporting configuration (e.g., of beam management configuration501) that indicates group-based beam reporting enabled when the CSI reporting configuration is associated with at least one specific multiplexing mode (e.g., SDM) and at least one specific use case (e.g., eMBB). Therefore, the UE504may determine that all RS resources associated with the same CSI reporting configuration in which group-based beam reporting is enabled have phase continuity across respective beams of the base station502based on a rule defining the implicit indication503as the CSI reporting configuration being for the at least one specific multiplexing mode and the at least one specific use case. For example, at operation505, the UE504may determine that all CSI-RS resources configured by the beam management configuration501(enabling group-based beam reporting) have phase continuity across respective beams of the base station502based on the beam management configuration501configuring CSI reporting by the UE504for SDM communication and eMBB use case. In other words, the beam management configuration501configuring CSI reporting by the UE504for SDM communication and eMBB use case may serve as (at least a portion of) the implicit indication503that CSI-RS resources configured by the beam management configuration501have phase continuity across the respective TX beams of the base station502.

The base station502may transmit, to the UE504, a respective set of RSs507(e.g., one or more RSs) on each of two or more TX beams of the base station502. Correspondingly, the UE504may receive, using a set of RX beams of the UE504, a respective set of RSs507on each of the two or more TX beams from the base station502. In some aspects, the UE504may receive the respective sets of RSs507on each of the two or more TX beams from the base station502based on the beam management configuration501. For example, the beam management configuration501may configure a set of CSI-RS resources, and the UE504may receive each respective set of CSI-RSs carried on CSI-RS resources on each of the two or more TX beams from the base station502based on the beam management configuration501configuring the CSI-RS resources.

In some other aspects, each of the RSs507may be (or may include) an SSB. The UE504may receive a respective SSB carried on a respective resource on each of the two or more beams from the base station502, with each SSB identifying the respective beam of the two or more beams on which that SSB is transmitted. For example, according to the operation505, the UE504may receive a respective SSB on each of two or more resources determined to have phase continuity across the two or more beams on which the two or more resources are configured.

According to the operation505, the UE504may determine that resources carrying RSs507on two or more beams from the base station502have phase continuity. Therefore, at operation509, the UE504may determine joint channel information based on individual measurements for the RSs507carried on two or more resources on two or more beams from the base station502having phase continuity. Each of the individual measurements may correspond to a respective one of the two or more beams on which a respective one of the RSs507is received. As the resources on which the RSs507are received have phase continuity on the two or more beams from the base station502, the individual measurements respectively corresponding to the two or more beams may be used to determine (e.g., estimate) the joint channel information.

In some aspects, the joint channel information may include information indicating an estimation of the effective joint channel, e.g., with the effective joint channel being represented as Heff. Accordingly, at operation509, the UE504may determine the joint channel information, including information estimating the effective joint channel Heff, based on pair-wise estimation of individual components (e.g., two or more beam pair links between the UE504and the base station502) according to Equation 3, supra.

In some other aspects, the joint channel information may include mutual information associated with the joint channel (e.g., effective joint channel), and the UE504may determine (e.g., compute, calculate, etc.) the mutual information based on a respective estimation of each of the individual components composing the joint channel (e.g., two or more beam pair links of the effective joint channel). For example, the mutual information associated with the joint channel may include a respective measurement value measured for each of the RSs507on resources on the two or more beams from the base station502having phase continuity. A respective measurement value may be based on at least one of an SNR, SINR, RSRP, and/or RSRQ measured for each of the RSs507on resources of the two or more beams having phase continuity.

Accordingly, the UE504may generate a group-based beam report511that includes the joint channel information, which may be determined by the UE504based on individual measurements corresponding to each of the two or more beams from the base station502. For example, the group-based beam report511may include joint channel information that is based on one or more of a rank, a CQI (e.g., a per-stream CQI), a PMI, an LI, an SNR, an SINR, an RSRP, and/or an RSRQ individually determined for each of the two or more beams from the base station502on which the resources (e.g., CSI-RS resources) having phase continuity is transmitted. In some aspects, the UE504may generate the group-based beam report511based on the beam management configuration501and/or the (explicit or implicit) indication503.

The UE504may then transmit the group-based beam report511to the base station502. Correspondingly, the base station502may receive the group-based beam report511from the UE504. At operation513, the base station502may then configure two or more beams for TX/RX with the UE504based on the group-based beam report511(e.g., based on the joint channel information). For example, the base station502may select two or more beams for TX/RX by the UE504based on the group-based beam report511(e.g., based on the joint channel information). In some aspects of operation513, the base station502may configure simultaneous TX/RX by the UE504using two or more selected beams based on the group-based beam report511. In some other aspects of operation513, the base station502may configure non-simultaneous TX/RX by the UE504using two or more selected beams based on the group-based beam report511.

Accordingly, at operation515, the base station502and the UE504may communicate using the two or more beams selected for TX/RX by the UE504. For example, the base station502may transmit, to the UE504, information configuring two or more beams (e.g., two or more beam pairs links) selected for TX/RX by the UE504. In some aspects of operation515, the UE504may communicate with the base station502using two or more beams selected for simultaneous TX/RX, e.g., based on the configuration of the two or more beams by the base station502according to the joint channel information included in the group-based beam report511, as shown at operation513. In some other aspects of operation515, the UE504may communicate with the base station502using two or more beams selected for non-simultaneous TX/RX, e.g., based on the configuration of the two or more beams by the base station502according to the joint channel information included in the group-based beam report511, as shown at operation513.

FIG.6is a flowchart of a method600of wireless communication. The method600may be performed by a UE or a component of a UE (e.g., the UE104,350,404,504; a processing system, which may include the memory360and which may be the entire UE350or a component of the UE350, such as the TX processor368, the RX processor356, and/or the controller/processor359) and/or an apparatus (e.g., an apparatus802). According to various different aspects, one or more of the illustrated blocks of the method600may be transposed, omitted, and/or contemporaneously performed.

The method600may enable the UE to determine joint channel information and/or joint beam information (e.g., characteristics, properties, etc.) for multiple beams using individual measurements for the beams. The method600may improve beam management for TX/RX using multiple beams while reducing the overhead (e.g., signaling, processing, etc.) that may otherwise be commensurate with determination of joint beam information for multiple beams using individual measurements for the multiple beams.

At602, the UE may receive, from a base station, an indication of whether resources on two or more beams from the base station have phase continuity. In some aspects, the indication may be explicit—e.g., a CSI reporting configuration enabling group-based beam reporting may include information explicitly indicating that CSI-RS resources configured by the CSI reporting configuration have phase continuity on two or more beams from the base station. In some other aspects, the indication may be implicit—e.g., the UE may derive the indication of whether resources on two or more beams from the base station have phase continuity based on some information or combination of different information received from the base station. For example, the indication may implicitly indicate that CSI-RS resources on two or more beams from the base station have phase continuity when the CSI-RS resources are configured by a CSI reporting configuration associated with a same CSI report configuration ID and/or associated with a same CSI report configuration enabling the group-based beam report. Illustratively, an implicit indication may be received by the UE informing the UE that CSI-RS resources 1, 4, 6, and 10 on a first set of two or more beams from the base station may be assumed to have phase continuity. Potentially, the implicit indication may indicate, to the UE, a second set of CSI-RS resources on two or more beams (e.g., two or more beams different from the first set) from the base station have phase continuity, but do not have phase continuity with CSI resources 1, 4, 6, and 10 on the first set of two or more beams from the base station. In effect, the UE may receive an indication of which RS resources may be grouped together to derive joint channel properties based on individual measurements respectively corresponding to beams of different multi-beam sets from the base station.

In the context ofFIG.5, the UE504may receive, from the base station502, an indication503of whether RS resources on two or more beams from the base station502have phase continuity. In some aspects, the beam management configuration501may have information that explicitly or implicitly includes the indication503.

At604, the UE may determine whether resources on two or more beams from the base station have phase continuity. In some aspects, the UE may determine that resources on two or more beams from the base station have phase continuity based on the indication received from the base station. For example, the indication may be implicit so that the UE may determine that resources on the two or more beams from the base station have phase continuity based on application of at least one rule and/or relationship to information or a combination of different information received from the base station. Such rule(s) and/or relationship(s) may be preconfigured in the UE and/or may be configured in the UE by the base station.

Illustratively, the base station may enforce phase continuity for resources on beams that are associated with the same CSI reporting configuration in which group-based beam reporting is enabled when the CSI reporting configuration is associated with at least one specific multiplexing mode (e.g., at least one of TDM, FDM, and/or SDM) and/or at least one specific use case (e.g., eMBB and/or URLLC). For example, at least one rule and/or relationship may define that all CSI-RS resources configured by the same CSI reporting configuration enabling group-based beam reporting have phase continuity on two or more beams from the base station when the CSI reporting configuration is associated with an SDM multiplexing mode and/or is associated with eMBB use case. Thus, when the UE receives a CSI reporting configuration enabling group-based beam reporting and the CSI reporting configuration is for SDM and eMBB, the UE may determine that all CSI-RS resources configured by the CSI reporting configuration have phase continuity on two or more beams from the base station based on application of at least one rule and/or relationship to the information indicating that the CSI reporting configuration is for SDM and eMBB, which implicit indicates that the associated CSI-RS resources on two or more beams from the base station have phase continuity.

In the context ofFIG.5, at operation505, the UE504may determine whether RS resources on two or more beams from the base station502have phase continuity. The UE504may determine whether the RS resources on the two or more beams from the base station502have phase continuity based on the (explicit or implicit) indication503, which may be included in the beam management configuration501.

If, at604, the UE determines that the resources on two or more beams from the base station do not have phase continuity (e.g., the resources on two or more beams from the base station are phase discontinuous), then:

At606, the UE may refrain from determining joint channel and/or joint beam information based on individual measurements respectively corresponding to the two or more beams. For example, the UE may receive RSs carried on resources on two or more beams from the base station, and the UE may individually measure values respectively corresponding to the two or more beams in response to receiving the RSs. However, the UE may refrain from using the individually measured values respectively corresponding to the two or more beams to determine joint channel and/or joint beam information (e.g., mutual information).

In the context ofFIG.5, at operation505, if the UE504determines that RS resources on two or more beams from the base station502are phase discontinuous (e.g., based on the indication503), then the UE504may refrain from determining joint channel information, as shown at operation509, in response to receiving the RSs507on resources on two or more beams from the base station502.

If, at604, the UE determines that the resources on two or more beams from the base station do have phase continuity (e.g., the resources on two or more beams from the base station are phase discontinuous), then:

At608, the UE may determine joint channel information associated with the two or more beams using individual measurements respectively corresponding to the two or more beams. For example, the UE may receive RSs (e.g., CSI-RSs and/or SSBs) on resources on two or more beams from the base station that have phase continuity. In some aspects, the UE may individually measure at least one measurement value for each RS received via each of the two or more beams from the base station. For example, the UE may individually measure at least one RSRP, RSRQ, SINR, and/or SNR value corresponding to each of the two or more beams in response to receiving a respective RS via each of the two or more beams from the base station. In another example, the UE may perform pair-wise estimation of individual components respectively associated with the two or more beams forming beam pair links with the base station, as shown in Equation 3, supra. The UE may determine the joint channel information based on the individually measured at least one measurement value received via each of the two or more beams from the base station and/or based on pair-wise estimation of individual components respectively associated with the two or more beams. For example, the UE may determine (e.g., calculate, compute, etc.) mutual information based on individual measurements respectively corresponding to the two or more beams from the base station and/or may determine (e.g., estimate, calculate, etc.) the effective (joint) channel Heffbased on pair-wise estimation of individual components respectively associated with the two or more beams.

In the context ofFIG.5, at operation509, the UE504may the UE504may determine joint channel information based on individual measurements for the RSs507carried on two or more resources on two or more beams from the base station502having phase continuity. Each of the individual measurements may correspond to a respective one of the two or more beams on which a respective one of the RSs507is received. In some aspects of operation509, the UE504may determine the joint channel information, including information estimating the effective joint channel Heff, based on pair-wise estimation of individual components (e.g., two or more beam pair links between the UE504and the base station502) according to Equation 3, supra. In some other aspects of operation509, the joint channel information may include mutual information associated with the joint channel (e.g., effective joint channel), and the UE504may determine (e.g., compute, calculate, etc.) the mutual information based on a respective measurement value measured for each of the RSs507on resources on the two or more beams from the base station502having phase continuity.

At610, the UE may transmit, to the base station, a group-based beam report including the joint channel information. In some aspects, the group-based beam report may be based on a reporting configuration received from the base station, such as a CSI reporting configuration in which group-based beam reporting is enabled. In some aspects, the group-based beam report may indicate two or more measurement values respectively corresponding to two or more beams from the base station. For example, the UE may include, in the group-based beam report, a first measurement value corresponding to a representative beam, with the first measurement value being a “highest” or “best” measurement value relative to other measurement values corresponding to other beams. In addition, the UE may include, in the group-based beam report, one or more other measurement values respectively corresponding to one or more other beams, such as the next highest or next best measurement value(s); however, the one or more other measurement values may be differentially represented relative to the first measurement value.

In the context ofFIG.5, the UE504may transmit, to the base station502, the group-based beam report511including joint channel information, which may be determined by the UE504based on individual measurements corresponding to each of the two or more beams from the base station502. For example, the group-based beam report511may include joint channel information that is based on one or more of a rank, a CQI (e.g., a per-stream CQI), a PMI, an LI, an SNR, an SINR, an RSRP, and/or an RSRQ individually determined for each of the two or more beams from the base station502on which the resources (e.g., CSI-RS resources) having phase continuity are transmitted.

At612, the UE may communicate with the base station on a joint channel configured by the base station. For example, the UE may receive, from the base station, information configuring the joint channel in response to the group-based beam report. The UE may be configured for TX/RX, which may or may not be simultaneous, using two or more beams selected by the base station based on the group-based beam report. For example, the UE may receive signaling from the base station using multiple (simultaneous) spatial filters, that may be configured for the UE based on the group-based beam report. The UE may receive, from the base station, data and/or control information on the joint channel using the two or more beams selected by the base station.

In the context ofFIG.5, the UE504may communicate with the base station502using the two or more beams selected for TX/RX of the UE504based on the group-based beam report511, as shown at operation515. For example, the UE504may receive, from the base station502, information configuring two or more beams (e.g., two or more beam pairs links) selected for TX/RX by the UE504based on the joint channel information included in the group-based beam report511, as shown at operation513.

FIG.7is a flowchart of a method700of wireless communication. The method700may be performed by a base station or a component of a base station (e.g., the base station102/180,310,402,502; a processing system, which may include the memory376and which may be the entire base station310or a component of the base station310, such as the TX processor316, the RX processor370, and/or the controller/processor375) and/or an apparatus (e.g., an apparatus902). According to various different aspects, one or more of the illustrated blocks of the method700may be transposed, omitted, and/or contemporaneously performed.

The method700may assist a base station in more accurately determining joint channel and/or joint beam information (e.g., properties and/or characteristics) for communication with a UE using multiple beams based on individual measurements respectively corresponding to the beams. The method700may improve beam management for TX/RX using multiple beams while reducing the overhead (e.g., signaling, processing, etc.) that may otherwise be commensurate with determination of joint beam characteristics for multiple beams using individual measurements for the multiple beams.

At702, the base station may transmit, to a UE, an indication that two or more resources on two or more beams from the base station have phase continuity. For example, the indication may assist the UE in determining that respective RSs carried on two or more RS resources respectively on two or more beams from the base station have phase continuity. According to different aspects, the indication may be implicit, explicit, or a combination thereof. For example, the indication may be included in an CSI reporting configuration, which may enable group-based beam reporting by the UE.

Some aspects of such an indication may include an implicit indication that is based on at least one rule and/or relationship, which may be preconfigured (e.g., in the base station and/or the UE) or may be configured by the base station for the UE. The base station may apply and/or enforce phase continuity across two or more resources on two or more beams from the base station according to at least one rule and/or relationship for at least one multiplexing mode and/or at least one use case associated with CSI reporting by the UE. According to at least one rule and/or relationship, for example, the base station may apply and/or enforce phase continuity across two or more resources on two or more beams from the base station when the UE is configured for CSI reporting that is associated with an SDM multiplexing mode and/or eMBB use case. In other examples, the multiplexing mode may include at least one of FDM, SDM, and/or TDM, while the use case may include eMBB and/or URLLC.

Some other aspects of such an indication may include an indication that CSI-RS resources configured for the UE by the base station have phase continuity on two or more beams from the base station when associated with a same CSI report configuration ID and/or a same CSI report configuration in which group-based beam reporting is enabled. For example, such other aspects of an indication may be explicitly signaled by the base station to the UE.

Some further aspects of such an indication may indicate respective groups of RS resources on different sets of two or more beams from the base station, and each respective group of RS resources on a respective set of two or more beams from the base station may have phase continuity within the group of RS resources, but not necessarily across groups of RS resources. In other words, the base station may indicate multiple groups of CSI-RS resources having phase continuity within a respective group. Thus, the base station may indicate, to the UE, which CSI-RS resources may be grouped together to derive joint channel properties based on individual measurements respectively corresponding to two or more beams on which one or more groups of CSI-RS resources having phase continuity are configured.

For example, the base station apply and/or enforce phase continuity across a first group of CSI-RS resources 1, 4, 6, and 10 on a first set of two or more beams from the base station, and the base station may transmit an indication of the same to the UE. Additionally, the base station may apply and/or enforce phase continuity across a second set of CSI-RS resources (e.g., other than CSI-RS resources 1, 4, 6, and 10) on a second set of two or more beams from the base station, and the base station may transmit, to the UE, and indication that the second set of CSI-RS resources on the second set of two or more beams from the base station have phase continuity. However, the base station may not apply and/or enforce phase continuity between the first and second groups of CSI-RS resources respectively on the first and second sets of beams from the base station. Therefore, the UE may not assume phase continuity across the first and second groups of CSI-RS resources respectively on the first and second sets of beams from the base station.

In the context ofFIG.5, the base station502may transmit, to the UE504, an indication503of whether RS resources on two or more beams from the base station502have phase continuity. In some aspects, the beam management configuration501may have information that explicitly or implicitly includes the indication503.

At704, the base station may receive, from the UE, a group-based beam report including joint channel information that is based on individual measurements respectively corresponding to the two or more beams on which the resources having phase continuity are configured. For example, the group-based beam report may include joint channel information that is based on individual measurement values respectively measured by the UE using RSs (e.g., CSI-RSs and/or SSBs) on resources on two or more beams from the base station that have phase continuity. The group-based beam report may be based on a CSI reporting configuration transmitted to the UE by the base station, such as a CSI reporting configuration enabling group-based beam reporting by the UE and/or (explicitly or implicitly) indicating resources on two or more beams from the base station having phase continuity.

In some aspects, the joint channel information may include mutual information determined by the UE from RSs on resources on two or more beams from the base station having phase continuity. For example, the joint channel information, e.g., mutual information, may be based on at least one respective RSRP, RSRQ, SINR, and/or SNR measurement value, measured by the UE, corresponding to each of the two or more beams on which RS resources having phase continuity are configured.

In some other aspects, the joint channel information may include information indicating estimation of the effective (joint) channel Heff. For example, the joint channel information may include information associated with the effective joint channel Heffthat is based on pair-wise estimation, by the UE, of individual components respectively associated with the two or more beams forming beam pair links with the base station, e.g., as shown in Equation 3, supra.

In some further aspects, the group-based beam report may include information indicating two or more measurement values respectively corresponding to two or more beams from the base station. For example, the group-based beam report may include a first measurement value corresponding to a representative beam, which may be a beam corresponding to a “highest” or “best” measurement value measured by the UE relative to other measurement values measured corresponding to other beams. In addition, the group-based beam report may include one or more other measurement values measured by the UE that respectively correspond to one or more other beams, such as the next highest or next best measurement value(s) measured by the UE; however, the one or more other measurement values may be differentially represented relative to the first measurement value in the group-based beam report.

In the context ofFIG.5, the base station502may receive, from the UE504, the group-based beam report511including joint channel information, which may be determined by the UE504based on individual measurements corresponding to each of the two or more beams from the base station502. In some aspects, the group-based beam report511may include joint channel information (e.g., mutual information) that is based on one or more of a rank, a CQI (e.g., a per-stream CQI), a PMI, an LI, an SNR, an SINR, an RSRP, and/or an RSRQ individually determined for each of the two or more beams from the base station502on which the resources (e.g., CSI-RS resources) having phase continuity are transmitted. In some other aspects, the group-based beam report may include joint channel information indicating estimation of the effective joint channel Heffby the UE504based on pair-wise estimation of individual components (e.g., two or more beam pair links between the UE504and the base station502), e.g., according to Equation 3, supra. In some further aspects, the group-based beam report511may include two or more measurement values (e.g., measured by the UE504based on RSs507received via the two or more beams from the base station502) respectively corresponding to two or more beams from the base station502, such as two or more beams on which RS resources having phase continuity are configured.

At706, the base station may configure communication with the UE on a joint channel including two or more beams based on the group-based beam report. In some aspects, the base station may configure simultaneous TX/RX for the UE based on the group-based beam report—e.g., the base station may configure multiple simultaneous spatial filters of the UE based on the group-based beam report. In some other aspects, the base station may configure non-simultaneous TX/RX for the UE (e.g., TDM communication) based on the group-based beam report—e.g., the base station may configure multiple non-simultaneous spatial filters of the UE based on the group-based beam report.

In some aspects, the base station may select two or more beams on a joint channel for multi-beam communication with the UE based on the group-based beam report (e.g., based on the joint channel information). For example, the base station may select the two or more beams on the joint channel based on joint channel information indicating estimation of the effective joint channel Heffby the UE that is based on pair-wise estimation of individual components by the UE (e.g., two or more beam pair links between the UE and the base station). Additionally or alternatively, the base station may select the two or more beams on the joint channel based on mutual information determined (e.g., computed, calculated, etc.) by the UE from individual measurements respectively corresponding to the two or more beams.

In the context ofFIG.5, at operation513, the base station502may configure two or more beams for TX/RX with the UE504based on the group-based beam report511(e.g., based on the joint channel information). For example, the base station502may select two or more beams for TX/RX by the UE504based on the group-based beam report511(e.g., based on the joint channel information). In some aspects of operation513, the base station502may configure simultaneous TX/RX by the UE504using two or more selected beams based on the group-based beam report511. In some other aspects of operation513, the base station502may configure non-simultaneous TX/RX by the UE504using two or more selected beams based on the group-based beam report511. The base station502may transmit, to the UE504, information configuring two or more beams (e.g., two or more beam pairs links) selected for TX/RX by the UE504.

At708, the base station may communicate with the UE on the joint channel configured by the base station. For example, the base station may transmit, to the UE, information configuring the joint channel in response to the group-based beam report, such as information indicating two or more beams selected by the base station for the joint channel based on the joint channel information included in the group-based beam report. In some aspects, the base station may transmit, to the UE, data and/or control information on the joint channel using the two or more beams selected by the base station.

In the context ofFIG.5, at operation515, the base station502and the UE504may communicate on the joint using the two or more beams selected for TX/RX by the UE504. For example, the base station502may transmit data and/or control information to the UE504using two or more selected beams, for example, simultaneously (e.g., in an SDM multiplexing mode) or non-simultaneously (e.g., in a TDM multiplexing mode).

FIG.8is a diagram800illustrating an example of a hardware implementation for an apparatus802. The apparatus802is a UE and includes a cellular baseband processor804(also referred to as a modem) coupled to a cellular RF transceiver822and one or more subscriber identity modules (SIM) cards820, an application processor806coupled to a secure digital (SD) card808and a screen810, a Bluetooth module812, a wireless local area network (WLAN) module814, a Global Positioning System (GPS) module816, and a power supply818. The cellular baseband processor804communicates through the cellular RF transceiver822with the UE104and/or BS102/180. The cellular baseband processor804may include a computer-readable medium/memory. The computer-readable medium/memory may be non-transitory. The cellular baseband processor804is responsible for general processing, including the execution of software stored on the computer-readable medium/memory. The software, when executed by the cellular baseband processor804, causes the cellular baseband processor804to perform the various functions described supra. The computer-readable medium/memory may also be used for storing data that is manipulated by the cellular baseband processor804when executing software. The cellular baseband processor804further includes a reception component830, a communication manager832, and a transmission component834. The communication manager832includes the one or more illustrated components. The components within the communication manager832may be stored in the computer-readable medium/memory and/or configured as hardware within the cellular baseband processor804. The cellular baseband processor804may be a component of the UE350and may include the memory360and/or at least one of the TX processor368, the RX processor356, and the controller/processor359. In one configuration, the apparatus802may be a modem chip and include just the baseband processor804, and in another configuration, the apparatus802may be the entire UE (e.g., see350ofFIG.3) and include the aforediscussed additional modules of the apparatus802.

The reception component830may be configured to receive, from the base station102/180, an indication that two or more resources on two or more beams from the base station have phase continuity, e.g., as described in connection with602ofFIG.6. The indication may be explicit, implicit, or a combination thereof. In some aspects, the indication may be included in a CSI report configuration enabling group-based beam reporting by the apparatus802. For example, the CSI report configuration may configure the two or more resources on the two or more beams having phase continuity.

The CSI report configuration may be associated with at least one of a multiplexing mode and/or a use case. For example, the at least one of the multiplexing mode and/or the use case may include at least one of a TDM mode, FDM mode, and/or SDM mode, and/or at least one of an eMBB use case and/or a URLLC use case.

According to various aspects, the communication manager832may include a phase determination component840that is configured to determine that two or more resources one two or more beams from the base station102/180have phase continuity, e.g., as described in connection with604ofFIG.6. The phase determination component840may receive input(s), such as the indication from the reception component930, and the two or more resources on the two or more beams from the base station may be determined to have the phase continuity based on the indication.

For example, the phase determination component840may determine that the two or more resources on the two or more beams from the base station have phase continuity based on at least one rule and/or relationship that defines the at least one of the multiplexing mode and/or the use case associated with the CSI report configuration implicitly indicates that the resources configured by the CSI report configuration have phase continuity on the two or more beams from the base station102/180—e.g., the at least one of the multiplexing mode and/or the use case associated with the CSI report configuration may include a SDM mode and an eMBB use case.

In some aspects, the reception component830may receive, from the base station102/180, at least one of a CSI-RS and/or an SSB on a respective resource of the two or more resources on a respective beam of the two or more beams. The communication manager832may further include an individualization component842that receives, as input(s) from the reception component830, the CSI-RSs and/or SSBs on the two or more resources on the two or more beams from the base station102/180. The individualization component842may be configured to determine each of two or more individual measurements corresponding to a respective beam of the two or more beams based on the at least one of the CSI-RS and/or the SSB carried on a respective resource of the two or more resources on the respective beam of the two or more beams. For example, each of the two or more individual measurements may include at least one value measured for an RSRP, RSRQ, SINR, and/or SNR based on receiving the at least one of the CSI-RS and/or the SSB carried on a respective resource of the two or more resources on the respective beam of the two or more beams.

In some further aspects, the individualization component842may determine the individual measurements respectively corresponding to the two or more beams by performing pair-wise estimation of individual components associated with the two or more beams from the base station102/180(e.g., as shown in Equation 3, supra). The pair-wise estimation of the individual components may be further associated with two or more beams of the apparatus802, such as two or more RX beams of the apparatus802respectively paired with two or more TX beams of the base station102/180to form two or more beam-pair links.

The communication manager832may further include a joint channel information component844, which may receive, as input(s) from the phase determination component840, information indicating a determination of whether the two or more resources on the two or more beams from the base station102/180have phase continuity or do not have phase continuity (e.g., are phase discontinuous). The joint channel information component844may be configured to refrain from determining joint channel information associated with the two or more beams using individual measurements respectively corresponding to the two or more beams in response to a determination that the two or more resources on the two or more beams from the base station102/180do not have phase continuity (e.g., according to the input(s) received from the phase determination component840) e.g., as described in connection with606ofFIG.6.

The joint channel information component844may be further configured to receive, as input(s) from the individualization component842, the individual measurements respectively corresponding to the two or more beams from the base station102/180. In some aspects, the joint channel information component844may be configured to determine, based on the two or more resources on the two or more beams having phase continuity (e.g., according to the input(s) received from the phase determination component840), joint channel information associated with the two or more beams using individual measurements respectively corresponding to the two or more beams, e.g., as described in connection with608ofFIG.6.

According to one example, the joint channel information component844may be configured to determine joint channel information associated with the two or more beams by determining (e.g., estimating, computing, calculating, etc.) an effective (joint) channel (e.g., as shown in Equation 3, supra), which may be based on input(s) received from the individualization component842indicating pair-wise estimation of individual components associated with the two or more beams from the base station102/180.

According to another example, the joint channel information component844may be configured to determine joint channel information associated with the two or more beams by determining (e.g., estimating, computing, calculating, etc.) mutual information, which may be based on input(s) received from the individualization component842indicating the individual measurements respectively corresponding to the two or more beams.

The joint channel information component844may be configured to provide, as input(s) to the transmission component834, the joint channel information associated with the two or more beams from the base station102/180. The transmission component834may be configured to transmit, to the base station102/180, a group-based beam report that includes the joint channel information associated with the two or more beams from the base station102/180, e.g., as described in connection with610ofFIG.6.

The reception component830may be further configured to receive, from the base station102/180based on the group-based beam report, information configuring communication with the base station102/180on a joint channel that includes the two or more beams from the base station102/180respectively paired with two or more beams from the apparatus802. In some aspects, the information configuring the communication with the base station102/180on the joint channel may further include information configuring TX/RX using the two or more beams from the apparatus802respectively paired with the two or more beams from the base station102/180. For example, the information configuring the TX/RX may configure at least one of simultaneous TX/RX or non-simultaneous TX/RX that is time-division multiplexed.

The communication manager832may further include a communication component846, which may receive, as input(s) from the reception component830, the information configuring communication with the base station102/180on the joint channel that includes the two or more beams from the base station102/180respectively paired with the two or more beams from the apparatus802. The communication component846may be configured to communicate with the base station102/180on the joint channel configured by the base station102/180, e.g., as described in connection with612ofFIG.6. For example, the communication component846may be configured to communicate with the base station102/180on the joint channel configured by the base station102/180based on the information configuring communication with the base station102/180on the joint channel that includes the two or more beams from the base station102/180respectively paired with the two or more beams from the apparatus802(e.g., received as input(s) from the reception component830).

The apparatus802may include additional components that perform some or all of the blocks, operations, signaling, etc. of the algorithms in the aforementioned call flow diagram ofFIG.5and/or flowchart ofFIG.6. As such, some or all of the blocks, operations, signaling, etc. in the aforementioned call flow diagram ofFIG.5and/or flowchart ofFIG.6may be performed by a component and the apparatus may include one or more of those components. The components may be one or more hardware components specifically configured to carry out the stated processes/algorithm, implemented by a processor configured to perform the stated processes/algorithm, stored within a computer-readable medium for implementation by a processor, or some combination thereof.

In one configuration, the apparatus802, and in particular the cellular baseband processor804, includes means for determining that two or more resources on two or more beams from a base station have phase continuity; means for determining, based on the two or more resources on the two or more beams having the phase continuity, joint channel information associated with the two or more beams using individual measurements respectively corresponding to the two or more beams; and means for transmitting, to the base station, a group-based beam report including the joint channel information associated with the two or more beams.

In some aspects, the apparatus802, and in particular the cellular baseband processor804, may further include means for receiving, from the base station, an indication that the two or more resources on the two or more beams from the base station have the phase continuity. The two or more resources on the two or more beams from the base station may be determined to have the phase continuity based on the indication.

In some aspects, the indication includes a CSI report configuration enabling group-based beam reporting, and the CSI report configuration configures the two or more resources on the two or more beams having the phase continuity.

In some aspects, the CSI report configuration is associated with at least one of a multiplexing mode or a use case, and the two or more resources on the two or more beams from the base station are determined to have the phase continuity based on the at least one of the multiplexing mode or the use case.

In some aspects, the at least one of the multiplexing mode or the use case includes at least one of a TDM mode, FDM mode, and/or SDM mode, and/or at least one of an eMBB use case and/or a URLLC use case.

In some aspects, each of the two or more resources carries at least one of a CSI-RS and/or an SSB.

In some aspects, the apparatus802, and in particular the cellular baseband processor804, may further include means for determining each of the individual measurements corresponding to a respective beam of the two or more beams based on at least one of the CSI-RS or the SSB carried on a respective resource of the two or more resources on the respective beam of the two or more beams.

In some aspects, the joint channel information includes information estimating an effective joint channel that is based on pair-wise estimation of individual components respectively associated with each of the two or more beams.

In some aspects, the joint channel information includes mutual information that is based on the individual measurements respectively corresponding to the two or more beams.

In some aspects, the apparatus802, and in particular the cellular baseband processor804, may further include means for receiving, from the base station based on the group-based beam report, information configuring communication with the base station on a joint channel that includes the two or more beams from the base station respectively paired with two or more beams from the apparatus802; and means for communicating with the base station on the joint channel based on the information configuring the communication with the base station on the joint channel.

In some aspects, the information configuring the communication with the base station on the joint channel further includes information configuring TX/RX using the two or more beams from the apparatus802respectively paired with the two or more beams from the base station, and the information configuring the TX/RX configures at least one of simultaneous TX/RX or non-simultaneous TX/RX that is time-division multiplexed.

The aforementioned means may be one or more of the aforementioned components of the apparatus802configured to perform the functions recited by the aforementioned means. As described supra, the apparatus802may include the TX Processor368, the RX Processor356, and the controller/processor359. As such, in one configuration, the aforementioned means may be the TX Processor368, the RX Processor356, and the controller/processor359configured to perform the functions recited by the aforementioned means.

FIG.9is a diagram900illustrating an example of a hardware implementation for an apparatus902. The apparatus902is a BS and includes a baseband unit904. The baseband unit904may communicate through a cellular RF transceiver with the UE104. The baseband unit904may include a computer-readable medium/memory. The baseband unit904is responsible for general processing, including the execution of software stored on the computer-readable medium/memory. The software, when executed by the baseband unit904, causes the baseband unit904to perform the various functions described supra. The computer-readable medium/memory may also be used for storing data that is manipulated by the baseband unit904when executing software. The baseband unit904further includes a reception component930, a communication manager932, and a transmission component934. The communication manager932includes the one or more illustrated components. The components within the communication manager932may be stored in the computer-readable medium/memory and/or configured as hardware within the baseband unit904. The baseband unit904may be a component of the base station310and may include the memory376and/or at least one of the TX processor316, the RX processor370, and the controller/processor375.

In some aspects, the communication manager932may include a phase configuration component940that is configured to apply and/or enforce phase continuity across two or more resources on two or more beams from the apparatus902. For example, each of the two or more resources may be configured to carry at least one of a CSI-RS and/or an SSB.

The phase configuration component940may provide, as input(s) to the transmission component934, information indicating that the two or more resources on the two or more beams from the apparatus902have phase continuity. The transmission component934may be configured to transmit, to the UE104, an indication that the two or more resources on the two or more beams from the apparatus902have phase continuity, e.g., as described in connection with702ofFIG.7. The indication may be implicit, explicit, or some combination thereof.

In some aspects, the indication may include a CSI report configuration enabling group-based beam reporting by the UE104. For example, the CSI report configuration may configure the two or more resources on the two or more beams having phase continuity.

Potentially, the CSI report configuration may be associated with at least one of a multiplexing mode and/or a use case, and the indication includes the at least one of the multiplexing mode and/or the use case. For example, the at least one of the multiplexing mode and/or the use case may include at least one of a TDM mode, FDM mode, and/or SDM mode, and/or at least one of an eMBB use case and/or a URLLC use case.

The reception component930may be configured to receive, from the UE104, a group-based beam report including joint channel information that is based on individual measurements respectively corresponding to the two or more beams on which the two or more resources having phase continuity are configured, e.g., as described in connection with704ofFIG.7. The reception component930may be configured to receive the group-based beam report from the UE104based on the transmitted indication.

In some aspects, the joint channel information may include information estimating an effective (joint) channel that is based on pair-wise estimation by the UE104of individual components respectively associated with the two or more beams from the apparatus902. In some other aspects, the joint channel information associated with the two or more beams from the apparatus902is based on individual measurements by the UE104that respectively correspond to the two or more beams from the apparatus902. For example, the joint channel information may include mutual information determined by the UE104based on the individual measurements by the UE that respectively correspond to the two or more beams.

In some aspects, the communication manager932may include a joint channel configuration component942that receives, as input(s) from the reception component930, the group-based beam report including joint channel information that is based on individual measurements respectively corresponding to the two or more beams on which the two or more resources having phase continuity are configured. The joint channel configuration component942may be configured to configure, based on the group-based beam report, communication with the UE104on a joint channel that includes the two or more beams from the apparatus902respectively paired with two or more beams from the UE104, e.g., as described in connection with706ofFIG.7.

For example, the joint channel configuration component942may configure, based on the group-based beam report, the communication with the UE104on the joint channel by configuring TX/RX using the two or more beams from the UE104respectively paired with the two or more beams from the apparatus902. The TX/RX using the two or more beams from the UE104respectively paired with the two or more beams from the apparatus902may include at least one of simultaneous TX/RX or non-simultaneous TX/RX that is time-division multiplexed.

In some aspects, the transmission component934may receive, as input(s) from the joint channel configuration component942, information indicating the configuration of the communication with the UE104on the joint channel that includes the two or more beams from the apparatus902respectively paired with two or more beams from the UE104. The transmission component934may be further configured to transmit, to the UE104, the information indicating the configuration of the communication with the UE104on the joint channel that includes the two or more beams from the apparatus902respectively paired with two or more beams from the UE104.

In some aspects, the communication manager932may include a joint channel communication component944that receives, as input(s) from the joint channel configuration component942, information indicating the configuration of the communication with the UE104on the joint channel that includes the two or more beams from the apparatus902respectively paired with two or more beams from the UE104. The joint channel communication component944may be configured to communicate with the UE104on the joint channel, e.g., as described in connection with708ofFIG.7. For example, the joint channel communication component944may communicate with the UE104on the joint channel based on transmission, to the UE104by the transmission component934, of the information configuring the communication with the UE104on the joint channel.

The apparatus902may include additional components that perform some or all of the blocks, operations, signaling, etc. of the algorithms in the aforementioned call flow diagram ofFIG.5and/or flowchart ofFIG.7. As such, some or all of the blocks, operations, signaling, etc. in the aforementioned call flow diagram ofFIG.5and/or flowchart ofFIG.7may be performed by a component and the apparatus may include one or more of those components. The components may be one or more hardware components specifically configured to carry out the stated processes/algorithm, implemented by a processor configured to perform the stated processes/algorithm, stored within a computer-readable medium for implementation by a processor, or some combination thereof.

In one configuration, the apparatus902, and in particular the baseband unit904, includes means for transmitting, to a UE, an indication that two or more resources on two or more beams from the apparatus902have phase continuity; and means for receiving, from the UE based on the indication, a group-based beam report including joint channel information associated with the two or more beams.

In some aspects, the joint channel information includes information estimating an effective joint channel that is based on pair-wise estimation by the UE of individual components respectively associated with the two or more beams.

In some aspects, the joint channel information associated with the two or more beams from the apparatus902is based on individual measurements by the UE that respectively correspond to the two or more beams.

In some aspects, the joint channel information includes mutual information determined by the UE based on the individual measurements by the UE that respectively correspond to the two or more beams.

In some aspects, the indication includes a CSI report configuration enabling group-based beam reporting by the UE, and the CSI report configuration configures the two or more resources on the two or more beams having the phase continuity.

In some aspects, the CSI report configuration is associated with at least one of a multiplexing mode and/or a use case, and the indication comprises the at least one of the multiplexing mode and/or the use case.

In some aspects, the at least one of the multiplexing mode and/or the use case includes at least one of a TDM mode, FDM mode, and/or SDM mode, and/or at least one of an eMBB use case and/or a URLLC use case.

In some aspects, each of the two or more resources carries at least one of a CSI-RS and/or an SSB.

In some aspects, the apparatus902, and in particular the baseband unit904, may further include means for configuring, based on the group-based beam report, communication with the UE on a joint channel that includes the two or more beams from the apparatus902respectively paired with two or more beams from the UE; and means for communication with the UE on the joint channel based on transmitting, to the UE, information configuring the communication with the UE on the joint channel.

In some aspects, the means for the configuring, based on the group-based beam report, the communication with the UE on the joint channel is configured to configure TX/RX using the two or more beams from the UE respectively paired with the two or more beams from the apparatus902, and the TX/RX using the two or more beams from the UE respectively paired with the two or more beams from the apparatus902includes at least one of simultaneous TX/RX or non-simultaneous TX/RX that is time-division multiplexed.

The aforementioned means may be one or more of the aforementioned components of the apparatus902configured to perform the functions recited by the aforementioned means. As described supra, the apparatus902may include the TX Processor316, the RX Processor370, and the controller/processor375. As such, in one configuration, the aforementioned means may be the TX Processor316, the RX Processor370, and the controller/processor375configured to perform the functions recited by the aforementioned means.

Example 1 is a UE configured to determine that two or more resources on two or more beams from a base station have phase continuity; determining, based on the two or more resources on the two or more beams having the phase continuity, joint channel information associated with the two or more beams using individual measurements respectively corresponding to the two or more beams; and transmit, to the base station, a group-based beam report including the joint channel information associated with the two or more beams.

Example 2 is the UE of Example 1, further configured to receive, from the base station, an indication that the two or more resources on the two or more beams from the base station have the phase continuity, and the two or more resources on the two or more beams from the base station are determined to have the phase continuity based on the indication.

Example 3 is the UE of Example 2, and the indication comprises a CSI report configuration enabling group-based beam reporting, and the CSI report configuration configures the two or more resources on the two or more beams having the phase continuity.

Example 4 is the UE of Example 3, and the CSI report configuration is associated with at least one of a multiplexing mode or a use case, and the two or more resources on the two or more beams from the base station are determined to have the phase continuity based on the at least one of the multiplexing mode or the use case.

Example 5 is the UE of Example 4, and the at least one of the multiplexing mode or the use case comprises at least one of a TDM mode, FDM mode, or SDM mode, or at least one of an eMBB use case or a URLLC use case.

Example 6 is the UE of any of Examples 1 through 5, and each of the two or more resources carries at least one of a CSI-RS or an SSB.

Example 7 is the UE of Example 6, further configured to determine each of the individual measurements corresponding to a respective beam of the two or more beams based on at least one of the CSI-RS or the SSB carried on a respective resource of the two or more resources on the respective beam of the two or more beams.

Example 8 is the UE of any of Examples 1 through 7, and the joint channel information comprises information estimating an effective joint channel that is based on pair-wise estimation of individual components respectively associated with each of the two or more beams.

Example 9 is the UE of any of Examples 1 through 8, and the joint channel information comprises mutual information that is based on the individual measurements respectively corresponding to the two or more beams.

Example 10 is the UE of any of Examples 1 through 9, further configured to receive, from the base station based on the group-based beam report, information configuring communication with the base station on a joint channel that includes the two or more beams from the base station respectively paired with two or more beams from the UE; and communicate with the base station on the joint channel based on the information configuring the communication with the base station on the joint channel.

Example 11 is the UE of Example 10, and the information configuring the communication with the base station on the joint channel further comprises information configuring TX/RX using the two or more beams from the UE respectively paired with the two or more beams from the base station, and the information configuring the TX/RX configures at least one of simultaneous TX/RX or non-simultaneous TX/RX that is time-division multiplexed.

Example 12 is a base station configured to transmit, to a UE, an indication that two or more resources on two or more beams from the base station have phase continuity; and receive, from the UE based on the indication, a group-based beam report including joint channel information associated with the two or more beams.

Example 13 is the base station of Example 12, and the joint channel information comprises information estimating an effective joint channel that is based on pair-wise estimation by the UE of individual components respectively associated with the two or more beams.

Example 14 is the base station of Example 12 or Example 13, and the joint channel information associated with the two or more beams from the base station is based on individual measurements by the UE that respectively correspond to the two or more beams.

Example 15 is the base station of Example 14, and the joint channel information comprises mutual information determined by the UE based on the individual measurements by the UE that respectively correspond to the two or more beams.

Example 16 is the base station of any of Examples 12 through 15, and the indication comprises a CSI report configuration enabling group-based beam reporting by the UE, and the CSI report configuration configures the two or more resources on the two or more beams having the phase continuity.

Example 17 is the base station of Example 16, and the CSI report configuration is associated with at least one of a multiplexing mode or a use case, and the indication comprises the at least one of the multiplexing mode or the use case.

Example 18 is the base station of Example 17, and the at least one of the multiplexing mode or the use case comprises at least one of a TDM mode, FDM mode, or SDM mode, or at least one of an eMBB use case or a URLLC use case.

Example 19 is the base station of any of Examples 12 through 18, and each of the two or more resources carries at least one of a CSI-RS or an SSB.

Example 20 is the base station of any of Examples 12 through 19, further configured to configure, based on the group-based beam report, communication with the UE on a joint channel that includes the two or more beams from the base station respectively paired with two or more beams from the UE; and communicate with the UE on the joint channel based on transmission, to the UE, of information configuring the communication with the UE on the joint channel.

Example 21 is the base station of Example 20, and the configuration, based on the group-based beam report, the communication with the UE on the joint channel comprises: configuration of TX/RX using the two or more beams from the UE respectively paired with the two or more beams from the base station, and the TX/RX using the two or more beams from the UE respectively paired with the two or more beams from the base station comprises at least one of simultaneous TX/RX or non-simultaneous TX/RX that is time-division multiplexed.