CN108781147B - Transmission scheme and inter-cell interference mitigation for fifth generation (5G) system information blocks (xSIB) - Google Patents

Abstract

Techniques for transmitting fifth generation system information blocks (xSIB) are discussed. In one embodiment, the one or more processors may be configured to: generating a set of bits for the xSIB; applying a code to the set of bits to generate a coded set of bits; scrambling the encoded set of bits to generate a scrambled set of bits; modulating the scrambled set of bits to generate a modulated set of xSIB symbols; mapping the set of modulated xSIB symbols to a set of frequency domain resources to generate a physical xSIB channel; and output a physical xSIB channel to the transceiver circuitry for transmission by the plurality of transmission (Tx) beams during the subframe, wherein the physical xSIB channel is output for transmission via one or more individual Tx beams of the plurality of Tx beams during one or more of a plurality of individual Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) symbols of the subframe.

Description

Transmission scheme and inter-cell interference mitigation for fifth generation (5G) system information blocks (xSIB)

Reference to related applications

This application claims benefit of U.S. provisional application No. 62/307,204 entitled "transition position SCHEME AND INTER-CELL INTERFERENCE MITIGATION FOR 5G SIB," filed on 11/3/2016, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

Technical Field

The present disclosure relates to wireless technology, and more particularly to techniques for transmission of System Information Blocks (SIBs) and associated inter-cell interference mitigation.

Background

Mobile communications have evolved significantly from early voice systems to today's highly sophisticated integrated communication platforms. The next generation wireless communication system, 5G (fifth generation), will provide access to information and sharing of data by various users and applications anywhere and anytime. It is expected that 5G will become a unified network/system that can satisfy distinct, sometimes conflicting, performance dimensions and services. These different multidimensional requirements are driven by different services and applications. In general, 5G will evolve based on 3GPP (third generation partnership project) LTE-Adv (long term evolution-advanced) and other potential new Radio Access Technologies (RATs) to enrich people's lives with better, simple, and seamless radio connection solutions. 5G will connect all content wirelessly and provide fast, rich content and services.

For the medium band (carrier frequencies between 6GHz and 30GHz) and the high band (carrier frequencies over 30GHz), beamforming is an important technique to improve signal quality and reduce inter-user interference by directing narrow beams to the target user. For medium and high frequency systems, path loss due to weather (e.g., rain or fog) or objects can block and severely degrade signal strength and impair communication performance. The beamforming gain can compensate for severe path loss, thereby improving coverage.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an example User Equipment (UE) that may be used in conjunction with various aspects described herein.

Fig. 2 is a flow diagram illustrating an example methodology that facilitates generating a fifth generation (5G) system information block (xSIB) in accordance with various aspects described herein.

Fig. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of transmission (Tx) beam scanning when an xSIB occupies the entire system bandwidth, in accordance with various aspects described herein.

Fig. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of Tx beam scanning of an xSIB occupying a portion of system bandwidth via localized or distributed resource allocation, in accordance with various aspects described herein.

Fig. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of a demodulation reference signal (DM-RS) pattern for single port transmission when an xSIB occupies 8 Resource Elements (REs), in accordance with various aspects described herein.

Fig. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of a DM-RS pattern for single port transmission when an xSIB occupies 12 REs, in accordance with various aspects described herein.

Fig. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example DM-RS pattern of xSIB for two Antenna Ports (APs) when the xSIB occupies 12 REs, in accordance with various aspects described herein.

Fig. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of 1:1Tx beam mapping between a 5G physical broadcast channel (xPBCH) and an xSIB transmission in accordance with various aspects described herein.

Fig. 9 is a block diagram illustrating a system that facilitates generation of a fifth generation (5G) system information block (xSIB) by a base station for transmission to one or more User Equipments (UEs), in accordance with various aspects described herein.

Fig. 10 is a block diagram illustrating a system that facilitates UE reception of an xSIB in accordance with various aspects described herein.

Fig. 11 is a flow diagram illustrating an example methodology that facilitates transmitting xSIB in accordance with various aspects described herein.

Fig. 12 is a flow diagram illustrating an example methodology that facilitates receiving an xSIB in accordance with various aspects described herein.

Detailed Description

The present disclosure will now be described with reference to the drawings, wherein like reference numerals are used to refer to like elements throughout, and wherein the illustrated structures and devices are not necessarily drawn to scale. As used herein, the terms "component," "system," "interface," and the like are intended to refer to a computer-related entity, hardware, software (e.g., in execution), and/or firmware. For example, a component may be a processor (e.g., a microprocessor, controller or other processing device), a process running on a processor, a controller, an object, an executable, a program, a storage device, a computer, a tablet, and/or a user device with processing apparatus (e.g., a mobile phone, etc.). By way of illustration, both an application running on a server and the server can be a component. One or more components can reside within a process and a component can be localized on one computer and/or distributed between two or more computers. A group of elements or a group of other components may be described herein, wherein the term "group/set" may be interpreted as "one or more.

Further, for example, these components can execute from various computer readable storage media having various data structures stored thereon, such as usage modules. The components may communicate via local and/or remote processes such as in accordance with a signal having one or more data packets (e.g., data from one component interacting with another component in a local system, distributed system, and/or across a network such as the internet, local area network, wide area network, or the like with other systems via the signal).

As another example, a component may be an apparatus with a particular functionality provided by mechanical components operated by electrical or electronic circuitry, where the electrical or electronic circuitry may be operated by a software application or firmware application executed by one or more processors. The one or more processors may be internal or external to the apparatus and may execute at least a portion of the software or firmware application. As yet another example, a component may be an apparatus that provides a particular function through electronic components rather than mechanical parts; one or more processors may be included in the electronic components to execute software and/or firmware that at least partially imparts functionality to the electronic components.

Rather, use of the word example is intended to present concepts in a concrete fashion. As used in this application, the word "or" is intended to mean an inclusive "or" rather than an exclusive "or". That is, unless specified otherwise, or clear from context, "X employs A or B" is intended to mean any of the natural inclusive permutations. That is, if X employs A; x is B; or X employs both A and B, then "X employs A or B" is satisfied under any of the foregoing circumstances. In addition, the articles "a" and "an" as used in this application and the appended claims should generally be construed to mean "one or more" unless specified otherwise or clear from context to be directed to a singular form. Furthermore, to the extent that the terms "includes," including, "" has, "" with, "" has, "or variants thereof are used in either the detailed description or the claims, such terms are intended to be inclusive in a manner similar to the term" comprising.

As used herein, the term "circuitry" may refer to, be part of, or include: an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), an electronic circuit, a processor (shared, dedicated, or group) and/or memory (shared, dedicated, or group) that execute one or more software or firmware programs, a combinational logic circuit and/or other suitable hardware components that provide the described functionality. In some embodiments, the circuitry may be implemented in, or functions associated with, one or more software or firmware modules. In some embodiments, the circuitry may comprise logic that operates, at least in part, in hardware.

The embodiments described herein may be implemented into a system using suitably configured hardware and/or software. Fig. 1 shows, for one embodiment, exemplary components of a User Equipment (UE) 100. In some embodiments, the UE device 100 may include application circuitry 102, baseband circuitry 104, Radio Frequency (RF) circuitry 106, Front End Module (FEM) circuitry 108, and one or more antennas 110 coupled together at least as shown.

The application circuitry 102 may include one or more application processors. For example, the application circuitry 102 may include circuitry such as, but not limited to, one or more single-core or multi-core processors. The processor may include any combination of general-purpose processors and special-purpose processors (e.g., graphics processors, application processors, etc.). The processor may be coupled to and/or may include memory/storage and may be configured to: the instructions stored in the memory/storage are executed to enable various applications and/or operating systems to run on the system.

The baseband circuitry 104 may include circuitry such as, but not limited to, one or more single-core or multi-core processors. Baseband circuitry 104 may include one or more baseband processors and/or control logic to process baseband signals received from the receive signal path of RF circuitry 106 and to generate baseband signals for the transmit signal path of RF circuitry 106. Baseband circuitry 104 may interface with application circuitry 102 for generating and processing baseband signals and controlling operation of RF circuitry 106. For example, in some embodiments, the baseband circuitry 104 may include a second generation (2G) baseband processor 104a, a third generation (3G) baseband processor 104b, a fourth generation (4G) baseband processor 104c, and/or other baseband processors 104d for other existing generations, generations in development or to be developed in the future (e.g., fifth generation (5G), 6G, etc.). Baseband circuitry 104 (e.g., one or more of baseband processors 104 a-d) may process various wireless control functions that enable communication with one or more wireless networks via RF circuitry 106. Wireless control functions may include, but are not limited to, signal modulation/demodulation, encoding/decoding, radio frequency offset, and the like. In some embodiments, the modulation/demodulation circuitry of baseband circuitry 104 may include Fast Fourier Transform (FFT), precoding, and/or constellation mapping/demapping functionality. In some embodiments, the encoding/decoding circuitry of baseband circuitry 104 may include convolution, tail-biting convolution, turbo, viterbi, and/or Low Density Parity Check (LDPC) encoder/decoder functionality. Embodiments of modulation/demodulation and encoder/decoder functions are not limited to these examples, and other suitable functions may be included in other embodiments.

In some embodiments, baseband circuitry 104 may include elements of a protocol stack, such as, for example, elements of an Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (EUTRAN) protocol, including, for example, Physical (PHY) elements, Medium Access Control (MAC) elements, Radio Link Control (RLC) elements, Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) elements, and/or Radio Resource Control (RRC) elements. The Central Processing Unit (CPU)104e of the baseband circuitry 104 may be configured to: elements of the protocol stack are run for signaling at the PHY, MAC, RLC, PDCP, and/or RRC layers. In some embodiments, the baseband circuitry may include one or more audio Digital Signal Processors (DSPs) 104 f. The audio DSP 104f may include elements for compression/decompression and echo cancellation, and may include other suitable processing elements in other embodiments. In some embodiments, components of the baseband circuitry may be combined as appropriate in a single chip, a single chipset, or disposed on the same circuit board. In some embodiments, some or all of the constituent components of baseband circuitry 104 and application circuitry 102 may be implemented together, such as, for example, on a system on a chip (SOC).

In some embodiments, the baseband circuitry 104 may provide communications compatible with one or more radio technologies. For example, in some embodiments, baseband circuitry 104 may support communication with an Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (EUTRAN) and/or other Wireless Metropolitan Area Networks (WMANs), Wireless Local Area Networks (WLANs), or Wireless Personal Area Networks (WPANs). Embodiments in which the baseband circuitry 104 is configured to support wireless communications of more than one wireless protocol may be referred to as multi-mode baseband circuitry.

The RF circuitry 106 may enable communication with a wireless network using modulated electromagnetic radiation through a non-solid medium. In various embodiments, the RF circuitry 106 may include switches, filters, amplifiers, and the like to facilitate communication with the wireless network. RF circuitry 106 may include a receive signal path that may include circuitry to down-convert RF signals received from FEM circuitry 108 and provide baseband signals to baseband circuitry 104. RF circuitry 106 may also include a transmit signal path, which may include circuitry to up-convert baseband signals provided by baseband circuitry 104 and provide an RF output signal to FEM circuitry 108 for transmission.

In some embodiments, RF circuitry 106 may include a receive signal path and a transmit signal path. The receive signal path of the RF circuitry 106 may include mixer circuitry 106a, amplifier circuitry 106b, and filter circuitry 106 c. The transmit signal path of the RF circuitry 106 may include a filter circuit 106c and a mixer circuit 106 a. RF circuitry 106 may further include synthesizer circuitry 106d for synthesizing the frequencies used by mixer circuitry 106a of the receive signal path and the transmit signal path. In some embodiments, the mixer circuit 106a of the receive signal path may be configured to: the RF signal received from the FEM circuitry 108 is downconverted based on the synthesized frequency provided by the synthesizer circuitry 106 d. The amplifier circuit 106b may be configured to: the downconverted signal is amplified, and the filter circuit 106c may be a Low Pass Filter (LPF) or a Band Pass Filter (BPF) configured to: unwanted signals are removed from the down-converted signal to generate an output baseband signal. The output baseband signal may be provided to baseband circuitry 104 for further processing. In some embodiments, the output baseband signal may be a zero frequency baseband signal, but this is not required. In some embodiments, mixer circuit 106a of the receive signal path may comprise a passive mixer, although the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect.

In some embodiments, the mixer circuit 106a of the transmit signal path may be configured to: the input baseband signal is upconverted based on the synthesized frequency provided by synthesizer circuit 106d to generate an RF output signal for FEM circuitry 108. The baseband signal may be provided by the baseband circuitry 104 and may be filtered by the filter circuitry 106 c. Filter circuit 106c may include a Low Pass Filter (LPF), although the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect.

In some embodiments, the mixer circuit 106a of the receive signal path and the mixer circuit 106a of the transmit signal path may comprise two or more mixers and may be arranged for quadrature down-conversion and/or up-conversion, respectively. In some embodiments, the mixer circuit 106a of the receive signal path and the mixer circuit 106a of the transmit signal path may include two or more mixers and may be arranged for image rejection (e.g., Hartley image rejection). In some embodiments, the mixer circuit 106a of the receive signal path and the mixer circuit 106a of the transmit signal path may be arranged for direct down-conversion and/or direct up-conversion, respectively. In some embodiments, the mixer circuit 106a of the receive signal path and the mixer circuit 106a of the transmit signal path may be configured for superheterodyne operation.

In some embodiments, the output baseband signal and the input baseband signal may be analog baseband signals, although the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect. In some alternative embodiments, the output baseband signal and the input baseband signal may be digital baseband signals. In these alternative embodiments, RF circuitry 106 may include analog-to-digital converter (ADC) and digital-to-analog converter (DAC) circuitry, and baseband circuitry 104 may include a digital baseband interface to communicate with RF circuitry 106.

In some dual-mode embodiments, separate radio IC circuitry may be provided for processing signals for each spectrum, although the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect.

In some embodiments, synthesizer circuit 106d may be a fractional-N synthesizer or a fractional-N/N +1 synthesizer, although the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect as other types of frequency synthesizers may be suitable. For example, the synthesizer circuit 106d may be a delta-sigma synthesizer, a frequency multiplier, or a synthesizer including a phase locked loop with a frequency divider.

The synthesizer circuit 106d may be configured to: the output frequency used by the mixer circuit 106a of the RF circuit 106 is synthesized based on the frequency input and the divider control input. In some embodiments, the synthesizer circuit 106d may be a fractional-N/N +1 synthesizer.

In some embodiments, the frequency input may be provided by a Voltage Controlled Oscillator (VCO), but this is not required. The divider control input may be provided by the baseband circuitry 104 or the application processor 102, depending on the desired output frequency. In some embodiments, the divider control input (e.g., N) may be determined from a look-up table based on the channel indicated by the application processor 102.

The synthesizer circuit 106d of the RF circuit 106 may include a divider, a Delay Locked Loop (DLL), a multiplexer, and a phase accumulator. In some embodiments, the divider may be a dual-mode divider (DMD) and the phase accumulator may be a Digital Phase Accumulator (DPA). In some embodiments, the DMD may be configured to: the input signal is divided by N or N +1 (e.g., based on a carry) to provide a fractional division ratio. In some example embodiments, the DLL may include a set of cascaded, tunable delay elements, a phase detector, a charge pump, and a D-type flip-flop. In these embodiments, the delay elements may be configured to decompose the VCO period into Nd equal phase groups, where Nd is the number of delay elements in the delay line. In this way, the DLL provides negative feedback to help ensure that the total delay through the delay line is one VCO cycle.

In some embodiments, the synthesizer circuit 106d may be configured to: a carrier frequency is generated as the output frequency, while in other embodiments the output frequency may be a multiple of the carrier frequency (e.g., twice the carrier frequency, four times the carrier frequency) and used in conjunction with a quadrature generator and divider circuit to generate a plurality of signals at the carrier frequency having a plurality of different phases relative to each other. In some embodiments, the output frequency may be the LO frequency (fLO). In some embodiments, the RF circuitry 106 may include an IQ/polar converter.

FEM circuitry 108 may include a receive signal path, which may include circuitry configured to operate on RF signals received from one or more antennas 110, amplify the received signals, and provide amplified versions of the received signals to RF circuitry 106 for further processing. FEM circuitry 108 may further include a transmit signal path, which may include circuitry configured to amplify signals provided by RF circuitry 106 for transmission by one or more of one or more antennas 110.

In some embodiments, FEM circuitry 108 may include a TX/RX switch to switch between transmit mode and receive mode operation. The FEM circuitry may include a receive signal path and a transmit signal path. The receive signal path of the FEM circuitry may include a Low Noise Amplifier (LNA) to amplify the received RF signal and provide the amplified received RF signal as an output (e.g., to the RF circuitry 106). The transmit signal path of the FEM circuitry 108 may include: a Power Amplifier (PA) to amplify an input RF signal (e.g., provided by RF circuitry 106); and one or more filters to generate RF signals for subsequent transmission (e.g., by one or more of the one or more antennas 110).

In some embodiments, the UE device 100 may include additional elements, such as memory/storage, a display, a camera, sensors, and/or an input/output (I/O) interface.

Additionally, although the above exemplary discussion of device 100 is in the context of a UE device, in various aspects similar devices may be employed in connection with a Base Station (BS), such as an evolved node b (enb).

Although beamforming gain may compensate for the larger path loss involved in transmitting at mid-band and/or high-band frequencies, the directional nature of the beamformed transmission may introduce additional complexity. For example, in case of applying Tx beam scanning for xPDCCH (5G (fifth generation) physical downlink control channel) having a common search space, it may be appropriate to repeat transmission, which may increase system overhead and thus reduce spectral efficiency. To reduce system overhead, non-xPDCCH operation may be considered for 5G system information blocks (xSIB). In this case, the scheduling of xSIB transmissions may be indicated in a 5G master information block (xMIB).

Severe inter-cell interference may be observed if multiple cells transmit xSIB on the same time and frequency resources. For xSIB transmission, to reduce inter-cell interference and improve decoding performance, a mechanism to coordinate xSIB transmission between multiple cells may be employed, such as described herein.

Various embodiments may employ techniques discussed herein relating to xSIB design details for 5G systems. In various aspects, the techniques may include various details associated with transmission schemes of xSIB and/or mechanisms that may reduce inter-cell interference of xSIB transmissions.

In various aspects, the payload size for xSIB transmission may be different for different use cases and deployment scenarios. Thus, information on payload size can be provided at the UE side to ensure proper demodulation and decoding.

In some aspects, there are N possible payload sizes (e.g., N ═ 4, or a greater or lesser number) for xSIB transmission. A field may be included in the xMIB (5G master information block), which may be used to indicate which payload size is used for xSIB transmission. Table 1 below shows exemplary fields that may be included in the xMIB to indicate one of 4 separate payload sizes for xSIB:

table 1: xSIB payload size

Bit fields in xMIB	xSIB payload size
		‘00’	Transport block size #0
‘01’	Transport block size #1
		‘10’	Transport block size #2
‘11’	Transport block size #3

Additionally, an xSIB transmission period may also be indicated in the xMIB. For example, one field including one or more bits may be used to indicate an xSIB transmission period (e.g., bit 0 may indicate an xSIB transmission period of 80ms, while bit 1 indicates an xSIB transmission period of 160ms, etc.).

Alternatively, the xSIB transmission period may have a 1:1 association with the xSIB payload size. For smaller payload sizes, shorter transmission periods may be defined, while for larger payload sizes, longer transmission periods may be defined. This option may help reduce signaling overhead in the xMIB.

In some embodiments, the xSIB resource mapping may be determined by payload size. For example, for larger payload sizes, one xSIB block may occupy the entire system bandwidth (e.g., as shown in fig. 3 discussed below), while for smaller payload sizes, one xSIB block may occupy a portion of the system bandwidth (e.g., as shown in fig. 4 discussed below).

Referring to fig. 2, an example methodology 200 is illustrated for generating xSIB in accordance with various aspects described herein. The detailed design of the xSIB may be as follows.

In 210, encoding may be applied to xSIB information bits (e.g., which may include X bits, where X is any positive integer, such as one of the values that may be indicated via a corresponding field in the xMIB). In one example, a tail biting convolutional encoder (TBCC) may be applied to the xSIB. In some aspects, a CRC (cyclic redundancy check) may be appended to the xSIB information bits prior to encoding. In other examples, turbo codes or LDPC (low density parity check) may be applied to the xSIB information bits instead of the TBCC.

In 220, after encoding, cell-specific scrambling may be used to further randomize the interference. In some aspects, for transmission of an xSIB, a scrambling seed may be defined as a function of one or more of a physical cell ID, a subframe index, a slot index, and a symbol index. In one example, the scrambling seed may be given by equation 1:

here, n is_sIs a slot index, is an OFDM (orthogonal frequency division multiplexing) symbol index, and

is the physical cell ID.

In 230, a modulation type with a low modulation order (e.g., BPSK (binary phase shift keying) or QPSK (quadrature phase shift keying), etc.) may be used for modulation to ensure robust performance.

At 240, the modulation symbols generated at 230 may be mapped to allocated resources, where a resource mapping mechanism may be described as follows.

To allow Tx (transmission) beam scanning for xSIB transmissions, one xSIB transmission may span 1 or more OFDM symbols. Depending on the payload size, the xSIB transmission may occupy part or all of the system bandwidth. For the former case, the xSIB payload size may be smaller.

In some embodiments, the xSIB transmission occupies the entire system bandwidth. Additionally, different Tx beams may be applied on each OFDM symbol to ensure good cell coverage. Referring to fig. 3, an example of Tx beam scanning when an xSIB occupies the entire system bandwidth is illustrated, in accordance with various aspects described herein. Note that in the example of fig. 3, the same xSIB information bits are transmitted in each OFDM symbol, but transmitted by different Tx beams.

In embodiments where xSIB occupies a portion of the system bandwidth, a localized or distributed transmission scheme may be employed. The number of xSIB blocks in one symbol may be determined by the number of BRS (beam reference signal) antenna ports. The Tx beams of each xSIB block may be one-to-one mapped to the Tx beams applied to the BRS. Referring to fig. 4, an example of Tx beam scanning of an xSIB occupying a portion of system bandwidth via localized or distributed resource allocation is illustrated, in accordance with various aspects described herein. The example shown in fig. 4 shows 4 Tx beams per symbol, for a total of 56 beams that can be applied to BRS in one subframe. The 56Tx beam sweep may also be applied to xSIB subframes. In various aspects, Tx beam mapping rules between xSIB and BRS may be predefined by the specification so that the UE may select the best xSIB block to decode. The best xSIB block may be the one or more blocks that obtain the highest BRS-RP from the associated Tx beam.

Depending on the number of Resource Elements (REs) allocated for each xSIB block and the number of APs (antenna ports) used for xSIB transmission, different options of DM-RS (demodulation reference signal) mode may be provided as follows.

Referring to fig. 5, an example of a DM-RS pattern for single port transmission when an xSIB occupies 8 REs is illustrated, in accordance with various aspects described herein. Referring to fig. 6, an example of a DM-RS pattern for single port transmission when an xSIB occupies 12 REs is shown, in accordance with various aspects described herein. Note that a similar pattern may be defined for two-port xSIB transmission, as shown in fig. 7, illustrating an exemplary DM-RS pattern of xSIB for two APs when xSIB occupies 12 REs according to various aspects described herein. In various aspects, the DM-RSs for the two APs may be multiplexed in a Frequency Division Multiplexing (FDM) or Code Division Multiplexing (CDM) manner.

In the case of CDM multiplexing between two APs, an Orthogonal Cover Code (OCC) may be applied on each AP, which may be defined as in table 2 below:

table 2: OCC of two APs

Antenna port p	[wp(0)wp(1)]
		100	[1 1]
101	[1 -1]

In an embodiment where SFBC (space frequency block coding) is applied to xSIB transmission, two consecutive REs may be used for xSIB transmission.

In various aspects, to minimize power consumption of a UE, a 1:1Tx beam mapping between a synchronization signal/Beam Reference Signal (BRS)/xPBCH and an xSIB may be defined. In these aspects, the UE may listen to only one symbol for xSIB decoding. Referring to fig. 8, one example of 1:1Tx beam mapping between xPBCH and xSIB transmissions in accordance with various aspects described herein is illustrated. In one example, if the UE successfully decodes xPBCH on symbol #3 in Tx beam group #1, it may decode xSIB on symbol #3 on the corresponding xSIB subframe using the same Rx beam.

Various aspects described herein may also facilitate mitigating inter-cell interference associated with xSIB transmissions. One or more of the following techniques may be employed for inter-cell interference mitigation for xSIB transmission.

In some aspects, different cells may transmit xSIB in different Frames and Subframes (SFs). In one example, cell # (3k) may transmit xSIB in SF #47, cell # (3k +1) may transmit xSIB in SF #48, and cell # (3k +2) may transmit xSIB in SF #49, where

In other aspects, more or less than 3 groups may be employed in a similar manner.

In other aspects, different cells may transmit xSIB in the same subframe but in different frequency resources. This technique may be appropriate when the xSIB payload size is small. In one example, the system bandwidth may be divided into N blocks (e.g., N-3, or a larger or smaller number), which may be distributed or localized in the frequency domain. Different cells may transmit xSIB in different blocks depending on the physical cell ID, which may create a reuse-N transmission pattern.

In some aspects, the frame and/or subframe index used to transmit the xSIB may be defined as a function of the physical cell ID, such as

In other aspects, a field in the xMIB may be used to indicate a frame and/or subframe index used to transmit the xSIB. The frame and/or set of subframes for transmitting the xSIB may be predefined in the specification. A bit field in the xMIB may be used to indicate which frame and/or subframe is used for xSIB transmission. Table 3 below shows one example of an indication of a bit field in an xMIB, where four exemplary values are provided (in various aspects, more or fewer values may be provided). In an example, an xSIB may be transmitted in one subframe of two frames or 20 ms. Note that other examples can be extended directly from those listed below.

Table 3: xSIB transmission timing

Bit fields in xMIB	xSIB transmission frames and subframes
		‘00’	Frame #0, subframe 1
‘01’	Frame #1, subframe 1
		‘10’	Frame #0, subframe 26
‘11’	Frame #1, subframe 26

Referring to fig. 9, a block diagram of a system 900 that facilitates generating a fifth generation (5G) system information block (xSIB) by a base station for transmission to one or more User Equipments (UEs) in accordance with various aspects described herein is illustrated. System 900 may include one or more processors 910 (e.g., one or more baseband processors, such as the one or more baseband processors discussed in connection with fig. 1), transceiver circuitry 920 (e.g., which may include one or more transmitter circuits (e.g., associated with one or more transmit chains) or receiver circuits (e.g., associated with one or more receive chains), which may employ common circuit elements, separate circuit elements, or a combination thereof), memory 930 (which may include any of a variety of storage media, and which may store instructions and/or data associated with one or more of processors 910 and transceiver circuitry 920). In various aspects, system 900 may be included within an evolved universal terrestrial radio access network (E-UTRAN) node B (evolved node B, eNodeB or eNB) or other base station in a wireless communication network. In some aspects, the processor 910, transceiver circuitry 920, and memory 930 may be included in a single device, while in other aspects they may be included in different devices, such as part of a distributed architecture. As described in more detail below, system 900 can facilitate generating xSIB for subsequent transmission to one or more UEs via a plurality of separate transmission (Tx) beams.

In various aspects, processor 910 may generate a 5G master information block (xMIB) and may output the xMIB to transceiver circuitry 220 for transmission (e.g., via a 5G physical broadcast channel (xPBCH) or the like) to one or more UEs. Processor 910 may generate an xMIB to indicate one or more parameters of an xSIB. For example, the xMIB may indicate the size of the xSIB, such as via the payload size of the xSIB, the transmission duration of the xSIB, and so forth. As another example, the xMIB may indicate one or more parameters associated with the timing of transmission of the xSIB, such as a transmission period, frame, and/or subframe of the xSIB during which the xSIB will be transmitted (which may be selected to minimize inter-cell interference by avoiding indicating frames and/or subframes for neighboring cells), and so forth. In other examples, the transmission period may be based on the payload size of the xSIB indicated by the xMIB (e.g., via a predefined association in a specification, etc.).

Processor 910 may generate an xSIB, as described in more detail herein. Processor 910 can generate a set of bits, which can include data for an xSIB, and can apply an encoding (e.g., CRC with TBCC thereafter, turbo code, LDPC, etc.) to the generated set of bits to obtain an encoded xSIB set of bits. In some aspects, the type of encoding applied may depend on the payload size of the xSIB.

The processor 910 may scramble the encoded set of xSIB bits to obtain a scrambled set of xSIB bits, which may be based on a scrambling sequence initialized by a scrambling seed, which may depend on one or more of a physical cell ID, a subframe index, a slot index, and an OFDM symbol index.

The processor 910 may modulate the scrambled xSIB bit set based on a modulation type to obtain a modulated xSIB symbol set. The modulation type may be a type with a low modulation order (e.g., BPSK, QPSK, etc.), which may ensure robust transmission of xSIB.

Processor 910 can map the modulated xSIB symbol set to a set of frequency domain resources, which can be associated with a physical xSIB channel (e.g., a dedicated channel for xSIB, a 5G physical downlink shared channel (xPDSCH), etc.). The frequency domain resources may be selected based at least in part on the payload size of the xSIB, and may vary based on the embodiment. For example, for a larger xSIB block, the frequency domain resources may include the entire system bandwidth. As another example, for smaller xSIB blocks, the frequency domain resources may comprise a portion of the system bandwidth (e.g., 1/N of the total system bandwidth, e.g., for N-3, etc.), and other portions of the system bandwidth may be used by neighboring cells to mitigate inter-cell interference. In some examples, when the xSIB block is less than the entire system bandwidth or a portion of the system bandwidth used by the cell to mitigate inter-cell interference, multiple copies of the xSIB block may be allocated across the bandwidth, each of which may be associated with a separate BRS Antenna Port (AP).

The processor 910 can output the physical xSIB channel to the transceiver circuitry 920 for transmission during the selected subframe. Depending on the type of signal or message generated, the output for transmission (e.g., by processor 910, processor 1010, etc.) may include one or more actions, such as those discussed above in connection with xSIB, for example: generating a set of association bits indicative of the content of the signal or message; encoding (e.g., which may include adding a Cyclic Redundancy Check (CRC) and/or encoding via one or more of a turbo code, a Low Density Parity Check (LDPC) code, a tail-biting convolutional code (TBCC), etc.); scrambling (e.g., based on a scrambling seed); modulation (e.g., via one of Binary Phase Shift Keying (BPSK), Quadrature Phase Shift Keying (QPSK), and some form of Quadrature Amplitude Modulation (QAM), etc.) and/or resource mapping (e.g., to a set of scheduled resources, a set of granted time and frequency resources for uplink transmission, etc.).

The processor 910 may output the physical xSIB channel for transmission by the transceiver circuitry 920 via one or more separate Tx beams for each of a plurality of OFDM symbols of a subframe selected for xSIB transmission. For larger xSIB blocks, or in some frequency-based inter-cell interference mitigation scenarios involving smaller xSIB blocks, the xSIB may be transmitted via the entire system bandwidth (for larger xSIB blocks) or the entire portion of the system bandwidth employed by the cell (with inter-cell interference mitigation based on separate frequency resources for some smaller xSIB blocks) with a single Tx beam for each OFDM symbol. For other aspects involving smaller xSIB blocks, multiple separate Tx beams may be employed for each OFDM symbol, and frequency domain resources may be assigned among those Tx beams based on a localized or distributed scheme, such as shown in the example of fig. 4. In some aspects, the one or more individual Tx beams selected for transmission of the xSIB block for each OFDM symbol may be based on a predefined association or mapping between the xSIB and Tx beams employed for one or more of transmission synchronization signals, Beam Reference Signals (BRSs), xPBCH, and the like, which may facilitate xSIB block selection for the UE.

Additionally, the physical xSIB channel may be transmitted via an xSIB block that includes the set of DM-RSs. The DM-RS sets may be arranged based on a predetermined pattern, which may depend on the number of REs per xSIB block and/or the number of APs used for xSIB transmission. Exemplary patterns of specific values for the RE and the AP are provided in fig. 5-7. For multiple APs, the multiplexing may be based on Frequency Domain Multiplexing (FDM) or Code Division Multiplexing (CDM). For SFBC applied in conjunction with xSIB transmission, consecutive RE pairs may be used for xSIB transmission.

In some aspects, xSIB transmission may be based on one or more techniques for mitigating inter-cell interference. In various embodiments, each cell may employ separate time domain resources and/or frequency domain resources to mitigate interference.

In various aspects associated with interference mitigation based on separate time domain resources, a cell may transmit xSIB during a frame and/or subframe that may depend on a physical cell ID. As one example, cells may be divided into N groups (e.g., N-3, etc.) based on physical cell IDs, where each group is associated with a separate frame and/or subframe for xSIB transmission. For example, cells may be assigned to separate groups based on the remainder of dividing the physical cell ID by N, or based on some other function of the physical cell ID. In some aspects, a frame and/or subframe may be indicated via fields included in the xMIB, as discussed herein.

In various aspects related to interference mitigation based on individual frequency domain resources, the overall system bandwidth may be divided into N (e.g., 3, etc.) individual portions, and the cells may be divided into N groups, each group associated with an individual portion of the N portions. As an example, cells may be assigned to separate portions based on the remainder of dividing the physical cell ID by N, or based on some other function of the physical cell ID.

Referring to fig. 10, a block diagram of a system 1000 that facilitates UE reception of xSIB in accordance with various aspects described herein is illustrated. System 1000 can include one or more processors 1010 (e.g., one or more baseband processors, such as the one or more baseband processors discussed in connection with fig. 1), transceiver circuitry 1020 (e.g., including one or more transmitter circuits or receiver circuits, which may employ common circuit elements, separate circuit elements, or a combination thereof), and memory 1030 (which can include any of a variety of storage media and which can store instructions and/or data associated with one or more of processors 1010 and transceiver circuitry 1020). In various aspects, system 1000 can be included within a User Equipment (UE). As described in more detail below, system 1000 can facilitate determining parameters of an xSIB and receiving an xSIB based on the determined parameters.

The transceiver circuitry 1020 may receive the xMIB from the eNB, and the processor 1010 may process the xMIB from the eNB. Depending on the type of signal or message received, the processing (e.g., by processor 210, processor 310, etc.) may include one or more of the following: identifying a physical resource associated with the signal/message; detecting the signal/message; de-interleaving the resource element groups; demodulating; descrambling; and/or decoding.

The xMIB processed by processor 1010 may indicate one or more parameters of an xSIB that may be determined by processor 1010 from the xMIB. These parameters may include an xSIB payload size and/or parameters associated with the transmission timing of the xSIB, such as the transmission period, particular frame and/or subframe, etc. used for transmission of the xSIB. In some aspects, the transmission period may be implicitly indicated via an xSIB payload size and a predefined association between the xSIB payload size and the transmission period.

On the selected Tx beam, the transceiver circuitry 1020 may receive and the processor 1010 may process a physical xSIB channel from the eNB during a given subframe. Processor 1010 may select the Tx beam as the best Tx beam as determined based on beam reference signal received power (B-RSRP) measurements of one or more Tx beams from the eNB. Additionally, in some aspects, the relationship between xSIB and xPBCH may be predefined (e.g., as in the example of fig. 8, etc.) such that the OFDM symbol of the selected Tx beam may be readily determined by processor 1010.

In various aspects related to inter-cell interference mitigation, frequency domain resources associated with xSIB and/or frames and/or subframes used for xSIB transmission may vary between cells (e.g., based on physical cell ID), as described herein. In these aspects, processor 1010 may select frequency domain resources and/or appropriate frames and/or subframes based on the type of interference mitigation employed.

Referring to fig. 11, a flow diagram of a methodology 1100 that facilitates transmitting xSIB in accordance with various aspects described herein is illustrated. In some aspects, method 1100 may be performed on an eNB. In other aspects, a machine-readable medium may store instructions associated with the method 1100 that, when executed, may cause an eNB to perform the actions of the method 1100.

In 1110, xSIB and related parameters, such as payload size, transmission period, and the like, may be determined.

In 1120, the xMIB may be transmitted via an xPBCH indicating one or more parameters of the xSIB.

In 1130, based on the parameters, a physical xSIB channel may be generated for one or more of a plurality of OFDM symbols of the subframe.

In 1140, a physical xSIB channel may be transmitted via a separate set of one or more Tx beams during each of a plurality of OFDM symbols of a subframe.

Referring to fig. 12, a flow diagram of a method 1200 of facilitating UE reception of an xSIB is illustrated in accordance with various aspects described herein. In some aspects, the method 1200 may be performed on a UE. In other aspects, a machine-readable medium may store instructions associated with the method 1200, which when executed may cause a UE to perform the actions of the method 1200.

In 1210, an xMIB may be received that indicates one or more parameters of an xSIB (e.g., a payload size, a transmission period, a frame and/or subframe, etc. used to transmit the xSIB).

At 1220, one or more parameters may be determined from the xMIB.

In 1230, a physical xSIB channel may be received based on the determined parameters. The received physical xSIB channel may be transmitted via a Tx beam selected based on having the highest B-RSRP among the Tx beams transmitting the physical xSIB channel.

Examples herein may include subject matter such as a method, a module for implementing acts or blocks of a method, at least one machine readable medium including executable instructions that, when executed by a machine (e.g., a processor with memory, an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA), etc.), cause the machine to perform acts for a method or apparatus or system for concurrent communications using multiple communications technologies, in accordance with the described embodiments and examples.

Example 1 is an apparatus configured to be employed within an evolved node b (enb), comprising a processor configured to: generating a set of bits for a fifth generation (5G) system information block (xSIB); applying an encoding to the set of bits of the xSIB to generate an encoded set of xSIB bits; scrambling the encoded set of xSIB bits to generate a scrambled set of xSIB bits; modulating the scrambled xSIB bit set to generate a modulated xSIB symbol set; mapping the set of modulated xSIB symbols to a set of frequency domain resources to generate a physical xSIB channel; and output a physical xSIB channel to the transceiver circuitry for transmission by the plurality of transmission (Tx) beams during the subframe, wherein the physical xSIB channel is output for transmission via one or more individual Tx beams of the plurality of Tx beams during one or more of a plurality of individual Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) symbols of the subframe.

Example 2 includes the subject matter of any variation of example 1, wherein the processor is further configured to output a 5G master information block (xMIB) indicating one or more of a payload size of the xSIB and a transmission duration of the xSIB.

Example 3 includes the subject matter of any variation of example 2, wherein the xMIB indicates a transmission period of the xSIB.

Example 4 includes the subject matter of any variation of example 2, wherein the periodicity of the xSIB is based at least in part on a payload size of the xSIB.

Example 5 includes the subject matter of any variation of example 2, wherein the processor is further configured to select the set of frequency domain resources based at least in part on a payload size of the xSIB.

Example 6 includes the subject matter of any variation of any of examples 1-5, wherein, for each of the plurality of individual OFDM symbols, the one or more individual Tx beams comprise a single individual Tx beam for transmitting the physical xSIB channel via the entire set of frequency domain resources.

Example 7 includes the subject matter of any variation of any of examples 1-5, wherein, for each of the plurality of individual OFDM symbols, the one or more individual Tx beams comprise two or more individual Tx beams for transmitting the physical xSIB channel via an individual subset of the set of frequency domain resources associated with a Tx beam of the two or more individual Tx beams.

Example 8 includes the subject matter of any variation of example 7, wherein, for each of two or more separate Tx beams of each OFDM symbol, a separate subset of the set of frequency domain resources associated with the Tx beam comprises a localized subset of the system bandwidth.

Example 9 includes the subject matter of any variation of example 7, wherein, for each of two or more separate Tx beams of each OFDM symbol, the separate subset of the set of frequency domain resources associated with the Tx beam comprises a distributed subset of the system bandwidth.

Example 10 includes the subject matter of any variation of any of examples 1-5, wherein the plurality of Tx beams are selected based on a predefined mapping between the xSIB and a set of Tx beams employed by one or more of a transmission synchronization signal, a Beam Reference Signal (BRS), and a 5G physical broadcast channel (xPBCH).

Example 11 includes the subject matter of any variation of any of examples 1-9, wherein the plurality of Tx beams are selected based on a predefined mapping between an xSIB and a set of Tx beams employed by one or more of a transmission synchronization signal, a Beam Reference Signal (BRS), and a 5G physical broadcast channel (xPBCH).

Example 12 includes the subject matter of any variation of example 1, wherein, for each of the plurality of separate OFDM symbols, the one or more separate Tx beams comprise a single separate Tx beam for transmitting the physical xSIB channel via the entire set of frequency domain resources.

Example 13 includes the subject matter of any variation of example 1, wherein, for each of the plurality of individual OFDM symbols, the one or more individual Tx beams comprise two or more individual Tx beams for transmitting the physical xSIB channel via an individual subset of the set of frequency domain resources associated with a Tx beam of the two or more individual Tx beams.

Example 14 includes the subject matter of any variation of example 13, wherein, for each of two or more separate Tx beams of each OFDM symbol, a separate subset of the set of frequency domain resources associated with the Tx beam comprises a localized subset of the system bandwidth.

Example 15 includes the subject matter of any variation of example 13, wherein, for each of two or more separate Tx beams of each OFDM symbol, the separate subset of the set of frequency domain resources associated with the Tx beam comprises a distributed subset of the system bandwidth.

Example 16 includes the subject matter of any variation of example 1, wherein the plurality of Tx beams are selected based on a predefined mapping between xSIB and a set of Tx beams employed by one or more of a transmission synchronization signal, a Beam Reference Signal (BRS), and a 5G physical broadcast channel (xPBCH).

Example 17 is a machine-readable medium comprising instructions that, when executed, cause an evolved node b (enb): determining a fifth generation (5G) system information block (xSIB); transmitting a 5G Master information Block (xMIB) indicating one or more parameters of an xSIB via a 5G physical broadcast channel (xPBCH), wherein the one or more parameters include a payload size of the xSIB; generating, for one or more Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) symbols of a plurality of OFDM symbols of a subframe, physical xSIB channels associated with the OFDM symbols, wherein each physical xSIB channel is generated based at least in part on one or more parameters; and transmitting, during each of the plurality of OFDM symbols and via a common set of frequency domain resources, a physical xSIB channel associated with the symbol through a separate transmit (Tx) beam of the plurality of Tx beams.

Example 18 includes the subject matter of any variation of example 17, wherein the instructions, when executed, further cause the eNB to select the subframe or frame index based on a physical cell identification associated with the eNB.

Example 19 includes the subject matter of any variation of example 18, wherein the instructions, when executed, further cause the eNB to select a subframe or frame index based on a remainder obtained by dividing the physical cell identity by n, where n is a number of individual cell groups to mitigate inter-cell interference.

Example 20 includes the subject matter of any variation of example 17, wherein the instructions, when executed, further cause the eNB to select the set of common frequency domain resources based on a physical cell identity associated with the eNB.

Example 21 includes the subject matter of any variation of example 20, wherein the instructions, when executed, further cause the eNB to select the set of common frequency domain resources based on a remainder obtained by dividing the physical cell identity by n, where n is a number of individual cell groups to mitigate inter-cell interference.

Example 22 includes the subject matter of any variation of example 17, wherein the one or more parameters comprise subframes for xSIB transmission.

Example 23 includes the subject matter of any variation of any of examples 17-22, wherein the instructions, when executed, further cause the eNB to transmit each physical xSIB channel via an xSIB block comprising a plurality of demodulation reference signals (DM-RSs) arranged based on a predetermined pattern.

Example 24 includes the subject matter of any variation of example 23, wherein the plurality of DM-RSs comprise DM-RSs for Antenna Port (AP) pairs, wherein the DM-RSs for the AP pairs are multiplexed via Frequency Division Multiplexing (FDM).

Example 25 includes the subject matter of any variation of example 23, wherein the plurality of DM-RSs comprise DM-RSs for Antenna Port (AP) pairs, wherein the DM-RSs for the AP pairs are multiplexed via Code Division Multiplexing (CDM) based on a pair of Orthogonal Cover Codes (OCCs).

Example 26 includes the subject matter of any variation of any of examples 17-22, wherein the instructions, when executed, further cause the eNB to transmit each physical xSIB channel using a Tx beam based on a predetermined Tx beam mapping between the xPBCH and the xSIB.

Example 27 includes the subject matter of any variation of example 17, wherein the instructions, when executed, further cause the eNB to transmit each physical xSIB channel via an xSIB block comprising a plurality of demodulation reference signals (DM-RSs) arranged based on a predetermined pattern.

Example 28 includes the subject matter of any variation of example 27, wherein the plurality of DM-RSs comprise DM-RSs for Antenna Port (AP) pairs, wherein the DM-RSs for the AP pairs are multiplexed via Frequency Division Multiplexing (FDM).

Example 29 includes the subject matter of any variation of example 27, wherein the plurality of DM-RSs comprise DM-RSs for Antenna Port (AP) pairs, wherein the DM-RSs for the AP pairs are multiplexed via Code Division Multiplexing (CDM) based on a pair of Orthogonal Cover Codes (OCCs).

Example 30 includes the subject matter of any variation of example 17, wherein the instructions, when executed, further cause the eNB to transmit each physical xSIB channel using a Tx beam based on a predetermined Tx beam mapping between the xPBCH and the xSIB.

Example 31 is an apparatus configured to be used within a User Equipment (UE), comprising a processor configured to: processing a fifth generation (5G) master information block (xMIB) received via the transceiver circuitry; determining one or more parameters of a 5G system information block (xSIB) based on the xMIB; and process a physical xSIB channel received by the transceiver circuitry from an evolved node b (eNB) during a subframe, wherein the xSIB is transmitted by the eNB via the selected Tx beam on one or more given OFDM symbols of a plurality of Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) symbols, wherein the given OFDM symbols are associated with the selected Tx beam.

Example 32 includes the subject matter of any variation of example 31, wherein the one or more parameters comprise a payload size of the xSIB.

Example 33 includes the subject matter of any variation of example 31, wherein the one or more parameters comprise a transmission period of an xSIB.

Example 34 includes the subject matter of any variation of any of examples 31-33, wherein the one or more parameters comprise subframes for xSIB transmission.

Example 35 includes the subject matter of any variation of any of examples 31-33, wherein the processor is further configured to measure an individual beam reference signal received power (BRS-RP) associated with each Tx beam of a set of Tx beams including the selected Tx beam, wherein the selected Tx beam is selected based on the individual BRS-RP associated with the selected Tx beam.

Example 36 includes the subject matter of any variation of any of examples 31-33, wherein the processor is further configured to determine the subframe based on a physical cell identity of the eNB.

Example 37 includes the subject matter of any variation of any of examples 31-33, wherein the xSIB is received via a set of frequency domain resources based on a physical cell identity of an eNB.

Example 38 includes the subject matter of any variation of example 31, wherein the one or more parameters comprise subframes for xSIB transmission.

Example 39 includes the subject matter of any variation of example 31, wherein the processor is further configured to measure an individual beam reference signal received power (BRS-RP) associated with each Tx beam of a set of Tx beams including the selected Tx beam, wherein the selected Tx beam is selected based on the individual BRS-RPs associated with the selected Tx beam.

Example 40 includes the subject matter of any variation of example 31, wherein the processor is further configured to determine the subframe based on a physical cell identity of the eNB.

Example 41 includes the subject matter of any variation of example 31, wherein the xSIB is received via a set of frequency domain resources based on a physical cell identity of an eNB.

Example 42 is an apparatus configured to be employed within an evolved node b (enb), comprising means for processing and means for communicating. The means for processing is configured to determine a fifth generation (5G) system information block (xSIB). The means for communicating is configured to transmit, via a 5G physical broadcast channel (xPBCH), a 5G master information block (xMIB) indicating one or more parameters of an xSIB, wherein the one or more parameters include a payload size of the xSIB. The means for processing is further configured to generate, for one or more Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) symbols of a plurality of OFDM symbols of a subframe, physical xSIB channels associated with the OFDM symbols, wherein each physical xSIB channel is generated based at least in part on one or more parameters. The means for communicating is further configured to transmit, during each of the plurality of OFDM symbols and via the set of common frequency domain resources, a physical xSIB channel associated with the symbol through a separate Tx beam of the plurality of transmission (Tx) beams.

Example 43 includes the subject matter of any variation of example 42, wherein the means for processing is further configured to select the subframe or frame index based on a physical cell identity associated with the eNB.

Example 44 includes the subject matter of any variation of example 43, wherein the user processing module is further configured to select the subframe or frame index based on a remainder obtained by dividing the physical cell identity by n, where n is a number of individual cell groups to mitigate inter-cell interference.

Example 45 includes the subject matter of any variation of example 42, wherein the user-processed module is further configured to select the set of common frequency domain resources based on a physical cell identity associated with the eNB.

Example 46 includes the subject matter of any variation of example 45, wherein the means for processing is further configured to select the set of common frequency domain resources based on a remainder obtained by dividing the physical cell identity by n, where n is a number of individual cell groups to mitigate inter-cell interference.

Example 47 includes the subject matter of any variation of example 42, wherein the one or more parameters comprise subframes for xSIB transmission.

Example 48 includes the subject matter of any variation of any of examples 42-47, wherein the means for communicating is further configured to transmit each physical xSIB channel via an xSIB block comprising a plurality of demodulation reference signals (DM-RSs) arranged based on a predetermined pattern.

Example 49 includes the subject matter of any variation of example 48, wherein the plurality of DM-RSs comprise DM-RSs for Antenna Port (AP) pairs, wherein the DM-RSs for the AP pairs are multiplexed via Frequency Division Multiplexing (FDM).

Example 50 includes the subject matter of any variation of example 48, wherein the plurality of DM-RSs comprise DM-RSs for antenna-port (AP) pairs, wherein the DM-RSs for the AP pairs are multiplexed via Code Division Multiplexing (CDM) based on a pair of Orthogonal Cover Codes (OCCs).

Example 51 includes the subject matter of any variation of any of examples 42-47, wherein the means for communicating is further configured to transmit each physical xSIB channel using a Tx beam based on a predetermined Tx beam mapping between the xPBCH and the xSIB.

Example 52 includes the subject matter of any variation of any of examples 1-16, further comprising transceiver circuitry.

Example 53 includes the subject matter of any variation of any of examples 1-16 and 52, wherein the physical xSIB channel is a dedicated channel.

Example 54 includes the subject matter of any variation of any of examples 1-16 and 52, wherein the physical xSIB channel is a shared channel.

Example 55 includes the subject matter of any variation of example 54, wherein the shared channel is a fifth generation (5G) physical downlink shared channel (xPDSCH).

Example 56 includes the subject matter of any variation of any of examples 17-30, wherein each physical xSIB channel is a dedicated channel.

Example 58 includes the subject matter of any variation of any of examples 17-30, wherein each physical xSIB channel is a shared channel.

Example 59 includes the subject matter of any variation of example 58, wherein the shared channel is a fifth generation (5G) physical downlink shared channel (xPDSCH).

Example 60 includes the subject matter of any variation of any of examples 31-41, further comprising transceiver circuitry.

Example 61 includes the subject matter of any variation of any of examples 31-41 and 60, wherein the physical xSIB channel is a dedicated channel.

Example 62 includes the subject matter of any variation of any of examples 31-41 and 60, wherein the physical xSIB channel is a shared channel.

Example 63 includes the subject matter of any variation of example 62, wherein the shared channel is a fifth generation (5G) physical downlink shared channel (xPDSCH).

Example 64 includes the subject matter of any variation of any of examples 42-51, wherein each physical xSIB channel is a dedicated channel.

Example 65 includes the subject matter of any variation of any of examples 42-51, wherein each physical xSIB channel is a shared channel.

Example 66 includes the subject matter of any variation of example 65, wherein the shared channel is a fifth generation (5G) physical downlink shared channel (xPDSCH).

The above description of illustrated embodiments of the subject disclosure, including what is described in the abstract, is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the disclosed embodiments to the precise forms disclosed. Although specific embodiments of, and examples are described herein for illustrative purposes, various modifications are considered possible within the scope of the embodiments and examples, as those skilled in the relevant art will recognize.

In this regard, while the disclosed subject matter has been described in connection with various embodiments and corresponding figures where applicable, it is to be understood that other similar embodiments may be used or modifications and additions may be made to the described embodiments for performing the same, similar, alternative or alternative functions of the disclosed subject matter without deviating therefrom. Thus, the disclosed subject matter should not be limited to any single embodiment described herein, but rather construed in breadth and scope in accordance with the appended claims.

In particular regard to the various functions performed by the above described components or structures (components, devices, circuits, systems, etc.), the terms (including a reference to a "means") used to describe such components are intended to correspond, unless otherwise indicated, to any component or structure which performs the specified function of the described component (e.g., that is functionally equivalent), even though not structurally equivalent to the disclosed structure which performs the function in the herein illustrated exemplary implementations. In addition, while a particular feature may have been disclosed with respect to only one of several implementations, such feature may be combined with one or more other features of the other implementations as may be desired and advantageous for any given or particular application.

Claims (23)

1. An apparatus configured to be employed within a base station, comprising a processor configured to:

generating a bit set of a fifth generation 5G system information block xSIB;

applying an encoding to the set of bits of the xSIB to generate an encoded set of xSIB bits;

scrambling the encoded set of xSIB bits to generate a scrambled set of xSIB bits;

modulating the scrambled xSIB bit set to generate a modulated xSIB symbol set;

mapping the set of modulated xSIB symbols to a set of frequency domain resources to generate a physical xSIB channel;

generating a 5G Master information Block xMIB indicating a transmission period of the xSIB;

wherein the xMIB further indicates a payload size of the xSIB, or the xMIB indicates a transmission duration of the xSIB, wherein the transmission duration is based at least in part on the payload size of the xSIB;

wherein the payload size of the xSIB is one of a plurality of different payload sizes; and

outputting the physical xSIB channel to a transceiver circuit for transmission by a plurality of transmission Tx beams during a subframe, wherein the physical xSIB channel is output for transmission via one or more different Tx beams of the plurality of Tx beams during each of a plurality of different orthogonal frequency division multiplexing, OFDM, symbols of the subframe.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, in which the processor is further configured to select the set of frequency domain resources based at least in part on a payload size of the xSIB.

3. The apparatus of any of claims 1-2, wherein, for each of the plurality of different OFDM symbols, the one or more different Tx beams comprise a single different Tx beam used to transmit the physical xSIB channel via the entire set of frequency domain resources.

4. The apparatus according to any of claims 1-2, wherein, for each of the plurality of different OFDM symbols, the one or more different Tx beams comprise two or more different Tx beams for transmitting the physical xSIB channel via a different subset of the set of frequency domain resources associated with a Tx beam of the two or more different Tx beams.

5. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein, for each of two or more different Tx beams of each OFDM symbol, a different subset of the set of frequency domain resources associated therewith comprises a localized subset of a system bandwidth.

6. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein, for each of two or more different Tx beams of each OFDM symbol, a different subset of the set of frequency domain resources associated therewith comprises a distributed subset of a system bandwidth.

7. The apparatus of any of claims 1-2, wherein the plurality of Tx beams are selected based on a predefined mapping between the xSIB and a set of Tx beams employed by one or more of a transmission synchronization signal, a Beam Reference Signal (BRS), and a 5G physical broadcast channel (xPBCH).

8. An apparatus configured for use within a base station, the apparatus comprising:

a processing module configured to determine a fifth generation 5G system information block xSIB; and

a communication module configured to transmit a 5G Master information Block xMIB indicating one or more parameters of the xSIB via a 5G physical broadcast channel xPBCH, wherein the one or more parameters include a payload size of the xSIB, wherein the payload size of the xSIB is one of a plurality of different payload sizes,

wherein the processing module is further configured to generate, for one or more of a plurality of orthogonal frequency division multiplexing, OFDM, symbols of a subframe, physical xSIB channels associated therewith, wherein each physical xSIB channel is generated based at least in part on the one or more parameters; and is

Wherein the communication module is further configured to transmit, during each of the plurality of OFDM symbols and via a set of common frequency domain resources, a physical xSIB channel associated with the OFDM symbol through a different one of a plurality of transmit Tx beams.

9. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the processing module is further configured to select a subframe or frame index based on a physical cell identification associated with the base station.

10. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the processing module is further configured to select the subframe or frame index based on a remainder resulting from dividing the physical cell identification by n, where n is a number of different groups of cells to mitigate inter-cell interference.

11. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the processing module is further configured to select the set of common frequency domain resources based on a physical cell identity associated with the base station.

12. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the processing module is further configured to select the set of common frequency domain resources based on a remainder resulting from dividing the physical cell identity by n, where n is a number of different groups of cells to mitigate inter-cell interference.

13. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the one or more parameters comprise a subframe for xSIB transmission.

14. The apparatus of any of claims 8-13, wherein the processing module is further configured to transmit each physical xSIB channel via an xSIB block comprising a plurality of demodulation reference signals, DM-RSs, arranged based on a predetermined pattern.

15. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the plurality of DM-RSs comprise DM-RSs for antenna port AP pairs, wherein the DM-RSs for the AP pairs are multiplexed via frequency division multiplexing, FDM.

16. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the plurality of DM-RSs comprise DM-RSs for antenna-port AP pairs, wherein the DM-RSs for the AP pairs are multiplexed via code division multiplexing, CDM, based on a pair of orthogonal cover codes, OCCs.

17. The apparatus of any of claims 8-13, wherein the processing module is further configured to transmit each physical xSIB channel using a Tx beam based on a predetermined Tx beam mapping between the xPBCH and the xSIB.

18. An apparatus configured for use within a user equipment, UE, comprising a processor configured to:

processing a fifth generation 5G master information block xMIB received via the transceiver circuitry;

determining one or more parameters of a 5G system information block, xSIB, based on the xMIB, wherein the one or more parameters include a payload size of the xSIB, wherein the payload size of the xSIB is one of a plurality of different payload sizes; and

processing a physical xSIB channel received by the transceiver circuitry from a base station during a subframe, wherein the xSIB is transmitted by the base station on one or more given OFDM symbols of a plurality of Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) symbols of the subframe via a selected Tx beam of a set of Tx beams used to transmit the physical xSIB channel, wherein the one or more given OFDM symbols are associated with the selected Tx beam.

19. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein the one or more parameters comprise a transmission period of the xSIB.

20. The apparatus of any of claims 18-19, wherein the one or more parameters comprise a subframe for xSIB transmission.

21. The apparatus according to any of claims 18-19, wherein the processor is further configured to measure a different beam reference signal received power, BRS-RP, associated with each Tx beam of the set of Tx beams comprising the selected Tx beam, wherein the selected Tx beam is selected based on the different BRS-RPs associated with the selected Tx beam.

22. The apparatus of any of claims 18-19, wherein the processor is further configured to determine the subframe based on a physical cell identity of the base station.

23. The apparatus of any of claims 18-19, wherein the xSIB is received via a set of frequency domain resources based on a physical cell identification of the base station.

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