CN112640330B - Downlink signal and noise control for testing user equipment performance requirements - Google Patents

Abstract

Systems and methods enable testing receiver (Rx) performance requirements of a User Equipment (UE). The test equipment is configured to generate a Radio Frequency (RF) signal having a power level (Es) and determine a power spectral density (Noc) of the artificial noise signal. The Es and the Noc may be selected to emulate a target signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) at the baseband Rx chain of the UE and to compensate for UE RF noise. The RF signal and the noise signal may be combined to produce an applied signal that is provided to the UE for testing.

Description

Downlink signal and noise control for testing user equipment performance requirements

Cross Reference to Related Applications

This application claims priority from us provisional patent application 62/717,174 filed on day 10, 2018 and 62/805,861 filed on day 14, 2019, each of which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.

Technical Field

The present application relates generally to wireless communication systems, and more particularly to testing User Equipment (UE).

Background

Wireless mobile communication technology uses various standards and protocols to transfer data between base stations and wireless mobile devices. Wireless communication system standards and protocols may include third generation partnership project (3GPP) Long Term Evolution (LTE); fifth generation (5G)3GPP new air interface (NR) standard; the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE)802.16 standard, commonly referred to by industry organizations as Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX); and the IEEE 802.11 standard for Wireless Local Area Networks (WLANs), which is commonly referred to by industry organizations as Wi-Fi. In a 3GPP Radio Access Network (RAN) in an LTE system, a base station, which may include a RAN node such as an evolved universal terrestrial radio access network (E-UTRAN) node B (also commonly denoted as evolved node B, enhanced node B, eNodeB, or eNB) and/or a Radio Network Controller (RNC) in the E-UTRAN, communicates with a wireless communication device known as a User Equipment (UE). In a fifth generation (5G) wireless RAN, the RAN nodes may include a 5G node, a new air interface (NR) node, or a G-node b (gnb), which communicates with wireless communication devices, also referred to as User Equipment (UE).

Drawings

FIG. 1 shows a test system according to one embodiment.

FIG. 2 illustrates a testing system according to one embodiment.

FIG. 3 illustrates a testing system according to one embodiment.

FIG. 4 illustrates a testing system according to one embodiment.

FIG. 5 illustrates a testing system according to one embodiment.

Fig. 6 shows a graph in accordance with an embodiment.

Fig. 7 illustrates a baseline measurement setup, according to one embodiment.

Fig. 8, 9, and 10 illustrate exemplary test setups according to various embodiments.

Fig. 11 shows a system according to an embodiment.

Fig. 12 shows a system according to an embodiment.

Fig. 13 shows an apparatus according to an embodiment.

FIG. 14 illustrates an exemplary interface according to one embodiment.

Detailed Description

Certain embodiments disclosed herein provide a method for controlling Downlink (DL) signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of a new air interface (NR) UE during a UE test procedure. The first part of the present disclosure includes embodiments for DL SNR, desired signal power level (Es) and artificial noise power spectral density (Noc) control of NR UE performance requirement test methods. The second part of the disclosure includes additional embodiments of DL SNR control for NR millimeter wave (mmWave) over-the-air (OTA) UE demodulation and Channel State Information (CSI) reporting performance requirement test methods.

I. For NR SNR, Es, and Noc control of UE performance requirement test methods

In conventional implementations (e.g., in LTE), to ensure proper UE performance, 3GPP defines minimum UE demodulation and CSI reporting performance requirements. The corresponding NR UE demodulation and CSI reporting performance requirements are defined in 3GPP TS 38.101-4 and serve as the basis for the definition of UE conformance tests.

NR wireless communication systems support operation in FR1 (frequency range 1) and FR2 (frequency range 2), FR1 spanning a carrier frequency of 410MHz to 7125MHz, and FR2 spanning a carrier frequency of 24.25GHz to 52.60GHz (and also referred to as mmWave range).

For the NR technique, two general UE test methods for UE performance test (e.g., test of UE demodulation and CSI reporting performance) are considered. The first method is based on the principle of conducted testing, when the test system has a wired connection to a conducting antenna connector of a Device Under Test (DUT), wherein the corresponding method is suitable for NR FR1 device testing. For example, fig. 1 shows a test system 100 for a conduction testing method according to one embodiment. The test system 100 includes test equipment 102, a DUT 104 (e.g., UE), Radio Frequency (RF) components of the Rx chain (RF 106), and baseband (BB) components of the Rx chain (baseband 108). The test system 100 includes a wired connection 110 to a conductive antenna connector 112 of the DUT. The test equipment 102 of the test system 100 may include, for example, a Base Station (BS) emulator, a propagation channel emulator, and dedicated equipment for performance measurement. The DUT 104 for conduction testing generally represents a chipset implementation that includes RF and BB components of the UE.

The second method is based on radiometric testing, where the testing is performed in an Over The Air (OTA) environment, and where the corresponding method is applicable to NR FR2 device testing (i.e. for mmWave devices). The test is typically performed in an anechoic chamber. For example, fig. 2 shows a test system 200 for radiation testing, according to one embodiment. The test system 200 includes test equipment 102 and a DUT 104 (e.g., a UE) in an anechoic chamber 202. The test equipment 102 of the test system 200 may include, for example, a BS emulator, a propagation channel emulator, and dedicated equipment for performance measurement. As shown in fig. 2, the test equipment 102 may be connected to a measurement and link antenna 204 to propagate OTA signals 206 to the DUT 104 in the anechoic chamber 202.

As shown in fig. 3, the DUT 104 for radiation testing generally represents an entire device implementation that additionally includes antenna array 302, RF 106, and baseband 108 components of the UE.

There are two general approaches or modes for the contingent simulation of UE performance requirement definitions. Mode 1 is a target SNR or signal to interference plus noise ratio (SINR) simulation. The test system transmits a desired signal with a power level Es and an artificial AWGN signal with a power level Noc in a manner that simulates the target SNR condition, where SNR is Es/Noc (linear scale). Mode 1 applies to general UE demodulation and CSI performance requirements. Noc may be selected to ensure that it is well above the UE RF noise floor to focus on baseband performance verification. Typically, SNR and Noc power levels are specified for each test. In such cases, the Es power level may be simply derived based on the SNR and the Noc level (Es-SNR-Noc). Mode 2 is a noiseless conditional simulation in which the test system transmits the desired signal with power level Es without artificial noise. Mode 2 applies to the continuous data rate (SDR) requirements as well as the selected UE demodulation and CSI reporting requirements. Es power may be specified for each test parameter. Furthermore, the Es power level may be selected in a manner that ensures that the effective SNR is above a certain threshold.

The UE performance requirements may generally be defined relative to baseband performance and specify a minimum SNR to be provided for the baseband receiver (Rx) chain. For mode 1 operation, the test system transmits a desired signal having a power level Es and an artificial AWGN signal having a power level Noc in a manner that simulates the target SNR condition. The received signal passes through the UE RF chain where additional UE RF noise is injected into the signal. Thus, the effective SNR observed at the UE baseband side when propagating through the RF chain is reduced compared to the input SNR. For mode 2 operation, the test system transmits only the desired signal, and in theory, the effective SNR level therein is limited by the accuracy (error vector magnitude) of the simulation of the desired signal. Similarly, additional UE RF noise is injected into the RF chain, and the SNR observed at the UE baseband Rx chain is affected by the UE RF noise power level.

Embodiments described herein may relate to several systems, devices, techniques, and/or processes to set Noc, SNR, and Es levels to minimize the impact of UE RF noise on baseband SNR during a UE performance testing process.

In conventional implementations of LTE and NR FR1 device testing, a single value for Es and a single value for Noc are defined to ensure applicability to all existing operating bands (also referred to simply as bands). However, it is challenging to guarantee that the baseband SNR loss is negligible, using a single defined Es and Noc value for NR FR 1.

In conventional implementations for NR FR2, the Noc power levels are defined in an operating band-specific manner (i.e., each operating band has its own specific Noc power level), and allow Noc power levels to be adjusted for different bands and device types. However, the defined Noc values of FR2 do not distinguish between cases of devices with multi-band operation support and do not guarantee that baseband SNR loss is negligible for devices supporting multi-band operation.

Embodiments described herein may include: a method of setting a band specific SNR or Noc value to simulate a target SNR (effective, observed at the baseband Rx chain) for NR FR1 device testing; a method of setting a noise free condition with a specific Es value to simulate the NR FR1 device test; and/or to set a method for testing the Noc power level of NR FR2 devices with multi-band operation support. Embodiments described herein may provide an adaptive method of setting SNR, Noc, and Es values that will be suitable for test requirements in all operating bands and minimize the impact on effective baseband SNR due to UE RF noise.

SNR simulation of I (A) NR FR1 device testing

The UE performance requirements are typically defined relative to the UE baseband performance and specify a minimum SNR to be provided for the baseband Rx chain. In certain embodiments, the test system transmits a desired signal having a power level Es and an artificial AWGN signal having a power level Noc in a manner that simulates a target SNR condition. The SNR simulated by the test system may be calculated as SNR ═ Es/Noc, where Es is the available signal power level (W/Hz) and Noc is the artificial noise power level (W/Hz). Note that these values are on a linear scale.

FIG. 4 shows the UE baseband SNR (SNR) at the input to baseband 108_BB) In contrast, the DL SNR at the input of the antenna connector 112 for conducted testing, simulated by the test system 100 shown in fig. 1. Similarly, fig. 5 shows the SNR at the input to the baseband 108_BBIn contrast, the DL SNR for radiation testing at the input of the antenna array 302 is simulated by the test system 200 shown in fig. 3. The SNR observed at Rx baseband can be expressed as SNR_BB＝Es/(Noc+P_NoiseRF)＝SNR/(1+P_noiseRF(Noc) ═ SNR/(1+ A), where P_NoiseRFIs the UE RF noise power level (W/Hz), and A ═ P_noiseRFand/Noc. Note that these values are on a linear scale.

The baseband SNR degradation can be expressed as follows. On a linear scale: Δ SNR is SNR/SNR_BB(1+ a). In dB: Δ snr (db) ═ 10 × log10(1+ a). Those skilled in the art will recognize from the disclosure herein that "log 10" or simply "log" refers to the base ten logarithm.

Thus, it can be observed that the difference between the Noc level and the actual UE RF noise floor will have an impact on the effective SNR observed in baseband. For example, assume that the artificial noise has a power exceeding the UE RF noiseHorizontal B dB gain: noc (dBm/Hz) ═ P_noiseRF(dBm/Hz) + B (dB) (in dB).

The baseband SNR degradation as a function of the difference between the Noc level and the UE RF noise level (B) is shown in fig. 6. Graph 600 in fig. 6 shows SNR loss versus B value (Noc gain over UE RF noise level). It can be observed from fig. 6 that the effective SNR depends on the relative power difference between the Noc level and the UE RF noise. UE RF noise depends on a number of factors including frequency band. UE demodulation and CSI requirements are typically defined in a band agnostic manner. While the effective UE RF noise floor may be different for different frequency bands. Therefore, UR RF noise levels should be considered when defining SNR, Noc and Es values.

The UE RF noise power level may be derived based on the refses requirements defined in 3GPP TS 38.101-1. In certain embodiments herein, the REFSENS power level may be defined as follows: REFSENS (dBm/Hz) — 174dBm +10 × log10(BW) + NF-D + SNR_REFSENS+ IM, where REFSENS is the reference sensitivity requirement defined in TS 38.101-1, NF is the UE noise figure (dB), BW is the receive Bandwidth (BW) (Hz), D is the diversity gain (e.g., 3dB (dB) for two Rx antennas), SNR_REFSENSIs used to define the SNR required for REFSENS (SNR-1 dB) (dB), and IM is the implementation margin (dB). Note that these values are in dB.

The RF noise power level component may be derived as follows: p_NoiseRF(dBm/Hz) — 174dBm + NF + IM ═ REFSENS-10 × log10(BW) + D-SNR. For example, based on TS 38.101-1 for NR, RF noise ranges from-165 dBm/Hz to-153 dBm/Hz depending on the frequency band.

Embodiments may include, but are not limited to, the following options for setting Noc and SNR for NR FR1 requirements. In a first option: using a fixed value for Noc (e.g., the same or different values for different frequency bands); and by SNR_New(dB) ═ SNR (dB) + Δ SNR (dB) to compensate for SNR degradation during SNR setup (i.e., adjust SNR simulated by Test Equipment (TE) accordingly), where Δ SNR is defined as above and can be based on calculated P_NoiseRFDerived for each frequency band.

In a second option: to ensure the simulated SNRUse Noc (dBm/Hz) ═ P observed in the baseband Rx chain_NoiseRFVariable Noc levels per band are used in a fixed SNR degradation between SNR of (dBm/Hz) + X (in dB), where X (also referred to as the X factor) is a parameter used to adjust Noc power levels (e.g., 15dB to 16dB to achieve an SNR degradation of about 0.1 dB), and P is a parameter used to adjust Noc power levels_NoiseRFThe RF noise power level derived for each band above.

By way of example, using the implementation described above for the SNR simulation claimed for NR FR1, in TS 38.101-1, the minimum Noc power level for the operating band, subcarrier spacing, and channel bandwidth is derived based on the following equation: noc_{Band_X,SCS_Y,CBW_Z}＝REFSENS_{Band_X,SCS_Y,CBW_Z}-10*log10(12*SCS_Y*nPRB)+D-SNR_REFSENS+Δ_thermalWherein REFSENS_{Band_X,SCS_Y,CBW_Z}REFSENS value (dBm) for frequency bands X, SCS Y and CBW Z specified in Table 7.3.2-1 for TS 38.101-1, 12 is the number of subcarriers in a Physical Resource Block (PRB), SCS Y is the subcarrier spacing associated with the REFSENS value, nPRB is the maximum PRB number of SCS Y and CBW Z associated with the REFSENS value, and specified in Table 5.3.2-1 for TS 38.101-1, D is a diversity gain equal to 3dB, SNR_REFSENS-1dB is the SNR for simulating REFSENS, and Δ_thermalThe required noise is set to an amount of dB above the UE thermal noise, resulting in a defined rise in total noise. E.g. Δ_thermalA total noise rise of 0.1dB results at 16dB, which is considered insignificant. In this example, the Δ_thermalCorresponding to the above X factor.

Noiseless conditional simulation of I (B) NRFR1 device testing

In some embodiments, the desired signal power level E may be selected in a manner that ensures that the effective SNR observed at the UE baseband Rx chain is sufficiently high for the case of noise-free condition simulation (i.e., the case when the test system is not transmitting an artificial noise signal). For example, for continuous data rate (SDR) testing, it is desirable to achieve as high an SNR level as possible. Without transmitting the artificial noise signal, the following factors may affect the SNR: the test system Tx Error Vector Magnitude (EVM) can be assumed to be in the range of 1.75% to 2% based on the LTE 1024QAM WI typical assumption, which will yield an SNR of about 34dB to about 36 dB; and/or for the UE RF noise floor, the Es power level above the UE RF noise floor may be selected to avoid impact on the SNR (e.g., it is suggested to select Es in a manner that achieves an SNR of approximately 35 dB).

Similar to the implementation of the SNR simulation required for FR1 above, UE RF noise may have an impact on the effective SNR. To allow simulation of noise-free conditions, embodiments herein may involve ensuring that an effective SNR is achievable for all selected operating bands_bound：Es＝P_NoiseRF(dBm/Hz)+SNR_bounddB (e.g., about 30dB to about 35dB) uses a variable Es level per band.

By way of example using the embodiments described herein, in TS 38.101-1, the minimum Es power level for the operating band, subcarrier spacing, and channel bandwidth is derived based on the following equation: es_{Band_X,SCS_Y,CBW_Z}＝REFSENS_{Band_X,SCS_Y,CBW_Z}-10*log10(12*SCS_Y*nPRB)+D-SNR_REFSENS+dB_EVM+Δ_thermalWherein REFSENS_{Band_X,SCS_Y,CBW_Z}REFSENS value (dBm) for frequency bands X, SCS Y and CBW Z specified in Table 7.3.2-1 for TS 38.101-1, 12 is the number of subcarriers in a PRB, SCS Y is the subcarrier spacing associated with the REFSENS value, nPRB is the maximum PRB number of SCS Y and CBW Z associated with the REFSENS value, and specified in Table 5.3.2-1 for TS 38.101-1, D is a diversity gain equal to 3dB, SNR_REFSENS-1dB is the SNR, dB for analog REFSENS_EVMSNR of the signal applied for impairment of EVM to the desired Es (e.g., 3% EVM allowed, then dB)_EVM30.5dB, derived as 20 log10(1/0.03), Δ_thermalIs set to a dB higher than UE thermal noise due to EVM impairment to required Es, resulting in a defined rise in total impairment. E.g. Δ_thermalA total impairment rise of 0.7dB results at 7.6dB, which is considered acceptable. The calculated Es value for the baseline of band n12, 15kHz SCS, 15MHz CBW was-113.5 dBm/Hz.

Test for support of operation with multiple frequency bandsNoc power of NR FR2 deviceLevel ofIs provided with

Certain embodiments herein provide for the selection of Noc for radiated testing of NR FR2 devices with multi-band support (i.e., supporting operation in multiple different frequency bands using a single antenna array). For demodulation and radiation testing of CSI requirements, it may not be practical to use a high enough signal level to make the noise contribution of the UE negligible. Thus, the demodulation requirement is specified as the imposed noise ratio TS38.101-2 being above the UE peak EIS level by a defined amount, such that the effect of the UE RF noise floor is limited to no more than a value Δ at the specified Noc level_BB. Since the UE has an EIS level that depends on the operating band and power class, the Noc level may depend on the operating band and power class. The power level of FR2 UEs is defined in TS38.101-2 and characterizes the UE in terms of RF and antenna array implementation, and may include the number of such factors of the antenna array panel, the geometry and number of elements in the antenna array, antenna element gain, UE RF noise figure, RF and antenna implementation losses, and other factors. In particular, different UE power classes may have different REFSENS (reference sensitivity) or EIS (effective isotropic sensitivity) performance.

In certain embodiments, for Δ_BBThe values of Noc for operating band and power level according to single carrier requirements are specified in table 1 as defined in table 4.5.3.2-1 of TS 38.101-4, 1 dB.

Table 1: noc power levels for different UE power classes and frequency bands

The Noc values in table 1 are based on the Refsens of the operating band and the UE power level, and assume a baseline for UE power level 3 in band n 260. Spectral density Noc ═ Refsens_{PC3、n260、50MHz}-10Log₁₀(SCS_Refsens×PRB_Refsens×12)-SNR_Refsens+Δ_thermalWherein Refsens_{PC3,n260,50MHz}For 50MHz message in TS38.101-2Refsens value (dBm), SCS, for channel bandwidth specified for power level 3 in band n260_RefsensIs an N equivalent to 50MHz in TS38.101-2 (Table 5.3.2-1)_RBThe associated subcarrier spacing is selected to be 120kHz, PRBs_RefsensIs N associated with a subcarrier spacing of 120kHz for 50MHz in TS38.101-2 (Table 5.3.2-1)_RBAnd 32, 12 is the number of subcarriers in the PRB, SNR_RefsensIs SNR for simulating Refsens, and is-1 dB, and Δ_thermalIs set to an amount of dB above the UE thermal noise for the desired noise, resulting in a Δ_BBThe total noise rise. Delta_thermalIs chosen to be 6dB resulting in a total noise rise of 1 dB. The calculated Noc value for the baseline for UE power level 3 in band n260 in group Y is rounded to-155 dBm/Hz.

For the single carrier case, the Noc level for operating Band X (Band _ X) and power class Y (PC _ Y) can be defined using the following method: noc (Band _ X, PC _ Y) — 155dBm/Hz + Refsens_{PC_Y,Band_X,50MHz}-Refsens_{PC3,n260,50MHz}。

Although the existing values are effective for the case of single carrier operation and single band devices, conventional systems have not provided a process for carrier aggregation or a process for multi-band relaxation.

FR2 UEs may optionally support operation in multiple FR2 bands (i.e., the same antenna array is designed to support multi-band operation). To account for differences in antenna design, the EIS (effective isotropic sensitivity) requirements for such devices are relaxed.

For FR2 power class 3 UE, sensitivity relaxation parameter Δ MB can be referenced_P,nThe minimum requirements for reference sensitivity (EIS) requirements per band are relaxed separately as shown in table 2 (as defined in table 6.2.1.3-4 in TS 38.101-2).

Table 2: UE multi-band relaxation factor for power class 3 UEs

With respect to the reference sensitivity power level of power class 3, the throughput may be ≧ 95% of the maximum throughput of the reference measurement channel having the peak reference sensitivity specified in Table 3 (as defined in Table 7.3.2.3-1 in TS 38.101-2). This requirement can be verified with the test metrics of EIS (Link ═ beam peak search grid, Meas ═ Link angle).

Table 3: reference sensitivity of power class 3 UEs

For UEs supporting operation in multiple FR2 bands, the reference sensitivity relaxation parameter Δ MB may be specified by the reference sensitivity relaxation parameter as specified in section 6.2.1.3 of TS38.101-2_P,nThe minimum requirements for reference sensitivity in table 3 were increased for each frequency band.

In certain embodiments herein, the FR2 Noc power level may be adjusted according to the degree of relaxation. Certain such embodiments use relaxation factors similar to those used for RF EIS requirements to adjust Noc power levels.

For a UE supporting operation in multiple FR2 bands, Noc is adjusted as follows: noc_{Multiple frequency bands}＝Noc_{Single frequency band}+ A, wherein Noc_{Single frequency band}(also known as Noc)_SB) Noc, Noc defined for devices with single band support_{Multiple frequency bands}(also known as Noc)_MB) Noc defined for devices with multi-band support, and a is a multi-band relaxation parameter.

In one embodiment, a ═ Σ MB_PWherein sigma MB_PAs defined in section 6.2.1.3 of TS38.101-2 (i.e., total peak Effective Isotropic Radiated Power (EIRP) relaxation). Thus, Noc_MB＝Noc_SB+∑MB_P。

In another embodiment, a ═ max (Σ MB)_P,ΣMB_s) Wherein sigma MB_sDefined in TS38.101-2 in section 6.2.1.3 (i.e., total EIRP sphere coverage relaxation). Different values may be applied to different frequency bands and UE power classes.

In an exemplary embodiment，Noc(Band_X,PC_Y)＝-155dBm/Hz+Refsens_{PC_Y,Band_X,50MHz}-Refsens_{PC3,n260,50MHz}+ΣMB_P。

In another exemplary embodiment, the multiband Noc may be defined as Noc (Band _ X, PC _ Y) ═ senses_{Band_X,PC_Y,50MHz}-10Log₁₀(SCS_Refsens×PRB_Refsens×12)-SNR_Refsens+Δ_thermal+ΣMB_P。

In another exemplary embodiment, a multiband Noc may be defined as Noc (Band _ X, PC _ Y) — 155dBm/Hz + Refsens_{PC_Y,Band_X,50MHz}-Refsens_{PC3,n260,50MHz}+max(ΣMB_P,ΣMB_s)。

In another exemplary embodiment, the multiband Noc may be defined as Noc (Band _ X, PC _ Y) ═ senses_{Band_X,PC_Y,50MHz}-10Log₁₀(SCS_Refsens×PRB_Refsens×12)-SNR_Refsens+Δ_thermal+max(ΣMB_P,ΣMB_s)。

Certain embodiments described herein may be applied to additional frequency ranges. Furthermore, certain embodiments may be applied to other RAT tests (e.g., LTE). In addition, certain embodiments may be applied to conductive or radiative methods of device testing. Certain embodiments may also be applied to test RRM (radio resource management) performance of UEs. These embodiments may also be applied to testing other wireless nodes.

DL SNR control for NR mmWave OTA UE demodulation and CSI reporting performance requirement test methods

Efforts to develop NR techniques include developing test methods for UE demodulation and CSI reporting performance requirements for UEs operating in the mmWave band. For example, operation may include enabling an NR conformance test of FR2 (frequency range 2) that spans carrier frequencies from 24.25GHz to 52.60 GHz. In addition, the test method can be further extended for other carrier frequencies.

High frequency devices (e.g., devices operating above 7 GHz) are characterized by a higher level of integration than is seen with today's LTE devices. Such highly integrated architectures may feature innovative front-end solutions, multi-element antenna arrays, passive and active feed networks, etc., which may not allow the same test techniques for verifying RF requirements in today's devices.

In LTE and NR FR1 (frequency range 1), UE conformance testing and verification is typically done using a conducted method when the test equipment (measurement system) is directly connected to the Device Under Test (DUT) using a wired connection. Unless otherwise indicated below, a Device Under Test (DUT) refers to a UE node. This connection can typically be done using chipset/device RF inputs, so conformance tests and performance requirements do not include actual antenna implementations on the device side. For mmWave operation, a potentially highly integrated NR device may not physically expose the front-end cable connector to test equipment. That is, the interface between the front end and the antenna may be an antenna array feed network, and the interface may be very tightly integrated, which may preclude the possibility of exposing the test connector. Thus, the radiated OTA (over the air) test is considered a baseline method of NR, including UE demodulation and CSI test methods. The following test settings were agreed to be used for UE demodulation and CSI testing in the NR.

Ii (a) measurement setup example

The measurement setup example described in this section is related to the test method described in TR 38.810. For example, fig. 7 shows an exemplary baseline measurement setup 700 for testing a UE 702. The baseline measurement setup 700 includes placing 102 within a test zone 704 on a dual-axis positioner 706 and applying a wireless signal 708 from a dual-polarized antenna pair (not shown). The baseline measurement setup 700 for NR UE demodulation and CSI characteristics for frequency bands above 6GHz enables establishing OTA links between the DUT (i.e., UE 702) and multiple emulated gNB sources with one angle of arrival (AoA) to the UE 702.

Some aspects of the baseline measurement setup 700 include: the test may be performed in an anechoic chamber, wherein the test may be performed in a radiating near field or far field, and/or the minimum measured distance may be predefined; and one transmit receive point (TRxP) with a dual polarized measurement antenna may be directed towards the DUT. The propagation conditions may provide a test method that allows the following propagation conditions to be modeled between the DUT and the simulated gNB source: multipath fading propagation conditions, including those between the DUT and the simulated gNB source, can be modeled as Tapped Delay Lines (TDLs); and static propagation conditions may also be used.

The dual axis positioner 706 may include a positioning system such that the angle between the dipole measurement antenna and the DUT has at least two axes of freedom.

Along with the DUT, the baseline measurement setup 700 provides the ability to achieve a certain isolation between the two nominally orthogonal paths from the dual polarized TRxP to the UE 702, thereby enabling level 2 transmission. This capability may use a per-port power report from the UE 702. Once established, this setting is expected to be fixed and to be used with UE beam locks to allow testing of DUT baseband characteristics in a "virtual cabling" scenario. These capabilities may include selecting the best UE beam during initial call setup.

For settings intended for measuring UE demodulation and CSI characteristics in non-standalone (NSA) mode with 1UL configuration, the LTE link antenna may be used to provide the LTE link to the DUT. The LTE link antenna provides a stable LTE signal without precise path loss or polarization control.

The suitability criteria may include that the system is at least suitable for use with DUTs having a radiation aperture D ≦ 15 cm. In some embodiments, manufacturer statements about the following elements may be used: the manufacturer declares the antenna array size; and if multiple antenna panels that are phase coherent are defined as a single array, the criteria for DUT radiation aperture apply to that single array.

For frequency bands above 6GHz (e.g., mmWave), it is assumed that the conducting antenna connector is not available at the DUT and OTA testing is considered a baseline method for NR UE demodulation and CSI testing methods.

For UE demodulation testing, it is expected that the Test Equipment (TE) simulates the received signal at the UE side with a certain target DL SNR. The TE transmits a mixture of the desired (usable) noise signal and AWGN (artificial white gaussian noise) noise signal with a certain power level in a manner to achieve a certain SNR.

In some implementations, the test equipment may be able to control a reference point (further denoted as SNR)_RP) ToDefined as the intersection of the rotation axes of the positioning system set for the Near Field (NF) and as the geometric center of the dead zone (QZ) set for the Direct Far Field (DFF). The SNR reference point may be related to: for near field settings, the reference point of the SNR is defined as the intersection of the rotational axes of the positioning system; and for far field (direct or indirect) settings, the reference point for SNR is defined as the geometric center of QZ.

Fig. 8 illustrates a DL SNR reference point of an exemplary test setup 800 according to certain embodiments. In this example, the exemplary test setup 800 includes a UE 702 receiving a wireless DL signal 810 from a TE 802. The UE 702 includes a Receiver (RX) that includes an antenna array 804, RF components of an RX chain (RF 806), and baseband components of the RX chain (baseband 808).

Certain test parameters may be controlled by the measurement equipment used for UE demodulation and CSI reporting tests, including SNR of the DL signal 810 at the reference point and the faded DL channel. For near field settings, the reference point for the SNR of the DL signal 810 may be defined as the intersection of the rotational axes of the positioning system. For far-field (DFF or IFF) settings, the reference point for the SNR of the DL signal 810 may be defined as the geometric center of the QZ. As shown in fig. 8, from the perspective of the UE 702, the reference point is the input of the UE's antenna array 804.

However, as shown in fig. 9, the simulated SNR (shown as SNR) at the reference point at the input of the antenna array 804_RP) May be different from the SNR observed at the UE chipset baseband input (shown as SNR)_BB)。SNR_RPAnd SNR_BBThe reason for the mismatch between them is that the test system may not be able to generate signals with very high power, and RF defects (e.g., noise floor) of the UE will otherwise contribute as one of the noise sources.

The problem and initial analysis regarding SNR mismatch is described in section b.3.1 "evaluation of testable SNR range" of TR 38.810 v 2.2.0. To handle SNR mismatch, it may be useful to consider: how to compute the SNR at the reference point for the desired SNR at the BB of the UE 702 (RAN4 defines a method of how to compute the SNR set at the reference point by TE 802 for the desired BB SNR); and how to obtain the method and the corresponding SNR value.

Therefore, consider the SNR_RPAnd SNR_BBA method of defining mismatches between them would be useful. Embodiments herein provide several mechanisms to set the SNR level for NR FR2 OTA UE demodulation tests.

By default, the TE 802 may generate a transmitter (Tx) signal under the assumption that the SNR at the reference point is the same as the SNR observed at the UE baseband 808. SNR (SNR) if TE 802 is at a reference point_RP) With the SNR (SNR) observed at the UE baseband 808_BB) With the same assumption that a Tx signal is generated, there will be some mismatch between these SNR values. In particular, SNR_BBWill be lower than SNR_RPAnd there is a high risk that the DUT will fail the test due to method problems rather than due to incorrect UE implementation.

Certain embodiments herein provide a method of setting DL SNR during NR FR2 UE demodulation and CSI reporting testing. In one embodiment, the TE 802 derives the SNR from the equation described below for given test and UE parameters_BBDeriving SNR_RP. Such embodiments provide a relatively simple method to recalculate the SNR value. In another embodiment, the TE 802 derives SNR from a look-up table of given test and UE parameters_BBDeriving SNR_RP. In yet another embodiment, the TE 802 performs a specific calibration procedure involving SNR estimates at the UE 702 side, and the UE 702 reports back to the TE 802 in order to derive the SNR_RPAnd SNR_BBA mapping between. Such embodiments provide an improved method based on UE measurements/reporting, which potentially allows for higher SNR control accuracy to improve the reliability of the testing process.

Embodiments herein provide an explicit method for deriving the SNR of a UE performance test. The standardized method can ensure that all UE conformance tests are completed under similar assumptions, and provides a unified approach to be applied to different testing laboratories. These embodiments may also ensure that the SNR is selected with respect to measurement setup and UE characteristics to avoid effects due to the impact of UE noise floor on the tested baseband performance.

In certain embodiments, the followingThe framework can be used for various procedures of DL SNR control for the NR FR2 test method: for base band SNR (SNR) with UE_BB) Corresponding SNR Point (SNR)_REQ) UE demodulation and CSI reporting performance requirements are defined; TE should generate a reference point with SNR during testing_RPThe signal of (a); and to ensure SNR_BB≥SNR_REQTo derive SNR_RPAnd (4) horizontal. In general, the TE may strive to achieve SNR_BB＝SNR_REQ。

The following procedure may be used to derive the SNR_RPThe value is obtained.

_RPII (B) recalculating SNR using a predefined equation

According to some embodiments, the SNR may be recalculated using a predefined equation_RP：SNR_RP＝F(SNR_REQ,A_UE,A_TE) Wherein F () is SNR_REQFunction of value, A_UEImplements features for the UE, and A_TEThe characteristics are set for the measurement.

In one embodiment, the SNR is_RP＝SNR_REQ(1+A)/(1-A*SNR_REQ) And A ═ N_ktb*A_UE/A_TEWherein SNR is_RPAs reference point SNR_REQSNR is required for a target at the UE baseband, and N_ktbIs the thermal noise level. A. the_UEFactors characterizing UE implementation include antenna gain, implementation loss, and noise floor. For example, A_UE＝F_UE/(G_UE*IL_UE) In which F is_UEIs the Noise Figure (NF), G of the UE_UEReceive antenna array gain for UE, and IL_UEThe loss is embodied for the UE receiver. A. the_TEAre factors that characterize the TE/measurement system characteristics, including propagation loss between the TE probe and the reference point, and TE probe transmit power. For example, A_TE＝(P_{TX_MAX}PL) of the above formula, wherein P_{TX_MAX}Is the TE probe maximum Tx power (per Hz) and PL is the path loss (e.g., free space loss) between the TE and the DUT. Note that in the above, the symbols are expressed as linear (non-dB) values.

In another embodimentIn the embodiment, SNR_RP＝SNR_REQ/(1-A*SNR_REQ) And A ═ N_ktb*A_UE/A_TEWherein SNR is_RPAs a reference point SNR_REQSNR is required for a target at the UE baseband, and N_ktbIs the thermal noise level. A. the_UEFactors characterizing UE implementation include antenna gain, implementation loss, and noise floor. For example, A_UE＝F_UE/(G_UE*IL_UE) In which F_UEIs the Noise Figure (NF), G of the UE_UEReceive antenna array gain for UE, and IL_UEThe loss is embodied for the UE receiver. A. the_TEAre factors that characterize the TE/measurement system characteristics, including propagation loss between the TE probe and the reference point, and TE probe transmit power. For example, A_TE＝(S_TXPL) of which S_TXSignal Tx power (per Hz) is desired for the TE probe and PL is the path loss (e.g., free space loss) between the TE and DUT. Note that in the above, the symbols are expressed as linear (non-dB) values.

Several procedures for UE parameter setting may be considered. In a first option, the UE declares UE parameters (e.g., a) for the test procedure_UE、F_UE、G_UE、IL_UE). In a second option, the test equipment uses predefined UE parameter (e.g., worst case) assumptions that may be provided in the standard specification. The values may be different for different frequency bands, device types, or UE power classes. The expected measurement setup parameters are known during the test.

_RPII (C) deriving SNR using a look-up table

According to another embodiment, a look-up table (LUT) may be used to derive the SNR from_BBDeriving SNR_RP. The LUT may be defined, for example, in the 3GPP specifications. The LUT may be derived based on method a principles.

_{RP BB}II (D) mapping between SNR and SNR using SNR calibration procedure

Figure 10 shows an exemplary test setup 1000 according to another embodiment of feedback 1004 from the UE 702 to the TE 802. Root of herbaceous plantsAccording to certain such embodiments, the measurement system may use a particular SNR calibration procedure to derive information about SNR_RPAnd SNR_BBInformation of the mapping between. The calibration process shown in FIG. 10 may include the following operations: TE 802 generates a reference point with a certain SNR in the input to antenna array 804_RPThe DL signal of (1); UE 702 performs SNR (SNR) on the DL signal_EST) Measuring (2); UE 702 reports SNR to TE 802_EST(ii) a And the reported SNR used by the TE 802_EST(e.g., SNR)_RPAnd SNR_ESTDifference between) adjusts the SNR during testing_RPTo ensure that SNR is achieved_BBNear SNR_REQ。

With respect to DL SNR measurement and reporting, UE 702 may perform existing SNR measurements, e.g., as defined in TS 38.215 (e.g., SS-SINR, CSI-SINR). Additional metrics (e.g., SNR or SINR per receiver port) may be defined. In this process, SNR is assumed_ESTEquivalent to SNR_BB. The reporting may be done using existing reporting mechanisms for Radio Resource Management (RRM) measurement reporting. The reporting may be done as part of a test cycle pattern.

During this calibration process, the TE 802 may perform SNR for range_RPScreening of values to obtain information about SNR observed at UE BB side_ESTThe information of (1). TE 802 may obtain SNR_RPAnd SNR_ESTLUT in (c).

For SNR for required test_RPSetting, the TE 802 can set the SNR based on data obtained from a calibration procedure (e.g., from the UE 702)_RP. The TE 802 may further adjust the SNR_RPTo take into account the SNR at the UE side_ESTThe measurement inaccuracy.

In addition, similar procedures can be used for any OTA test method, including RF and RRM (radio resource management) tests. The various embodiments described above are applicable to NR FR1 and LTE OTA testing. Furthermore, combinations of the disclosed embodiments may be applied.

Fig. 11 illustrates an architecture of a system 1100 of a network according to some embodiments. System 1100 includes one or more User Equipments (UEs), shown in this example as UE 1102 and UE 1104. UE 1102 and UE1104 are shown as smart phones (e.g., handheld touch screen mobile computing devices capable of connecting to one or more cellular networks), but may also include any mobile or non-mobile computing device, such as a Personal Data Assistant (PDA), pager, laptop computer, desktop computer, wireless handheld terminal, or any computing device that includes a wireless communication interface.

In some embodiments, either of UE 1102 and UE1104 may include an internet of things (IoT) UE, which may include a network access layer designed for low power IoT applications that utilize short-term UE connections. IoT UEs may exchange data with MTC servers or devices via Public Land Mobile Networks (PLMNs), proximity-based services (ProSe) or device-to-device (D2D) communications, sensor networks, or IoT networks using technologies such as machine-to-machine (M2M) or Machine Type Communications (MTC). The M2M or MTC data exchange may be a machine initiated data exchange. IoT networks describe interconnected IoT UEs that may include uniquely identifiable embedded computing devices (within the internet infrastructure) with ephemeral connections. The IoT UE may execute background applications (e.g., keep-alive messages, status updates, etc.) to facilitate connection of the IoT network.

UE 1102 and UE1104 may be configured to connect (e.g., communicatively couple) with a Radio Access Network (RAN) (shown as RAN 1106). RAN 1106 may be, for example, an evolved Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) terrestrial radio Access network (E-UTRAN), a next generation RAN (NG RAN), or some other type of RAN. UE 1102 and UE1104 utilize a connection 1108 and a connection 1110, respectively, where each connection includes a physical communication interface or layer (discussed in further detail below); in this example, connection 1108 and connection 1110 are shown as air interfaces to enable communicative coupling and may be consistent with cellular communication protocols, such as global system for mobile communications (GSM) protocols, Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) network protocols, push-to-talk (PTT) protocols, PTT-over-cellular Protocols (POC), Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) protocols, 3GPP Long Term Evolution (LTE) protocols, fifth generation (5G) protocols, new air interface (NR) protocols, and so forth.

In this embodiment, UE 1102 and UE1104 may also exchange communication data directly via ProSe interface 1112. The ProSe interface 1112 can alternatively be referred to as a side link interface that includes one or more logical channels including, but not limited to, a physical side link control channel (PSCCH), a physical side link shared channel (PSCCH), a physical side link discovery channel (PSDCH), and a physical side link broadcast channel (PSBCH).

UE1104 is shown configured to access an Access Point (AP) (shown as AP1114) via connection 1116. Connection 1116 may comprise a local wireless connection, such as a connection consistent with any IEEE 802.11 protocol, where AP1114 would include wireless fidelity

A router. In this example, the AP1114 is connected to the internet without being connected to a core network of the wireless system (described in further detail below).

RAN 1106 may include one or more access nodes enabling connection 1108 and connection 1110. These Access Nodes (ANs) may be referred to as Base Stations (BSs), nodebs, evolved nodebs (enbs), next generation nodebs (gnbs), RAN nodes, etc., and may include ground stations (e.g., terrestrial access points) or satellite stations that provide coverage within a geographic area (e.g., a cell). The RAN 1106 may include one or more RAN nodes, e.g., a macro RAN node 1118, for providing a macro cell and one or more RAN nodes, e.g., a Low Power (LP) RAN node such as LP RAN node 1120, for providing a femto cell or a pico cell (e.g., a cell with less coverage, less user capacity, or higher bandwidth than a macro cell).

Either of the macro RAN node 1118 and the LP RAN node 1120 may terminate the air interface protocol and may be the first point of contact for the UE 1102 and the UE 1104. In some embodiments, any of the macro and LP RAN nodes 1118, 1120 may satisfy various logical functions of the RAN 1106, including but not limited to Radio Network Controller (RNC) functions such as radio bearer management, uplink and downlink dynamic radio resource management and data packet scheduling, and mobility management.

In accordance with some embodiments, UEs 1102 and 1104 may be configured to communicate with each other or any of RAN node 1118 and LP RAN node 1120 using Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) communication signals over a multi-carrier communication channel in accordance with various communication techniques, such as, but not limited to, Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA) communication techniques (e.g., for downlink communications) or single carrier frequency division multiple access (SC-FDMA) communication techniques (e.g., for uplink and ProSe or sidelink communications), although the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect. The OFDM signal may include a plurality of orthogonal subcarriers.

In some embodiments, the downlink resource grid may be used for downlink transmissions from either of the macro RAN node 1118 and the LP RAN node 1120 to the UE 1102 and the UE1104, while uplink transmissions may utilize similar techniques. The grid may be a time-frequency grid, referred to as a resource grid or time-frequency resource grid, which is the physical resource in the downlink in each slot. For OFDM systems, such time-frequency plane representation is common practice, which makes radio resource allocation intuitive. Each column and each row of the resource grid corresponds to one OFDM symbol and one OFDM subcarrier, respectively. The duration of the resource grid in the time domain corresponds to one time slot in a radio frame. The smallest time-frequency unit in the resource grid is denoted as a resource element. Each resource grid includes a plurality of resource blocks that describe the mapping of certain physical channels to resource elements. Each resource block comprises a set of resource elements; in the frequency domain, this may represent the smallest amount of resources that can currently be allocated. Several different physical downlink channels are transmitted using such resource blocks.

The Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH) may carry user data and higher layer signaling to UE 1102 and UE 1104. A Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) may carry information on a transport format and resource allocation related to a PDSCH channel, and the like. It may also inform UE 1102 and UE1104 of transport format, resource allocation, and H-ARQ (hybrid automatic repeat request) information related to the uplink shared channel. In general, downlink scheduling (allocation of control and shared channel resource blocks to UEs 1104 within a cell) may be performed at either of the macro RAN node 1118 and the LP RAN node 1120 based on channel quality information fed back from either of the UEs 1102 and 1104. The downlink resource allocation information may be sent on a PDCCH for (e.g., allocated to) each of UE 1102 and UE 1104.

The PDCCH may transmit control information using Control Channel Elements (CCEs). The PDCCH complex-valued symbols may first be organized into quadruplets before being mapped to resource elements, which may then be arranged for rate matching using a sub-block interleaver. Each PDCCH may be transmitted using one or more of these CCEs, where each CCE may correspond to four sets of physical resource elements, referred to as Resource Element Groups (REGs), of nine. Four Quadrature Phase Shift Keying (QPSK) symbols may be mapped to each REG. The PDCCH may be transmitted using one or more CCEs according to the size of Downlink Control Information (DCI) and channel conditions. There may be four or more different PDCCH formats defined in LTE with different numbers of CCEs (e.g., aggregation level, L ═ 1, 2, 4, or 8).

Some embodiments may use the concept of resource allocation for control channel information, which is an extension of the above concept. For example, some embodiments may utilize an Enhanced Physical Downlink Control Channel (EPDCCH) that uses PDSCH resources for control information transmission. The EPDCCH may be transmitted using one or more Enhanced Control Channel Elements (ECCEs). Similar to the above, each ECCE may correspond to nine sets of four physical resource elements, referred to as Enhanced Resource Element Groups (EREGs). In some cases, ECCE may have other numbers of EREGs.

RAN 1106 is communicatively coupled to a Core Network (CN) (shown as CN 1128) via S1 interface 1122. In various embodiments, CN 1128 may be an Evolved Packet Core (EPC) network, a next generation packet core (NPC) network, or some other type of CN. In this embodiment, S1 interface 1122 is divided into two parts: an S1-U interface 1124 that carries traffic data between the macro and LP RAN nodes 1118, 1120 and a serving gateway (S-GW) (shown as S-GW 1132); and an S1 Mobility Management Entity (MME) interface (shown as S1-MME interface 1126), which is a signaling interface between the macro RAN node 1118 and the LP RAN node 1120 and the MME 1130.

In this embodiment, CN 1128 includes MME 1130, S-GW 1132, a Packet Data Network (PDN) gateway (P-GW) (shown as P-GW 1134), and a Home Subscriber Server (HSS) (shown as HSS 1136). The MME 1130 may be similar in function to the control plane of a conventional serving General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) support node (SGSN). The MME 1130 may manage access-related mobility aspects such as gateway selection and tracking area list management. HSS 1136 may include a database for network users that includes subscription-related information for supporting network entities in handling communication sessions. Depending on the number of mobile subscribers, the capacity of the equipment, the organization of the network, etc., CN 1128 may include one or more HSSs 1136. For example, HSS 1136 may provide support for routing/roaming, authentication, authorization, naming/addressing resolution, location dependencies, and the like.

S-GW 1132 may terminate S1 interface 322 towards RAN 1106 and route data packets between RAN 1106 and CN 1128. In addition, S-GW 1132 may be a local mobility anchor point for inter-RAN node handover, and may also provide an anchor for inter-3 GPP mobility. Other responsibilities may include lawful interception, billing, and enforcement of certain policies.

P-GW 1134 may terminate the SGi interface towards the PDN. The P-GW 1134 may route data packets between the CN 1128 (e.g., EPC network) and an external network, such as a network including an application server 1142 (alternatively referred to as an Application Function (AF)), via an Internet Protocol (IP) interface, shown as IP communications interface 1138. In general, application server 1142 may be an element that provides applications that use IP bearer resources with a core network (e.g., UMTS Packet Service (PS) domain, LTE PS data services, etc.). In this embodiment, P-GW 1134 is shown communicatively coupled to application server 1142 via IP communications interface 1138. Application server 1142 may also be configured to support one or more communication services (e.g., voice over internet protocol (VoIP) sessions, PTT sessions, group communication sessions, social networking services, etc.) for UE 1102 and UE1104 via CN 1128.

P-GW 1134 may also be a node for policy enforcement and charging data collection. A policy and charging enforcement function (PCRF), shown as PRCF 1140, is a policy and charging control element of CN 1128. In a non-roaming scenario, there may be a single PCRF in a national public land mobile network (HPLMN) associated with an internet protocol connectivity access network (IP-CAN) session of a UE. In a roaming scenario with local traffic breakout, there may be two PCRFs associated with the IP-CAN session of the UE: a domestic PCRF (H-PCRF) within the HPLMN and a visited PCRF (V-PCRF) within a Visited Public Land Mobile Network (VPLMN). PCRF 1140 may be communicatively coupled to application server 1142 via P-GW 1134. Application server 1142 may signal PCRF 1140 to indicate the new service flow and select the appropriate quality of service (QoS) and charging parameters. PCRF 1140 may provide the rules as a Policy and Charging Enforcement Function (PCEF) (not shown) with appropriate Traffic Flow Templates (TFTs) and QoS Class Identifiers (QCIs) that initiates the QoS and charging specified by application server 1142.

Fig. 12 illustrates an architecture of a system 1200 of a network according to some embodiments. System 1200 is shown as including: UE 1202, which may be the same or similar to UE 1102 and UE1104 previously discussed; a 5G access node or RAN node (shown as (R) AN node 1208), which may be the same as or similar to the macro RAN node 1118 and/or LP RAN node 1120 previously discussed; user plane functions (shown as UPF 1204); a data network (DN 1206), which may be, for example, an operator service, internet access, or a 3 rd party service; and a 5G core network (5GC) (shown as CN 1210).

CN 1210 may include an authentication server function (AUSF 1214); core access and mobility management functions (AMF 1212); a session management function (SMF 1218); a network exposure function (NEF 1216); a policy control function (PCF 1222); a Network Function (NF) repository function (NRF 1220); unified data management (UDM 1224); and an application function (AF 1226). CN 1210 may also include other elements not shown such as a structured data storage network function (SDSF), an unstructured data storage network function (UDSF), etc.

The UPF 1204 may serve as an anchor point for intra-RAT and inter-RAT mobility, an external PDU session point interconnected with the DN 1206, and a branch point to support multi-homed PDU sessions. The UPF 1204 may also perform packet routing and forwarding, packet inspection, enforcement of the user plane part of policy rules, lawful interception of packets (UP collection); traffic usage reporting, performing QoS processing on the user plane (e.g., packet filtering, gating, UL/DL rate enforcement), performing uplink traffic verification (e.g., SDF to QoS flow mapping), transmit level packet marking in uplink and downlink, and downlink packet buffering and downlink data notification triggering. UPF 1204 may include an uplink classifier to support routing of traffic flows to the data network. DN 1206 may represent various network operator services, internet access, or third party services. DN 1206 may include or be similar to application server 1142 discussed previously.

The AUSF 1214 may store data for authentication of the UE 1202 and handle authentication-related functions. The AUSF 1214 may facilitate a common authentication framework for various access types.

The AMF 1212 may be responsible for registration management (e.g., responsible for registering the UE 1202, etc.), connection management, reachability management, mobility management, and lawful interception of AMF-related events, as well as access authentication and authorization. AMF 1212 may provide SM messaging for SMF 1218 and act as a transparent proxy for routing SM messages. The AMF 1212 may also provide transport for Short Message Service (SMS) messages between the UE 1202 and an SMS function (SMSF) (not shown in fig. 12). The AMF 1212 may act as a security anchor function (SEA), which may include interaction with the AUSF 1214 and the UE 1202, receiving intermediate keys established as a result of the UE 1202 authentication procedure. In the case where USIM-based authentication is used, the AMF 1212 may retrieve the security material from the AUSF 1214. The AMF 1212 may also include a Secure Content Management (SCM) function that receives keys from the SEA for deriving access network-specific keys. Further, the AMF 1212 may be a termination point of RAN CP interface (N2 reference point), a termination point of NAS (ni) signaling, and performs NAS ciphering and integrity protection.

The AMF 1212 may also support NAS signaling with the UE 1202 through an N3 interworking function (IWF) interface. An N3IWF may be used to provide access to untrusted entities. The N3IWF may be the endpoint of the N2 and N3 interfaces for the control plane and user plane, respectively, and thus may handle N2 signaling for PDU sessions and QoS from SMF and AMF, encapsulate/decapsulate packets for IPSec and N3 tunnels, tag N3 user plane packets in the uplink, and enforce QoS corresponding to N3 packet tagging in view of QoS requirements associated with such tagging received over N2. The N3IWF may also relay uplink and downlink control plane nas (ni) signaling between the UE 1202 and the AMF 1212, and uplink and downlink user plane packets between the UE 1202 and the UPF 1204. The N3IWF also provides a mechanism for establishing an IPsec tunnel with the UE 1202.

SMF 1218 may be responsible for session management (e.g., session establishment, modification, and publication, including tunnel maintenance between UPF and AN nodes); UE IP address assignment & management (including optional authorization); selection and control of the UP function; configuring traffic steering at the UPF to route traffic to the correct destination; terminating the interface towards the policy control function; a policy enforcement and QoS control part; lawful interception (for SM events and interface with LI system); terminate the SM portion of the NAS message; a downlink data notification; initiator of AN specific SM message sent to AN through N2 via AMF; the SSC pattern for the session is determined. SMF 1218 may include the following roaming functions: processing local execution to apply QoS SLA (VPLMN); a charging data acquisition and charging interface (VPLMN); lawful interception (in VPLMN for SM events and interfaces to the LI system); interaction with the foreign DN is supported to transmit signaling for PDU session authorization/authentication through the foreign DN.

NEF 1216 may provide a means for securely exposing services and capabilities provided by 3GPP network functions for third parties, internal exposure/re-exposure, application functions (e.g., AF 1226), edge computing or fog computing systems, etc. In such embodiments, NEF 1216 may authenticate, authorize, and/or limit the AF. NEF 1216 may also translate information exchanged with AF 1226 and information exchanged with internal network functions. For example, NEF 1216 may translate between the AF service identifier and the internal 5GC information. NEF 1216 may also receive information from other Network Functions (NFs) based on their exposed capabilities. This information may be stored as structured data at NEF 1216 or at data store NF using a standardized interface. The stored information may then be re-exposed to other NFs and AFs by NEF 1216 and/or used for other purposes such as analysis.

NRF 1220 may support a service discovery function, receive NF discovery requests from NF instances, and provide information of discovered NF instances to NF instances. NRF 1220 also maintains information on available NF instances and the services these instances support.

PCF 1222 may provide policy rules for control plane functions to perform these functions and may also support a unified policy framework for managing network behavior. The PCF 1222 may also implement a Front End (FE) to access subscription information related to policy decisions in the UDR of the UDM 1224.

The UDM1224 may process subscription-related information to support processing of communication sessions by network entities and may store subscription data for the UE 1202. The UDM1224 may include two parts: an application FE and a User Data Repository (UDR). The UDM may include a UDM FE that is responsible for handling credentials, location management, subscription management, and the like. Several different front ends may serve the same user in different transactions. The UDM-FE accesses the subscription information stored in the UDR and executes authentication credential processing; processing user identification; access authorization; registration/mobility management; and subscription management. The UDR may interact with the PCF 1222. UDM1224 may also support SMS management where an SMS-FE implements similar application logic previously discussed.

The AF 1226 may provide application impact on traffic routing, access Network Capability Exposure (NCE), and interact with the policy framework for policy control. The NCE may be a mechanism that allows 5GC and AF 1226 to provide information to each other via NEF 1216, which may be used for edge computing implementations. In such implementations, network operator and third party services may be hosted near the UE 1202 access point of the accessory to enable efficient service delivery with reduced end-to-end delay and load on the transport network. For edge calculation implementations, the 5GC may select a UPF 1204 near the UE 1202 and perform traffic steering from the UPF 1204 to the DN 1206 via an N6 interface. This may be based on the UE subscription data, UE location and information provided by the AF 1226. As such, the AFs 1226 may affect UPF (re) selection and traffic routing. Based on operator deployment, the network operator may allow AF 1226 to interact directly with the relevant NFs when AF 1226 is considered a trusted entity.

As discussed previously, CN 1210 may include an SMSF, which may be responsible for SMS subscription checking and verification and relaying SM messages to UE 1202 from or to other entities, such as SMS-GMSC/IWMSC/SMS routers. The SMS may also interact with the AMF 1212 and the UDM1224 for notification procedures such that the UE 1202 may be used for SMS transmission (e.g., set a UE unreachable flag, and notify the UDM1224 when the UE 1202 is available for SMS).

The system 1200 may include the following service-based interfaces: namf: service-based interfaces presented by the AMF; nsmf: SMF-rendered service-based interfaces; nnef: NEF-presented service-based interface; npcf: a service-based interface presented by the PCF; nudm: UDM rendered service-based interfaces; naf: a service-based interface for AF presentation; nnrf: NRF rendered service-based interfaces; and Nausf: AUSF-presented service-based interface.

The system 1200 may include the following reference points: n1: a reference point between the UE and the AMF; n2: (R) a reference point between AN and AMF; n3: (R) a reference point between AN and UPF; n4: a reference point between SMF and UPF; and N6: reference point between the UPF and the data network. There may be more reference points and/or service-based interfaces between NF services in these NFs, however these interfaces and reference points are omitted for clarity. For example, the NS reference point may be between the PCF and the AF; the N7 reference point may be between the PCF and the SMF; the N11 reference point may be between AMF and SMF, etc.; in some embodiments, CN 1210 may include an Nx interface, which is an inter-CN interface between an MME (e.g., MME 1130) and an AMF 1212, to enable interworking between CN 1210 and CN 1128.

Although not shown in fig. 12, the system 1200 may include a plurality of RAN nodes, such as (R) AN node 1208, wherein AN Xn interface is defined between two or more (R) AN nodes 1208 (e.g., gnbs, etc.) connected to the 5GC 410, between the (R) AN node 1208 (e.g., gNB) connected to the CN 1210 and AN eNB (e.g., the macro RAN node 1118 of fig. 11) and/or between two enbs connected to the CN 1210.

In some implementations, the Xn interface can include an Xn user plane (Xn-U) interface and an Xn control plane (Xn-C) interface. The Xn-U may provide non-guaranteed delivery of user plane PDUs and support/provide data forwarding and flow control functions. The Xn-C can provide management and error processing functions for managing the functions of the Xn-C interface; mobility support for the UE 1202 in connected mode (e.g., CM connected) includes functionality for managing connected mode UE mobility between one or more (R) AN nodes 1208. The mobility support may include context transfer from AN old (source) serving (R) AN node 1208 to a new (target) serving (R) AN node 1208; and control of the user plane tunnel between the old (source) serving (R) AN node 1208 to the new (target) serving (R) AN node 1208.

The protocol stack of the Xn-U may include a transport network layer established on top of an Internet Protocol (IP) transport layer, and a GTP-U layer on top of UDP and/or IP layers for carrying user plane PDUs. The Xn-C protocol stack may include an application layer signaling protocol, referred to as the Xn application protocol (Xn-AP), and a transport network layer built on top of the SCTP layer. The SCTP layer can be located on top of the IP layer. The SCTP layer provides guaranteed delivery of application layer messages. In the transport IP layer, point-to-point transport is used to deliver the signaling PDUs. In other implementations, the Xn-U protocol stack and/or the Xn-C protocol stack may be the same as or similar to the user plane and/or control plane protocol stacks shown and described herein.

Fig. 13 illustrates exemplary components of an apparatus 1300 according to some embodiments. In some embodiments, device 1300 may include application circuitry 1302, baseband circuitry 1304, Radio Frequency (RF) circuitry (shown as RF circuitry 1320), Front End Module (FEM) circuitry (shown as FEM 1330), one or more antennas 1332, and power management circuitry (shown as PMC 1334) coupled together at least as shown. The components of the illustrated apparatus 1300 may be included in a UE or RAN node. In some embodiments, apparatus 1300 may include fewer elements (e.g., the RAN node may not utilize application circuitry 1302, but rather include a processor/controller to process IP data received from the EPC). In some embodiments, device 1300 may include additional elements, such as memory/storage, a display, a camera, a sensor, or an input/output (I/O) interface. In other embodiments, the following components may be included in more than one device (e.g., the circuitry may be included separately in more than one device for cloud-RAN (C-RAN) implementations).

The application circuitry 1302 may include one or more application processors. For example, the application circuitry 1302 may include circuitry such as, but not limited to, one or more single-core or multi-core processors. The one or more processors may include any combination of general-purpose processors and special-purpose processors (e.g., graphics processors, application processors, etc.). The processors may be coupled to or may include memory/storage and may be configured to execute instructions stored therein to enable various applications or operating systems to run on device 1300. In some embodiments, the processor of the application circuitry 1302 may process IP data packets received from the EPC.

The baseband circuitry 1304 may include circuitry such as, but not limited to, one or more single-core or multi-core processors. Baseband circuitry 1304 may include one or more baseband processors or control logic components to process baseband signals received from the receive signal path of RF circuitry 1320 and generate baseband signals for the transmit signal path of RF circuitry 1320. Baseband circuitry 1304 may interact with the application circuitry 1302 to generate and process baseband signals and to control the operation of the RF circuitry 1320. For example, in some embodiments, the baseband circuitry 1304 may include a third generation (3G) baseband processor (3G baseband processor 1306), a fourth generation (4G) baseband processor (4G baseband processor 1308), a fifth generation (5G) baseband processor (5G baseband processor 1310), or other existing generation, developing or future-developed generation, other baseband processors 1312 (e.g., second generation (2G), sixth generation (6G), etc.). The baseband circuitry 1304 (e.g., one or more of the baseband processors) may handle various radio control functions capable of communicating with one or more radio networks via the RF circuitry 1320. In other embodiments, some or all of the functionality of the illustrated baseband processor may be included in modules stored in the memory 1318 and executed via the central processing unit (CPU 1314). The radio control functions may include, but are not limited to, signal modulation/demodulation, encoding/decoding, radio frequency shifting, and the like. In some embodiments, the modulation/demodulation circuitry of baseband circuitry 1304 may include Fast Fourier Transform (FFT), precoding, or constellation mapping/demapping functions. In some embodiments, the encoding/decoding circuitry of baseband circuitry 1304 may include convolutional, tail-biting convolutional, turbo, viterbi, or Low Density Parity Check (LDPC) encoder/decoder functionality. Embodiments of the modulation/demodulation and encoder/decoder functions are not limited to these examples, and other suitable functions may be included in other embodiments.

In some implementations, the baseband circuitry 1304 may include a Digital Signal Processor (DSP), such as one or more audio DSPs 1316. The one or more audio DSPs 1316 may include elements for compression/decompression and echo cancellation, and may include other suitable processing elements in other embodiments. In some embodiments, the components of the baseband circuitry may be combined in a single chip, a single chipset, or disposed on the same circuit board, as appropriate. In some embodiments, some or all of the constituent components of the baseband circuitry 1304 and the application circuitry 1302 may be implemented together, such as on a system on a chip (SOC).

In some implementations, the baseband circuitry 1304 may provide communications compatible with one or more radio technologies. For example, in some embodiments, baseband circuitry 1304 may support communication with an Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (EUTRAN) or other Wireless Metropolitan Area Network (WMAN), Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN), Wireless Personal Area Network (WPAN). Embodiments in which the baseband circuitry 1304 is configured to support radio communications of more than one wireless protocol may be referred to as multi-mode baseband circuitry.

The RF circuitry 1320 may enable communication with a wireless network through a non-solid medium using modulated electromagnetic radiation. In various implementations, the RF circuitry 1320 may include switches, filters, amplifiers, and the like to facilitate communication with the wireless network. The RF circuitry 1320 may include a receive signal path that may include circuitry to down-convert an RF signal received from the FEM circuitry 1330 and provide a baseband signal to the baseband circuitry 1304. The RF circuitry 1320 may also include a transmit signal path that may include circuitry for upconverting baseband signals provided by the baseband circuitry 1304 and providing an RF output signal for transmission to the FEM circuitry 1330.

In some implementations, the receive signal path of the RF circuitry 1320 may include mixer circuitry 1322, amplifier circuitry 1324, and filter circuitry 1326. In some implementations, the transmit signal path of the RF circuitry 1320 may include filter circuitry 1326 and mixer circuitry 1322. RF circuitry 1320 may also include synthesizer circuitry 1328 to synthesize frequencies for use by mixer circuitry 1322 for the receive signal path and the transmit signal path. In some embodiments, the mixer circuitry 1322 of the receive signal path may be configured to downconvert RF signals received from the FEM circuitry 1330 based on the synthesis frequency provided by the synthesizer circuitry 1328. The amplifier circuit 1324 may be configured to amplify the downconverted signal, and the filter circuit 1326 may be a Low Pass Filter (LPF) or a Band Pass Filter (BPF) configured to remove unwanted signals from the downconverted signal to generate an output baseband signal. The output baseband signal may be provided to baseband circuitry 1304 for further processing. In some embodiments, the output baseband signal may be a zero frequency baseband signal, although this is not required. In some embodiments, mixer circuitry 1322 of the receive signal path may comprise a passive mixer, although the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect.

In some implementations, the mixer circuitry 1322 of the transmit signal path may be configured to upconvert the input baseband signal based on a synthesis frequency provided by the synthesizer circuitry 1328 to generate an RF output signal for the FEM circuitry 1330. The baseband signal may be provided by baseband circuitry 1304 and may be filtered by filter circuitry 1326.

In some embodiments, mixer circuitry 1322 of the receive signal path and mixer circuitry 1322 of the transmit signal path may comprise two or more mixers and may be arranged for quadrature down-conversion and up-conversion, respectively. In some embodiments, the mixer circuit 1322 of the receive signal path and the mixer circuit 1322 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, mixer circuit 1322 and mixer circuit 1322 of the receive signal path may be arranged for direct down-conversion and direct up-conversion, respectively. In some embodiments, mixer circuitry 1322 of the receive signal path and mixer circuitry 1322 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, the RF circuitry 1320 may include analog-to-digital converter (ADC) and digital-to-analog converter (DAC) circuitry, and the baseband circuitry 1304 may include a digital baseband interface to communicate with the RF circuitry 1320.

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

In some embodiments, synthesizer circuit 1328 may be a fractional-N synthesizer or a fractional-N/N +1 synthesizer, although the scope of embodiments is not limited in this respect as other types of frequency synthesizers may also be suitable. The synthesizer circuit 1328 may be, for example, a delta-sigma synthesizer, a frequency multiplier, or a synthesizer including a phase locked loop with a frequency divider.

The synthesizer circuit 1328 may be configured to synthesize an output frequency based on the frequency input and the divider control input for use by the mixer circuit 1322 of the RF circuit 1320. In some embodiments, synthesizer circuit 1328 may be a fractional-N/N +1 synthesizer.

In some embodiments, the frequency input may be provided by a Voltage Controlled Oscillator (VCO), although this is not required. The divider control input may be provided by baseband circuitry 1304 or application circuitry 1302 (such as an application processor) depending on the desired output frequency. In some implementations, the divider control input (e.g., N) can be determined from a look-up table based on the channel indicated by the application circuitry 1302.

Synthesizer circuit 1328 of RF circuit 1320 may include a frequency divider, a Delay Locked Loop (DLL), a multiplexer, and a phase accumulator. In some embodiments, the frequency divider may be a dual-mode frequency divider (DMD) and the phase accumulator may be a Digital Phase Accumulator (DPA). In some embodiments, the DMD may be configured to divide an input signal by N or N +1 (e.g., based on a carry) to provide a fractional division ratio. In some example embodiments, a DLL may include a cascaded, tunable, delay element, a phase detector, a charge pump, and a D-type flip-flop set. In these embodiments, the delay elements may be configured to divide the VCO period into Nd equal phase groups, where Nd is the number of delay elements in the delay line. Thus, 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 1328 may be configured to generate a carrier frequency 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 may be used with a quadrature generator and divider circuit to generate multiple signals at the carrier frequency having multiple different phases relative to each other. In some implementations, the output frequency may be the LO frequency (fLO). In some implementations, the RF circuit 1320 may include an IQ/polarity converter.

FEM circuitry 1330 may include a receive signal path that may include circuitry configured to operate on RF signals received from one or more antennas 1332, amplify the received signals, and provide amplified versions of the received signals to RF circuitry 1320 for further processing. The FEM circuitry 1330 may also include a transmit signal path, which may include circuitry configured to amplify transmit signals provided by the RF circuitry 1320 for transmission by one or more of the one or more antennas 1332. In various implementations, amplification through transmit or receive signal paths may be accomplished only in the RF circuitry 1320, only in the FEM circuitry 1330, or both the RF circuitry 1320 and the FEM circuitry 1330.

In some implementations, the FEM circuitry 1330 may include TX/RX switches to switch between transmit mode and receive mode operation. The FEM circuitry 1330 may include a receive signal path and a transmit signal path. The receive signal path of the FEM circuitry 1330 may include an LNA to amplify the received RF signal and provide the amplified received RF signal as an output (e.g., to the RF circuitry 1320). The transmit signal path of the FEM circuitry 1330 may include a Power Amplifier (PA) to amplify the input RF signal (e.g., provided by the RF circuitry 1320), and one or more filters to generate an RF signal for subsequent transmission (e.g., by one or more of the one or more antennas 1332).

In some embodiments, PMC 1334 may manage power provided to baseband circuitry 1304. Specifically, the PMC 1334 may control power selection, voltage scaling, battery charging, or DC-DC conversion. The PMC 1334 may generally be included when the apparatus 1300 is capable of being powered by a battery, for example, when the apparatus 1300 is included in a UE. The PMC 1334 may improve power conversion efficiency while providing desired implementation size and heat dissipation characteristics.

Figure 13 shows PMC 1334 coupled only to baseband circuitry 1304. However, in other embodiments, PMC 1334 may additionally or alternatively be coupled with other components (such as, but not limited to, application circuitry 1302, RF circuitry 1320, or FEM circuitry 1330) and perform similar power management operations for these components.

In some embodiments, PMC 1334 may control or otherwise be part of various power saving mechanisms of device 1300. For example, if the device 1300 is in an RRC _ Connected state, where the device is still Connected to the RAN node because it expects to receive traffic immediately, after a period of inactivity, the device may enter a state referred to as discontinuous reception mode (DRX). During this state, the device 1300 may be powered down for a short interval of time, thereby saving power.

If there is no data traffic activity for an extended period of time, the device 1300 may transition to an RRC _ Idle state, where the device is disconnected from the network and no operations such as channel quality feedback, handover, etc. are performed. The device 1300 enters a very low power state and performs paging, where the device again periodically wakes up to listen to the network and then powers down again. Device 1300 cannot receive data in this state and in order to receive data, the device must transition back to the RRC _ Connected state.

The additional power-save mode may cause the device to be unavailable to the network for longer than the paging interval (ranging from a few seconds to a few hours). During this time, the device is completely unable to connect to the network and can be completely powered down. Any data transmitted during this period will cause significant delay and the delay is assumed to be acceptable.

The processor of the application circuitry 1302 and the processor of the baseband circuitry 1304 may be used to execute elements of one or more instances of a protocol stack. For example, the processor of the baseband circuitry 1304 may be used, alone or in combination, to perform layer 3, layer 2, or layer 1 functions, while the processor of the application circuitry 1302 may utilize data (e.g., packet data) received from these layers and further perform layer 4 functions (e.g., Transmission Communication Protocol (TCP) and User Datagram Protocol (UDP) layers). As mentioned herein, layer 3 may include a Radio Resource Control (RRC) layer, described in further detail below. As mentioned herein, layer 2 may include a Medium Access Control (MAC) layer, a Radio Link Control (RLC) layer, and a Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) layer, as described in further detail below. As mentioned herein, layer 1 may comprise the Physical (PHY) layer of the UE/RAN node, as described in further detail below.

Fig. 14 illustrates an exemplary interface 1400 of a baseband circuit according to some embodiments. As described above, the baseband circuitry 1304 of fig. 13 may include a 3G baseband processor 1306, a 4G baseband processor 1308, a 5G baseband processor 1310, other baseband processors 1312, a CPU 1314, and memory 1318 for use by such processors. As shown, each of the processors may include a respective memory interface 1402 to send and receive data to and from memory 1318.

The baseband circuitry 1304 may also include one or more interfaces, such as memory, to communicatively couple to other circuitry/devicesA memory interface 1404 (e.g., an interface for sending data to or receiving data from a memory external to baseband circuitry 1304), an application circuitry interface 1406 (e.g., an interface for sending data to or receiving data from application circuitry 1302 of fig. 13), an RF circuitry interface 1408 (e.g., an interface for sending data to or receiving data from RF circuitry 1320 of fig. 13), a wireless hardware connection interface 1410 (e.g., an interface for sending data to or receiving data from Near Field Communication (NFC) components,

The components (e.g.,

Low Energy)、

components and other communication components to send or receive data from these components) and a power management interface 1412 (e.g., an interface to send or receive power or control signals to or from a PMC 1334).

Additional examples

For one or more embodiments, at least one of the components illustrated in one or more of the foregoing figures may be configured to perform one or more operations, techniques, processes, and/or methods as described in the example section below. For example, the baseband circuitry described above in connection with one or more of the preceding figures may be configured to operate in accordance with one or more of the following embodiments. As another example, circuitry associated with a UE, base station, network element, etc., as described above in connection with one or more of the preceding figures, can be configured to operate in accordance with one or more of the embodiments illustrated below in the embodiments section.

The following examples relate to further embodiments.

Embodiment 1 is an apparatus for Test Equipment (TE), the apparatus comprising a memory interface and a processor. The memory interface is to transmit or receive data for testing a User Equipment (UE) corresponding to an operating band, a subcarrier spacing, and a channel bandwidth to or from a memory device. The processor is configured to determine a power spectral density (Noc) of an artificial noise signal to be applied to the UE for testing at the operating band, the subcarrier spacing, and the channel bandwidth based on the following equation: noc ═ REFSENS-10 × log10(BW) + D-SNRREFSENS + X, where: REFSENS represents a reference sensitivity power level for the operating band, the subcarrier spacing, and the channel bandwidth corresponding to a receiver of the UE; BW denotes a reception bandwidth; d represents the diversity gain of the receiver; SNRREFSENS-1 dB corresponds to the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) used to model the REFSENS; and X represents an expected value of thermal noise above the UE.

Embodiment 2 is the apparatus of embodiment 1, wherein the BW is determined based on a number of subcarriers in a Physical Resource Block (PRB), the subcarrier spacing, and a maximum number of PRBs associated with the refcens.

Embodiment 3 is the apparatus of embodiment 1, wherein the processor is further configured to select X in a range of about 15dB to 16dB to selectively set a total noise of about 0.1 dB.

Embodiment 4 is an apparatus for Test Equipment (TE), the apparatus comprising a memory interface and a processor. The memory interface is to transmit or receive data for testing a User Equipment (UE) corresponding to an operating band, a subcarrier spacing, and a channel bandwidth to or from a memory device. The processor is configured to determine a power level (Es) of a signal to be applied to the UE for testing at the operating band, the subcarrier spacing, and the channel bandwidth based on the following equation: es ═ REFSENS-10 × log10(BW) + D-SNRREFSENS + SNRbound, where: REFSENS represents a reference sensitivity power level for the operating band, the subcarrier spacing, and the channel bandwidth corresponding to a receiver of the UE; BW denotes a reception bandwidth; d represents the diversity gain of the receiver; SNRREFSENS-1 dB corresponds to the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) used to model the REFSENS; and SNRbound represents a SNR value associated with the signal based at least in part on an Error Vector Magnitude (EVM) of a transmitter (Tx) of the TE.

Embodiment 5 is the apparatus of embodiment 4, wherein the BW is determined based on a number of subcarriers in Physical Resource Blocks (PRBs), the subcarrier spacing, and a maximum number of PRBs associated with the refcens.

Embodiment 6 is the apparatus of embodiment 4, wherein the SNRbound is selected in a range of about 30dB to 35dB for a first frequency range (FR 1).

Embodiment 7 is an apparatus for Test Equipment (TE), the apparatus comprising a memory interface and a processor. The memory interface is for sending or receiving data corresponding to multi-band relaxation parameters to or from a memory device. The processor is configured to determine a multi-band power spectral density (Noc) of an artificial noise signal for a multi-band available User Equipment (UE) based on the following equation: NocMB ═ NocSB + ∑ MBP, where: NocMB represents Noc to be applied to the multi-band available UEs for testing; NocSB denotes a single band Noc corresponding to a single band-available UE; and ∑ MBP denotes the multi-band relaxation parameter corresponding to peak Effective Isotropic Radiated Power (EIRP).

Embodiment 8 is the apparatus of embodiment 7, wherein the NocMB is to wirelessly test the multi-band UE in a second frequency range (FR2) of 7GHz or higher than 7 GHz.

Embodiment 9 is a method for testing receiver (Rx) performance requirements of a User Equipment (UE), the method comprising: generating a Radio Frequency (RF) signal having a power level (Es) and an artificial noise signal having a power spectral density (Noc); determining the Es for the RF signal and the Noc for the artificial noise signal, wherein the Es and Noc are selected to emulate a target signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) at a baseband Rx chain of the UE and compensate for UE RF noise; combining the RF signal and the noise signal to produce an applied signal; and providing the applied signal to the UE.

Embodiment 10 is the method of embodiment 9, wherein providing the applied signal to the UE comprises providing the applied signal directly to a conducted antenna connector of the UE for conducted testing of UE performance requirements including UE demodulation or Channel State Information (CSI) requirements.

Embodiment 11 is the method of embodiment 10, wherein determining the Noc comprises deriving a variable Noc per frequency band based on a power level of the UE RF noise (PNoiseRF).

Embodiment 12 is the method of embodiment 11, wherein the variable Noc per band produces a fixed SNR error.

Embodiment 13 is the method of embodiment 11, further comprising deriving the pnoise rf from a reference sensitivity power level (REFSENS) of a receiver corresponding to the UE.

Embodiment 14 is the method of embodiment 13, wherein: PNoiseRF-10 log10(BW) + D-SNRREFSENS, where refesens is in dBm/Hz, BW corresponds to the reception bandwidth in Hz, D represents the diversity gain of the receiver in dB, and SNRREFSENS-1 dB corresponds to the SNR used to simulate the refesens.

Embodiment 15 is the method of embodiment 14, wherein the BW is determined based on a number of subcarriers in Physical Resource Blocks (PRBs), a subcarrier spacing associated with the REFSENS, and a maximum number of PRBs associated with the REFSENS.

Embodiment 16 is the method of embodiment 14, wherein Noc — PNoiseRF + X, where X represents a parameter for selectively setting a desired SNR degradation observed at the UE baseband due to UE RF noise.

Embodiment 17 is the method of embodiment 16, further comprising selecting X in a range of about 15dB to 16dB, wherein the desired SNR degrades to about 0.1 dB.

Embodiment 18 is the method of embodiment 10, wherein determining the Noc comprises setting the Noc to zero to simulate a noise-free condition, the method further selecting the band-specific value of the Es based on a power level of the UE RF noise (pnoise RF).

Embodiment 19 is the method of embodiment 18, wherein Es PNoiseRF + SNRbound, wherein SNRbound represents an SNR value associated with the applied signal based at least in part on an Error Vector Magnitude (EVM) of a Test Equipment (TE) transmitter (Tx).

Embodiment 20 is the method of embodiment 19, further comprising selecting SNRbound in a range of about 30dB to 35dB for the first frequency range (FR 1).

Embodiment 21 is the method of embodiment 9, wherein the RF signal is within a second frequency range (FR2), and wherein providing the applied signal to the UE comprises wirelessly transmitting the applied signal to the UE in a Test Equipment (TE) room for demodulation or Channel State Information (CSI) required radiated testing.

Embodiment 22 is the method of embodiment 21, wherein the UE supports operation in multiple FR2 bands, and wherein determining the Noc comprises determining a nocm of a multi-band available device such that: NocMB ═ NocSB + ∑ MBP, where NocSB denotes the single band Noc corresponding to single band-capable devices, and Σ MBP denotes the multiband relaxation parameters corresponding to the peak Effective Isotropic Radiated Power (EIRP).

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

It should be appreciated that the system described herein includes descriptions of specific embodiments. The embodiments may be combined into a single system, partially incorporated into other systems, divided into multiple systems, or otherwise divided or combined. Furthermore, it is contemplated that parameters/attributes/aspects, etc. of one embodiment may be used in another embodiment. For clarity, these parameters/properties/aspects, etc. have been described in one or more embodiments only, and it should be recognized that these parameters/properties/aspects, etc. may be combined with or substituted for parameters/properties, etc. of another embodiment unless specifically stated herein.

Although the foregoing has been described in some detail for purposes of clarity of understanding, it will be apparent that certain changes and modifications may be made without departing from the principles of the invention. It should be noted that there are many alternative ways of implementing both the processes and apparatuses described herein. Accordingly, the present embodiments are to be considered as illustrative and not restrictive, and the description is not to be limited to the details given herein, but may be modified within the scope and equivalents of the appended claims.

Claims (22)

1. An apparatus for Testing Equipment (TE), the apparatus comprising:

a memory interface to send or receive data corresponding to an operating band, a subcarrier spacing, and a channel bandwidth for testing a User Equipment (UE) to or from a memory device; and

a processor configured to determine a power spectral density Noc of an artificial noise signal to be applied to the UE for testing at the operating band, the subcarrier spacing, and the channel bandwidth based on the following equation:

noc ═ REFSENS-10 × log10(BW) + D-SNRREFSENS + X, where:

REFSENS comprises a reference sensitivity power level for the operating band, the subcarrier spacing, and the channel bandwidth corresponding to a receiver of the UE;

the BW comprises a receive bandwidth;

d comprises a diversity gain of the receiver;

SNRREFSENS-1 dB corresponds to the signal-to-noise ratio SNR used to model the REFSENS; and is

X comprises an expected value above the thermal noise of the UE.

2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the BW is determined based on a number of subcarriers in physical resource blocks, PRBs, the subcarrier spacing, and a maximum number of PRBs associated with the REFSENS.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the processor is further configured to select X in a range of about 15dB to 16dB to selectively set a total noise of about 0.1 dB.

4. An apparatus for Testing Equipment (TE), the apparatus comprising:

a memory interface to send or receive data corresponding to an operating band, a subcarrier spacing, and a channel bandwidth for testing a User Equipment (UE) to or from a memory device; and

a processor for determining a power level Es of a signal to be applied to the UE for testing at the operating band, the subcarrier spacing, and the channel bandwidth based on the following equation:

Es＝REFSENS-10*log10(BW)+D-SNRREFSENS+SNRbound，

wherein:

REFSENS comprises a reference sensitivity power level for the operating band, the subcarrier spacing, and the channel bandwidth corresponding to a receiver of the UE;

the BW comprises a receive bandwidth;

d comprises a diversity gain of the receiver;

SNRREFSENS-1 dB corresponds to the signal-to-noise ratio SNR used to model the REFSENS; and is

SNRbound includes an SNR value associated with the signal based at least in part on an error vector magnitude, EVM, of a transmitter Tx of the TE.

5. The apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the BW is determined based on a number of subcarriers in physical resource blocks, PRBs, the subcarrier spacing, and a maximum number of PRBs associated with the REFSENS.

6. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein the SNRbound is selected in a range of about 30dB to 35dB for a first frequency range FR 1.

7. An apparatus for Testing Equipment (TE), the apparatus comprising:

a memory interface to send or receive data corresponding to multi-band relaxation parameters to or from a memory device; and

a processor for determining a multi-band power spectral density, Noc, of an artificial noise signal for a multi-band available user equipment, UE, based on the following equation:

NocMB ═ NocSB + ∑ MBP, where:

NocMB includes Noc to be applied to the multi-band available UEs for testing;

the NocSB includes a single band Noc corresponding to a single band-available UE; and is

Σ MBP comprises the multi-band relaxation parameters corresponding to the peak effective isotropic radiated power EIRP.

8. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the NocMB is used to wirelessly test the multi-band available UEs in a second frequency range FR2 at 7GHz or above 7 GHz.

9. A method for testing receiver Rx performance requirements of a user equipment, UE, the method comprising:

generating a radio frequency, RF, signal having a power level, Es, and an artificial noise signal having a power spectral density, Noc;

determining the Es for the RF signal and the Noc for the artificial noise signal, wherein the Es and Noc are selected to emulate a target signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) at a baseband (Rx) chain of the UE and to compensate for UE RF noise;

combining the RF signal and the artificial noise signal to produce an applied signal; and

providing the applied signal to the UE.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein providing the applied signal to the UE comprises providing the applied signal directly to a conducted antenna connector of the UE for conducted testing of UE performance requirements including UE demodulation or channel state information, CSI, requirements.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein determining the Noc comprises deriving a variable Noc per band based on a power level PNoiseRF of the UERF noise.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the variable Noc per band produces a fixed SNR error.

13. The method of claim 11, further comprising deriving the pnoise rf from a reference sensitivity power level REFSENS corresponding to a receiver of the UE.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein:

pnoiseRF-10 log10(BW) + D-SNRREFSENS, wherein

REFSENS is in dBm/Hz,

BW corresponds to the received bandwidth in Hz,

d comprises the diversity gain of the receiver in dB, an

SNRREFSENS-1 dB corresponds to the SNR used to model the REFSENS.

15. The method according to claim 14, wherein the BW is determined based on the number of subcarriers in physical resource blocks, PRBs, the subcarrier spacing associated with the REFSENS, and the maximum number of PRBs associated with the REFSENS.

16. The method of claim 14, wherein Noc ═ PNoiseRF + X, wherein X comprises parameters for selectively setting an expected SNR degradation observed at the UE baseband due to UE RF noise.

17. The method of claim 16, further comprising selecting X in a range of about 15dB to 16dB, wherein the desired SNR degrades by about 0.1 dB.

18. The method of claim 10, wherein determining the Noc comprises setting the Noc to zero to simulate a noise-free condition, the method further selecting a band-specific value of the Es based on a power level PNoiseRF of the UE RF noise.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein Es PNoiseRF + SNRbound, wherein SNRbound comprises an SNR value associated with the applied signal based at least in part on an error vector magnitude EVM of a test equipment TE transmitter Tx.

20. The method of claim 19, further comprising selecting SNRbound in a range of about 30dB to 35dB for a first frequency range FR 1.

21. The method of claim 9, wherein the RF signal is within a second frequency range FR2, and wherein providing the applied signal to the UE comprises wirelessly transmitting the applied signal to the UE in a test equipment, TE, room for demodulation or radiated testing required for channel state information, CSI.

22. The method of claim 21, wherein the UE supports operation in multiple FR2 bands, and wherein determining the Noc comprises determining a Noc of a multi-band-capable device, NocMB, such that:

NocSB +. SIGMA MBP, wherein

NocSB includes a single-band Noc corresponding to a single-band available device, and

Σ MBP includes multi-band relaxation parameters corresponding to the peak effective isotropic radiated power EIRP.

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