WO2022155243A1 - Multi-slot pdcch monitoring for high-carrier frequencies - Google Patents

Abstract

A user equipment (UE) is configured by higher-layer signalling with a search space (SS) set comprising a set of slots for multi-slot physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) monitoring. At least some slots of the SS set may be indicated to have a PDCCH monitoring occasion (MO). The configuration information may indicate a downlink control information (DCI) format for the UE to monitor. Some of the slots of the SS set may be indicated to have more than one PDCCH MO. The UE may perform multi-slot monitoring by monitoring the indicated slots of the configured SS set for detection of PDCCH candidates for the DCI format. The UE may decode the DCI format that schedules one or multiple physical downlink shared channels (PDSCHs).

Description

MULTI-SLOT PDCCH MONITORING FOR HIGH-CARRIER FREQUENCIES PRIORITY CLAIM [0001] This application claims priority to: United States Provisional Patent Application Serial No.63/137,007, filed January 13, 2021 [reference number AD4659-Z], United States Provisional Patent Application Serial No. 63/171,020, filed April 05, 2021 [reference number AD5817-Z]; and United States Provisional Patent Application Serial No.63/274,470, filed November 01, 2021 [reference number AE0033-Z], which are incorporated herein by reference in their entireties. TECHNICAL FIELD [0002] Embodiments pertain to wireless communications. Some embodiments relate to wireless networks including 3GPP (Third Generation Partnership Project) and fifth-generation (5G) networks including 5G new radio (NR) (or 5G-NR) networks. Some embodiments relate to sixth-generation (6G) networks. Some embodiments pertain physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) monitoring for higher-carrier frequency operations. BACKGROUND [0003] Mobile communications have evolved significantly from early voice systems to today’s highly sophisticated integrated communication platform. With the increase in different types of devices communicating with various network devices, usage of 3GPP 5G NR systems has increased. The penetration of mobile devices (user equipment or UEs) in modern society has continued to drive demand for a wide variety of networked devices in many disparate environments.5G NR wireless systems are forthcoming and are expected to enable even greater speed, connectivity, and usability, and are expected to increase throughput, coverage, and robustness and reduce latency and operational and capital expenditures.5G-NR networks will continue to evolve based on 3GPP LTE-Advanced with additional potential new radio access technologies (RATs) to enrich people’s lives with seamless wireless connectivity solutions delivering fast, rich content and services. As current cellular network frequency is saturated, higher frequencies, such as millimeter wave (mmWave) frequency, can be beneficial due to their high bandwidth. [0004] One issue with higher-carrier frequency operations (i.e., carrier frequencies above 52.6 GHz) is that the larger subcarrier spacing (SCS) is the shorter slot duration. This makes it more difficult for a UE to detect a PDCCH in these shorter slots. Thus, what is needed is improved techniques for PDCCH detection for higher-carrier frequency operations. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS [0005] FIG.1A illustrates an architecture of a network, in accordance with some embodiments. [0006] FIG.1B and FIG.1C illustrate a non-roaming 5G system architecture in accordance with some embodiments. [0007] FIG.2A illustrates a short slot duration of larger subcarrier spacing, in accordance with some embodiments. [0008] FIG.2B illustrates a PDCCH monitoring occasion (MO) configuration by a first symbol and a gap, in accordance with some embodiments. [0009] FIG.3 illustrates a PDCCH MO configuration in every two slots, in accordance with some embodiments. [0010] FIG.4 illustrates a PDCCH MO configuration with two periodicities, in accordance with some embodiments. [0011] FIG.5A illustrates a non-overlap window to define PDCCH monitoring capability, in accordance with some embodiments. [0012] FIG.5B illustrates a non-overlap window to define PDCCH monitoring capability, in accordance with some embodiments. [0013] FIG.6 illustrates a sliding window to define PDCCH monitoring capability, in accordance with some embodiments. [0014] FIG.7 illustrates a duration of a group on which PDCCH monitoring capability is defined, in accordance with some embodiments. [0015] FIG.8 illustrates UE-specific search space (USS) dropping, in accordance with some embodiments. [0016] FIG.9 illustrates USS dropping in the last slot in a slid group, in accordance with some embodiments. [0017] FIG.10 illustrates determination of the maximum numbers for the serving cells for carrier aggregation (CA), in accordance with some embodiments. [0018] FIG.11 illustrates a functional block diagram of a wireless communication device, in accordance with some embodiments. [0019] FIG.12 illustrates a procedure performed by a UE for PDCCH monitoring for high-carrier frequencies, in accordance with some embodiments. DETAILED DESCRIPTION [0020] The following description and the drawings sufficiently illustrate specific embodiments to enable those skilled in the art to practice them. Other embodiments may incorporate structural, logical, electrical, process, and other changes. Portions and features of some embodiments may be included in, or substituted for, those of other embodiments. Embodiments set forth in the claims encompass all available equivalents of those claims. [0021] Embodiments described herein provide improved techniques for PDCCH detection for higher-carrier frequency operations. Some embodiments are directed to multi-slot PDCCH monitoring for higher-carrier frequencies that use larger subcarrier spacings (SCSs). [0022] Some embodiments are directed to a user equipment (UE) configured to decode higher-layer signalling comprising configuration information from a gNodeB (gNB) to configure the UE with a search space (SS) set comprising a set of slots for multi-slot physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) monitoring. In these embodiments, at least some slots of the SS set may be indicated to have a PDCCH monitoring occasion (MO). In these embodiments, the configuration information may indicate a downlink control information (DCI) format for the UE to monitor. The UE may be configured to perform multi-slot monitoring by monitoring the indicated slots of the configured SS set for blind detection of PDCCH candidates for the DCI format. In these embodiments, the UE may decode the DCI format. The DCI format may schedule one or multiple physical downlink shared channels (PDSCHs). In some embodiments, the UE may store the configuration information. These embodiments are described in more detail below. [0023] In some of these embodiments, some of the slots of the SS set may be indicated to have more than one PDCCH MO. In these embodiments, some of the slots of the SS set may be indicated to have no PUCCH MOs. These embodiments are described in more detail herein. In these embodiments, the signalling comprising the configuration information to configure the UE with the SS set may comprise radio resource control (RRC) signalling. [0024] In some embodiments, the UE may perform the multi-slot monitoring for higher-frequency operations comprising operations with carrier frequencies above 52.6 GHz with a larger subcarrier spacing (SCS) of 480kHz and 960kHz. In these embodiments, the UE may be configured to refrain from performing the multi-slot monitoring for the higher-frequency operations comprising operations with carrier frequencies above 52.6 GHz with a SCS of 120kHz. In these embodiments, the UE may also be configured to refrain from performing the multi-slot monitoring for lower-frequency operations comprising operations with carrier frequencies below 52.6GHz. [0025] In these embodiments, when multi-slot PDCCH monitoring is not performed, the PDCCH MOs may be configured in all slots indicated by a parameter duration (i.e., the UE may monitor all slots). In these embodiments, when multi-slot PDCCH monitoring is performed, the PDCCH monitoring may be limited to Y of X slots, for some USS sets (e.g., Type1 CSS w/ dedicated RRC configuration, Type3 CSS, UE specific SS), although the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect. [0026] In these embodiments, for carrier frequencies below 6GHz, a 15kHz, a 30kHz and a 60kHz SCS can be used. For carrier frequencies above 6GHz and below 52.6GHz, a 60kHz and a 120kHz may be used. For carrier frequencies above 52.6GHz, a 120kHz, a 480kHz and a 960kHz SCS may be used however multi-slot PDCCH monitoring may be performed only for 480kHz and 960kHz SCS (i.e., not for the 120kHz SCS). [0027] In some embodiments, when the configuration information indicates that two or more PDCCH MOs are configured (i.e., by the gNB), the two or more consecutively indexed PDCCH MOs may be configured with a minimum gap between the PDCCH MOs. The gap may comprise one or more slots without a configured PDCCH MO. For example, if a first PDCCH MO is configured in symbols 0, 1 and 2 and a second PDCCH MO is configured in symbols 7, 8 and 9, a gap between the first symbols of the MOs is 7 symbols. In these embodiments, consecutively indexed PDCCH MOs may be configured with a minimum gap, although the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect. [0028] In some of these embodiments, zero, one or two MOs may be configured by the gNB in a slot depending on the duration of the SS set and gap. In the example illustrated in FIG.2B with a duration of 4 slots and a 28 symbol gap, one MO is configured in a first slot, no MO is configured in the second slot, a second MO is configured in the third slot, and no MO is configured in the fourth slot, although the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect. [0029] In some embodiments, when the configuration information indicates that two PDCCH MOs are configured by the gNB in a same slot of the set of slots, the two PDCCH MOs may be configured with a minimum gap of seven (7) symbols, although the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect. [0030] In some embodiments, the SS set may include a plurality of slot groups. Each slot group may comprise a predetermined number of slots (Y). In these embodiments, the configuration information for the SS set may include a monitoring occasion periodicity (X). The monitoring occasion periodicity (X) may indicate that a PDCCH MO is to occur once in every X slots of each slot group in the SS set. In some embodiments, the monitoring occasion periodicity (X) comprises maximum value Xc, the maximum value may be the number of slots in a slot group. In some embodiments, the monitoring occasion periodicity (X) may range from two slots up to the maximum value Xc. In some of these embodiments, for example when the monitoring occasion periodicity (X) is one, each group of slots that comprises a slot group includes a single PDCCH MO. When the monitoring occasion periodicity (X) is Xc, each slot of a slot group includes a PDCCH MO, although the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect. [0031] In some embodiments, the configuration information for the SS set indicates a number of consecutive slots (Y) in each slot group that are configured with the PDCCH MOs, although the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect. [0032] In some embodiments, the SS set may include a plurality of slot groups. Each slot group may comprise a number of slots. In these embodiments, the number of slots in each slot group (i.e., the slot group size) in the SS set may be based on the SCS. In these embodiments, for a 480 kHz SCS, the number of slots in the slot group may comprise four (4) slots. In these embodiments, for a 960 kHz SCS, the number of slots in the slot group may comprise eight (8) slots. In these embodiments, the duration of the group of slots for the 480 kHz SCS and for the 960 kHz SCS may be equal to the slot length for the 120 kHz SCS. An example of these embodiments is illustrated in FIG.7 described in more detail below. [0033] In some embodiments, the search space set may be configurable include a common search space (CSS) set and a UE-specific search space (USS) set. In these embodiments, for PDCCH overbooking the configuration information may allocate the CSS set to include up to a maximum number of PDCCH MOs for PDCCH monitoring in both a primary cell (PCell) and primary secondary cell (PSCell) in a slot group. In these embodiments, the configuration information may also allocate an additional number of PDCCH MOs that remain after the allocation in CSS for PDCCH monitoring in the USS set in the slot group. In these embodiments, for PDCCH overbooking for a PCell and a PSCell, the total numbers of monitored PDCCH candidates and non-overlapped CCEs for all the configured common SS (CSS) sets in a group of consecutive slots do not exceed the corresponding maximum numbers per the group of consecutive slots. The remaining numbers of monitored PDCCH candidates and non- overlapped CCEs after excluding the corresponding numbers for CSS are used to allocate UE specific SS (USS). These embodiments are described in more detail below. [0034] In some embodiments, the UE may be configured to decode the one or more scheduled PDSCHs, although the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect. [0035] Some embodiments are directed to non-transitory computer- readable storage medium that stores instructions for execution by processing circuitry of a user equipment (UE). In these embodiments, the processing circuitry may be configured to decode higher-layer signalling comprising configuration information from a gNodeB (gNB) to configure the UE with a search space (SS) set. The SS set may comprise a set of slots for multi-slot physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) monitoring. In these embodiments, at least some slots of the SS set may be indicated to have a PDCCH monitoring occasion (MO). The configuration information may indicate a downlink control information (DCI) format for the UE to monitor. The processing circuitry may also be configured to cause the UE to perform multi-slot monitoring by monitoring the indicated slots of the configured SS set for blind detection of PDCCH candidates for the indicated DCI format. The processing circuitry may also be configured to decode the DCI format scheduling one or multiple physical downlink shared channels (PDSCHs). These embodiments are described in more detail below. [0036] Some embodiments are directed to a gNodeB (gNB) configured to encode higher-layer signalling comprising configuration information to configure a user equipment (UE) with a search space (SS) set comprising a set of slots for multi-slot physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) monitoring. In these embodiments, at least some slots of the SS set may be indicated to have a PDCCH monitoring occasion (MO). In these embodiments, the configuration information may indicate a downlink control information (DCI) format for the UE to monitor. In these embodiments, the gNB may encode the indicated DCI format scheduling one or multiple physical downlink shared channels (PDSCHs). In these embodiments, the gNB may also encode the one or multiple PDSCHs that are scheduled by the DCI format. In these embodiments, the configuration information may configure the UE to perform multi-slot monitoring by monitoring the indicated slots of the configured SS set for blind detection of PDCCH candidates for the DCI format. These embodiments are described in more detail below. [0037] FIG.1A illustrates an architecture of a network in accordance with some embodiments. The network 140A is shown to include user equipment (UE) 101 and UE 102. The UEs 101 and 102 are illustrated as smartphones (e.g., handheld touchscreen mobile computing devices connectable to one or more cellular networks) but may also include any mobile or non-mobile computing device, such as Personal Data Assistants (PDAs), pagers, laptop computers, desktop computers, wireless handsets, drones, or any other computing device including a wired and/or wireless communications interface. The UEs 101 and 102 can be collectively referred to herein as UE 101, and UE 101 can be used to perform one or more of the techniques disclosed herein. [0038] Any of the radio links described herein (e.g., as used in the network 140A or any other illustrated network) may operate according to any exemplary radio communication technology and/or standard. [0039] LTE and LTE-Advanced are standards for wireless communications of high-speed data for UE such as mobile telephones. In LTE- Advanced and various wireless systems, carrier aggregation is a technology according to which multiple carrier signals operating on different frequencies may be used to carry communications for a single UE, thus increasing the bandwidth available to a single device. In some embodiments, carrier aggregation may be used where one or more component carriers operate on unlicensed frequencies. [0040] Embodiments described herein can be used in the context of any spectrum management scheme including, for example, dedicated licensed spectrum, unlicensed spectrum, (licensed) shared spectrum (such as Licensed Shared Access (LSA) in 2.3-2.4 GHz, 3.4-3.6 GHz, 3.6-3.8 GHz, and further frequencies and Spectrum Access System (SAS) in 3.55-3.7 GHz and further frequencies). [0041] Embodiments described herein can also be applied to different Single Carrier or OFDM flavors (CP-OFDM, SC-FDMA, SC-OFDM, filter bank-based multicarrier (FBMC), OFDMA, etc.) and in particular 3GPP NR (New Radio) by allocating the OFDM carrier data bit vectors to the corresponding symbol resources. [0042] In some embodiments, any of the UEs 101 and 102 can comprise an Internet-of-Things (IoT) UE or a Cellular IoT (CIoT) UE, which can comprise a network access layer designed for low-power IoT applications utilizing short-lived UE connections. In some embodiments, any of the UEs 101 and 102 can include a narrowband (NB) IoT UE (e.g., such as an enhanced NB- IoT (eNB-IoT) UE and Further Enhanced (FeNB-IoT) UE). An IoT UE can utilize technologies such as machine-to-machine (M2M) or machine-type communications (MTC) for exchanging data with an MTC server or device via a public land mobile network (PLMN), Proximity-Based Service (ProSe) or device-to-device (D2D) communication, sensor networks, or IoT networks. The M2M or MTC exchange of data may be a machine-initiated exchange of data. An IoT network includes interconnecting IoT UEs, which may include uniquely identifiable embedded computing devices (within the Internet infrastructure), with short-lived connections. The IoT UEs may execute background applications (e.g., keep-alive messages, status updates, etc.) to facilitate the connections of the IoT network. [0043] In some embodiments, any of the UEs 101 and 102 can include enhanced MTC (eMTC) UEs or further enhanced MTC (FeMTC) UEs. [0044] The UEs 101 and 102 may be configured to connect, e.g., communicatively couple, with a radio access network (RAN) 110. The RAN 110 may be, for example, an Evolved Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) Terrestrial Radio Access Network (E-UTRAN), a NextGen RAN (NG RAN), or some other type of RAN. The UEs 101 and 102 utilize connections 103 and 104, respectively, each of which comprises a physical communications interface or layer (discussed in further detail below); in this example, the connections 103 and 104 are illustrated as an air interface to enable communicative coupling and can be consistent with cellular communications protocols, such as a Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) protocol, a code-division multiple access (CDMA) network protocol, a Push-to- Talk (PTT) protocol, a PTT over Cellular (POC) protocol, a Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) protocol, a 3GPP Long Term Evolution (LTE) protocol, a fifth-generation (5G) protocol, a New Radio (NR) protocol, and the like. [0045] In an aspect, the UEs 101 and 102 may further directly exchange communication data via a ProSe interface 105. The ProSe interface 105 may alternatively be referred to as a sidelink interface comprising one or more logical channels, including but not limited to a Physical Sidelink Control Channel (PSCCH), a Physical Sidelink Shared Channel (PSSCH), a Physical Sidelink Discovery Channel (PSDCH), and a Physical Sidelink Broadcast Channel (PSBCH). [0046] The UE 102 is shown to be configured to access an access point (AP) 106 via connection 107. The connection 107 can comprise a local wireless connection, such as, for example, a connection consistent with any IEEE 802.11 protocol, according to which the AP 106 can comprise a wireless fidelity (WiFi) router. In this example, the AP 106 is shown to be connected to the Internet without connecting to the core network of the wireless system (described in further detail below). [0047] The RAN 110 can include one or more access nodes that enable the connections 103 and 104. These access nodes (ANs) can be referred to as base stations (BSs), NodeBs, evolved NodeBs (eNBs), Next Generation NodeBs (gNBs), RAN nodes, and the like, and can comprise ground stations (e.g., terrestrial access points) or satellite stations providing coverage within a geographic area (e.g., a cell). In some embodiments, the communication nodes 111 and 112 can be transmission/reception points (TRPs). In instances when the communication nodes 111 and 112 are NodeBs (e.g., eNBs or gNBs), one or more TRPs can function within the communication cell of the NodeBs. The RAN 110 may include one or more RAN nodes for providing macrocells, e.g., macro-RAN node 111, and one or more RAN nodes for providing femtocells or picocells (e.g., cells having smaller coverage areas, smaller user capacity, or higher bandwidth compared to macrocells), e.g., low power (LP) RAN node 112. [0048] Any of the RAN nodes 111 and 112 can terminate the air interface protocol and can be the first point of contact for the UEs 101 and 102. In some embodiments, any of the RAN nodes 111 and 112 can fulfill various logical functions for the RAN 110 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 an example, any of the nodes 111 and/or 112 can be a new generation Node-B (gNB), an evolved node-B (eNB), or another type of RAN node. [0049] The RAN 110 is shown to be communicatively coupled to a core network (CN) 120 via an S1 interface 113. In embodiments, the CN 120 may be an evolved packet core (EPC) network, a NextGen Packet Core (NPC) network, or some other type of CN (e.g., as illustrated in reference to FIGS.1B-1C). In this aspect, the S1 interface 113 is split into two parts: the S1-U interface 114, which carries traffic data between the RAN nodes 111 and 112 and the serving gateway (S-GW) 122, and the S1-mobility management entity (MME) interface 115, which is a signaling interface between the RAN nodes 111 and 112 and MMEs 121. [0050] In this aspect, the CN 120 comprises the MMEs 121, the S-GW 122, the Packet Data Network (PDN) Gateway (P-GW) 123, and a home subscriber server (HSS) 124. The MMEs 121 may be similar in function to the control plane of legacy Serving General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) Support Nodes (SGSN). The MMEs 121 may manage mobility embodiments in access such as gateway selection and tracking area list management. The HSS 124 may comprise a database for network users, including subscription-related information to support the network entities' handling of communication sessions. The CN 120 may comprise one or several HSSs 124, depending on the number of mobile subscribers, on the capacity of the equipment, on the organization of the network, etc. For example, the HSS 124 can provide support for routing/roaming, authentication, authorization, naming/addressing resolution, location dependencies, etc. [0051] The S-GW 122 may terminate the S1 interface 113 towards the RAN 110, and routes data packets between the RAN 110 and the CN 120. In addition, the S-GW 122 may be a local mobility anchor point for inter-RAN node handovers and also may provide an anchor for inter-3GPP mobility. Other responsibilities of the S-GW 122 may include a lawful intercept, charging, and some policy enforcement. [0052] The P-GW 123 may terminate an SGi interface toward a PDN. The P-GW 123 may route data packets between the EPC network 120 and external networks such as a network including the application server 184 (alternatively referred to as application function (AF)) via an Internet Protocol (IP) interface 125. The P-GW 123 can also communicate data to other external networks 131A, which can include the Internet, IP multimedia subsystem (IPS) network, and other networks. Generally, the application server 184 may be an element offering applications that use IP bearer resources with the core network (e.g., UMTS Packet Services (PS) domain, LTE PS data services, etc.). In this aspect, the P-GW 123 is shown to be communicatively coupled to an application server 184 via an IP interface 125. The application server 184 can 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 the UEs 101 and 102 via the CN 120. [0053] The P-GW 123 may further be a node for policy enforcement and charging data collection. Policy and Charging Rules Function (PCRF) 126 is the policy and charging control element of the CN 120. In a non-roaming scenario, in some embodiments, there may be a single PCRF in the Home Public Land Mobile Network (HPLMN) associated with a UE's Internet Protocol Connectivity Access Network (IP-CAN) session. In a roaming scenario with a local breakout of traffic, there may be two PCRFs associated with a UE's IP- CAN session: a Home PCRF (H-PCRF) within an HPLMN and a Visited PCRF (V-PCRF) within a Visited Public Land Mobile Network (VPLMN). The PCRF 126 may be communicatively coupled to the application server 184 via the P- GW 123. [0054] In some embodiments, the communication network 140A can be an IoT network or a 5G network, including 5G new radio network using communications in the licensed (5G NR) and the unlicensed (5G NR-U) spectrum. One of the current enablers of IoT is the narrowband-IoT (NB-IoT). [0055] An NG system architecture can include the RAN 110 and a 5G network core (5GC) 120. The NG-RAN 110 can include a plurality of nodes, such as gNBs and NG-eNBs. The core network 120 (e.g., a 5G core network or 5GC) can include an access and mobility function (AMF) and/or a user plane function (UPF). The AMF and the UPF can be communicatively coupled to the gNBs and the NG-eNBs via NG interfaces. More specifically, in some embodiments, the gNBs and the NG-eNBs can be connected to the AMF by NG- C interfaces, and to the UPF by NG-U interfaces. The gNBs and the NG-eNBs can be coupled to each other via Xn interfaces. [0056] In some embodiments, the NG system architecture can use reference points between various nodes as provided by 3GPP Technical Specification (TS) 23.501 (e.g., V15.4.0, 2018-12). In some embodiments, each of the gNBs and the NG-eNBs can be implemented as a base station, a mobile edge server, a small cell, a home eNB, and so forth. In some embodiments, a gNB can be a master node (MN) and NG-eNB can be a secondary node (SN) in a 5G architecture. [0057] FIG.1B illustrates a non-roaming 5G system architecture in accordance with some embodiments. Referring to FIG.1B, there is illustrated a 5G system architecture 140B in a reference point representation. More specifically, UE 102 can be in communication with RAN 110 as well as one or more other 5G core (5GC) network entities. The 5G system architecture 140B includes a plurality of network functions (NFs), such as access and mobility management function (AMF) 132, session management function (SMF) 136, policy control function (PCF) 148, application function (AF) 150, user plane function (UPF) 134, network slice selection function (NSSF) 142, authentication server function (AUSF) 144, and unified data management (UDM)/home subscriber server (HSS) 146. The UPF 134 can provide a connection to a data network (DN) 152, which can include, for example, operator services, Internet access, or third-party services. The AMF 132 can be used to manage access control and mobility and can also include network slice selection functionality. The SMF 136 can be configured to set up and manage various sessions according to network policy. The UPF 134 can be deployed in one or more configurations according to the desired service type. The PCF 148 can be configured to provide a policy framework using network slicing, mobility management, and roaming (similar to PCRF in a 4G communication system). The UDM can be configured to store subscriber profiles and data (similar to an HSS in a 4G communication system). [0058] In some embodiments, the 5G system architecture 140B includes an IP multimedia subsystem (IMS) 168B as well as a plurality of IP multimedia core network subsystem entities, such as call session control functions (CSCFs). More specifically, the IMS 168B includes a CSCF, which can act as a proxy CSCF (P-CSCF) 162BE, a serving CSCF (S-CSCF) 164B, an emergency CSCF (E-CSCF) (not illustrated in FIG.1B), or interrogating CSCF (I-CSCF) 166B. The P-CSCF 162B can be configured to be the first contact point for the UE 102 within the IM subsystem (IMS) 168B. The S-CSCF 164B can be configured to handle the session states in the network, and the E-CSCF can be configured to handle certain embodiments of emergency sessions such as routing an emergency request to the correct emergency center or PSAP. The I-CSCF 166B can be configured to function as the contact point within an operator's network for all IMS connections destined to a subscriber of that network operator, or a roaming subscriber currently located within that network operator's service area. In some embodiments, the I-CSCF 166B can be connected to another IP multimedia network 170E, e.g. an IMS operated by a different network operator. [0059] In some embodiments, the UDM/HSS 146 can be coupled to an application server 160E, which can include a telephony application server (TAS) or another application server (AS). The AS 160B can be coupled to the IMS 168B via the S-CSCF 164B or the I-CSCF 166B. [0060] A reference point representation shows that interaction can exist between corresponding NF services. For example, FIG.1B illustrates the following reference points: N1 (between the UE 102 and the AMF 132), N2 (between the RAN 110 and the AMF 132), N3 (between the RAN 110 and the UPF 134), N4 (between the SMF 136 and the UPF 134), N5 (between the PCF 148 and the AF 150, not shown), N6 (between the UPF 134 and the DN 152), N7 (between the SMF 136 and the PCF 148, not shown), N8 (between the UDM 146 and the AMF 132, not shown), N9 (between two UPFs 134, not shown), N10 (between the UDM 146 and the SMF 136, not shown), N11 (between the AMF 132 and the SMF 136, not shown), N12 (between the AUSF 144 and the AMF 132, not shown), N13 (between the AUSF 144 and the UDM 146, not shown), N14 (between two AMFs 132, not shown), N15 (between the PCF 148 and the AMF 132 in case of a non-roaming scenario, or between the PCF 148 and a visited network and AMF 132 in case of a roaming scenario, not shown), N16 (between two SMFs, not shown), and N22 (between AMF 132 and NSSF 142, not shown). Other reference point representations not shown in FIG.1B can also be used. [0061] FIG.1C illustrates a 5G system architecture 140C and a service- based representation. In addition to the network entities illustrated in FIG.1B, system architecture 140C can also include a network exposure function (NEF) 154 and a network repository function (NRF) 156. In some embodiments, 5G system architectures can be service-based and interaction between network functions can be represented by corresponding point-to-point reference points Ni or as service-based interfaces. [0062] In some embodiments, as illustrated in FIG.1C, service-based representations can be used to represent network functions within the control plane that enable other authorized network functions to access their services. In this regard, 5G system architecture 140C can include the following service-based interfaces: Namf 158H (a service-based interface exhibited by the AMF 132), Nsmf 158I (a service-based interface exhibited by the SMF 136), Nnef 158B (a service-based interface exhibited by the NEF 154), Npcf 158D (a service-based interface exhibited by the PCF 148), a Nudm 158E (a service-based interface exhibited by the UDM 146), Naf 158F (a service-based interface exhibited by the AF 150), Nnrf 158C (a service-based interface exhibited by the NRF 156), Nnssf 158A (a service-based interface exhibited by the NSSF 142), Nausf 158G (a service-based interface exhibited by the AUSF 144). Other service-based interfaces (e.g., Nudr, N5g-eir, and Nudsf) not shown in FIG.1C can also be used. [0063] In some embodiments, any of the UEs or base stations described in connection with FIGS.1A-1C can be configured to perform the functionalities described herein. [0064] Mobile communication has evolved significantly from early voice systems to today’s highly sophisticated integrated communication platform. The next generation wireless communication system, 5G, or new radio (NR) will provide access to information and sharing of data anywhere, anytime by various users and applications. NR is expected to be a unified network/system that targets to meet vastly different and sometimes conflicting performance dimensions and services. Such diverse multi-dimensional requirements are driven by different services and applications. In general, NR will evolve based on 3GPP LTE-Advanced with additional potential new Radio Access Technologies (RATs) to enrich people's lives with better, simple, and seamless wireless connectivity solutions. NR will enable everything connected by wireless and deliver fast, rich content and services. [0065] Rel-15 NR systems are designed to operate on the licensed spectrum. The NR-unlicensed (NR-U), a short-hand notation of the NR-based access to unlicensed spectrum, is a technology that enables the operation of NR systems on the unlicensed spectrum. [0066] As defined in NR, one slot has 14 symbols. For system operating above 52.6GHz carrier frequency, if larger subcarrier spacing (SCS), e.g., 1.92MHz or 3.84MHz is employed, the slot duration can be very short. For instance, for 1.92MHz subcarrier spacing, one slot duration is approximately 7.8µs as shown in FIG.2A. [0067] In NR, a control resource set (CORESET) is a set of time/frequency resources carrying PDCCH transmissions. The time resource can be 1, 2 or 3 consecutive symbols. A CORESET is divided into multiple REGs. A REG consists of time/frequency resource in one PRB in one symbol.6 REGs form a CCE. A physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) candidate with aggregation level (AL) L consists L CCEs. L could be 1, 2, 4, 8, 16.2, 3 or 6 REGs form a REG bundle. The REGs in a REG bundle use the same precoder, while different REG bundles may have different precoders . [0068] In NR, a search space (SS) set could be configured for the UE to monitor PDCCH. For each DL BWP configured to a UE in a serving cell, the UE is provided by higher layers with S ≤10 search space sets where, for each search space set from the search space sets, the UE is provided the following by SearchSpace: - a search space set index s, 0 < s < 40 , by searchSpaceId an association between the search space set s and a CORESET p by controlResourceSetld a PDCCH monitoring periodicity of k_s , slots and a PDCCH monitoring offset of o_s slots, by monitoringSlotPeriodicityAndOffset a PDCCH monitoring pattern within a slot, indicating first symbol(s) of the CORESET within a slot for PDCCH monitoring, by monitoringSymbolsWithinSlot a duration of T_s < k_s slots indicating a number of slots that the search space set s exists by duration a number of PDCCH candidates per CCE aggregation level

L by aggregationLevel1, aggregationLevel2, aggregationLevel4, aggregationLevel8 , and aggregationLevel16. for CCE aggregation level 1, CCE aggregation level 2, CCE aggregation level 4, CCE aggregation level 8, and CCE aggregation level 16, respectively an indication that search space set s is either a CSS set or a USS set by searchSpaceType if search space set s is a CSS set an indication by dci-Format0-0-AndFormat1-0 to monitor PDCCH candidates for DCI format 0 0 and DCI format 1 0 an indication by dci-Format2-0 to monitor one or two PDCCH candidates, or to monitor one PDCCH candidate per RB set if the UE is provided freqMonitorLocations-r 16 for the search space set, for DCI format 2__0 and a corresponding CCE aggregation level an indication by dci~Format2~l to monitor PDCCH candidates for DC I format 2_1 an indication by dci-Format2-2 to monitor PDCCH candidates for

DCI format 2_ 2 an indication by dci~Format2~3 to monitor PDCCH candidates for

DCI format 2_ 3 an indication by dci-Format2-4 to monitor PDCCH candidates for

DCI format 2_ 4 an indication by dci-Format2-6 to monitor PDCCH candidates for

DCI format 2_ 6 - if search space set is a USS set, an indication by dci-Formats to monitor PDCCH candidates either for DCI format 0_0 and DCI format 1_0, or for DCI format 0_1 and DCI format 1_1, or an indication by dci-Formats-Rel16 to monitor PDCCH candidates for DCI format 0_0 and DCI format 1_0, or for DCI format 0_1 and DCI format 1_1, or for DCI format 0_2 and DCI format 1_2, or, if a UE indicates a corresponding capability, for DCI format 0_1, DCI format 1_1, DCI format 0_2, and DCI format 1_2, or for DCI format 3_0, or for DCI format 3_1, or for DCI format 3_0 and DCI format 3_1 - a bitmap by freqMonitorLocations-r16, if provided, to indicate an index of one or more RB sets for the search space set s , where the MSB k in the bitmap corresponds to RB set k-1 in the DL BWP. For RB set k indicated in the bitmap, the first PRB of the frequency domain monitoring location confined within the RB set is given by is the index

of first common RB of the RB set [6, TS 38.214], and

is provided by rb-Offset-r16 or if rb-Offset-r16 is not provided. For each RB set

with a corresponding value of 1 in the bitmap, the frequency domain resource allocation pattern for the monitoring location is determined based on the first bits in frequencyDomainResources provided by the associated

CORESET configuration. Specifically, NR Rel-15 defines 3 cases of SS set configuration, - Case 1: PDCCH monitoring of all SS sets monitored in a slot occurs within 3 consecutive OFDM symbols that have fixed positions in each slot o Case 1-1: PDCCH monitoring limited to within first three OFDM symbols of a slot o Case 1-2: PDCCH monitoring on any span of up to 3 consecutive OFDM symbols of a slot · For a given UE, all search space configurations are within the same span of 3 consecutive OFDM symbols in the slot - Case 2: PDCCH monitoring cases other than Case 1 [0069] In NR Rel-15, Table 1 and Table 2 illustrate maximum number of monitored PDCCH candidates and non-overlapped CCEs for PDCCH monitoring, respectively. For cross-carrier scheduling with different numerology, the limitation on the numbers of monitored PDCCH candidates and non-overlapped CCEs is derived by the numerology of the scheduling cell. From the tables, it can be observed that when subcarrier spacing is increased from 15kHz to 120kHz, maximum number of BDs and CCEs for PDCCH monitoring is reduced substantially. This is primarily due to UE processing capability with short symbol and slot duration. For system operating between 52.6GHz and 71GHz carrier frequency, when a large subcarrier spacing is introduced, it is envisioned that maximum number of BDs and CCEs for PDCCH monitoring would be further scaled down. For instance, the number of BDs for PDCCH monitoring may be reduced to ~10 or even smaller values when 960kHz subcarrier spacing is employed. Table 1. Maximum number

of monitored PDCCH candidates per slot for a DL BWP with SCS configuration for a single serving cell

Table 2. Maximum number of non-overlapped CCEs per slot for a DL BWP with SCS configuration for a single serving cell

[0070] Various embodiments herein provide techniques for SS set configuration and maximum number of monitored PDCCH candidates and non- overlapped CCEs for PDCCH transmission/monitoring in system operating above 52.6GHz carrier frequency. [0071] As mentioned above, for system operating above 52.6GHz carrier frequency, if larger subcarrier spacing (SCS), e.g., 1.92MHz or 3.84MHz is employed, the slot duration can be very short. For instance, for SCS 1.92MHz, one slot duration is approximately 7.8µs. This extremely short slot duration impacts the design of PDCCH transmission. [0072] In NR Rel-15, a first Slot for PDCCH Monitoring is configured by a periodicity and an offset (monitoringSlotPeriodicityAndOffset). The number of consecutive slots starting from the first slot is configured by duration. Further, within the set of slots configured by the first slot and the duration, the first symbol(s) for PDCCH monitoring in each slot is configured by monitoringSymbolsWithinSlot. A CORESET starting from each configured first symbol is determined for PDCCH monitoring. In the following descriptions, the above CORESET starting from a configured first symbol is named as a PDCCH monitoring occasion (MO). Restriction on Case 2 for PDCCH monitoring [0073] In NR, case 2 for PDCCH monitoring, e.g. multiple bits in monitoringSymbolsWithinSlot is set to ‘1’ is targeting more frequency PDCCH MOs for latency reduction. This is especially true for low SCS, e.g.15, 30 or 60kHz. However, for the high SCS, e.g.480 or 960kHz, the length of one slot is 1/32 ms or 1/64 ms which is extremely short. As a result, there is no clear motivation to allow full flexibility on the positions of PDCCH MO(s) in a slot. On the other hand, a reasonable restriction on configured PDCCH MOs can simplify UE implementation without a real impact on the performance. [0074] In one embodiment, for the high SCS, at most one PDCCH MO can be configured for a SS set in a slot from the set of the slots that are determined as in Rel-15 by monitoringSlotPeriodicityAndOffset and duration. The MO could be fixedly started from symbol 0 in the slot. Alternatively, the MO may start from any symbol in the slot. A 4-bit parameter maybe configured to indicate one symbol index from the range of integer 0-13. Note: the first symbol of the MO may be selected to avoid the MO crossing slot boundary. [0075] In another embodiment, for the high SCS, in the set of the slots that are determined as in Rel-15 by monitoringSlotPeriodicityAndOffset and duration, a first symbol and a gap value could be configured for a SS set for the allocation of MOs. The first symbol may be fixed to symbol 0 in the first slot, or it could be any symbol index in the first slot, e.g. in the range of integer 0-13. Note: the first symbol of the MO may be selected to avoid the MO crossing slot boundary. In one example, the gap value could be one or multiple times of 14 symbols, e.g. integer number of slots. In another example, value 7 for the gap may be applicable if two MOs are necessary in a slot. [0076] FIG.2B illustrates one example of the allocation of MOs for a SS set. A duration of 4 slots can contain the configured MOs in a period. However, assuming gap is 28 symbols, it effectively allocates MOs in only two of the four slots. By this way, the number of blind detection for PDCCH is reduced. [0077] In another embodiment, for the high SCS, in the set of the slots that are determined as in Rel-15 by monitoringSlotPeriodicityAndOffset and duration, one or more MOs could be allocated for a SS set. For example, a bitmap may be used to indicate all the MOs of the SS set in the set of slots. The minimum gap between two adjacent MOs of the SS set is configured by high layer signaling. In one example, the minimum gap could be one or multiple times of 14 symbols, e.g. the distance between two MOs is at least the multiple slots. In another example, minimum gap could be 7, therefore it is up to gNB to configure zero or one or two MOs in a slot in the set of slots. If two MOs are configured in the slot, the distance is at least 7 symbols. Search space (SS) set configuration in inconsecutive slots [0078] In NR, the MOs of a SS set are configured in one or more consecutive slots which is determined by monitoringSlotPeriodicityAndOffset and duration. Since the slot length is quite short in high frequency, either the monitored PDCCH candidates and non-overlapped CCEs for PDCCH monitoring is reduced a lot for a slot, or the total number of monitored PDCCH candidates and non -overlapped CCEs can be quite large. Both the above two cases are not good for UE operation. The multi-slot PDCCH monitoring capability can be defined as a combination

That is, the PDCCH MQs can only be configured in sl ots within every group of

consecu tive

slots, -slot groups are consecutive and non-overlap in time. The

position of the slots keep same in all the slot groups.

[0079] In one embodiment, within a period that is determined by the periodicity of the SS set, the slots containing the MOs for PDCCH monitoring can be inconsecutive. Note: in the following descriptions, it is assumed that periodicity and offset are joint coded as one parameter to determine a first Slot for PDCCH Monitoring. It is possible that the periodicity and offset are separately configured in the SS set configuration. Further, it is possible that the periodicity is separately configured in the SS set configuration and the offset is joint coded with other information in the SS set configuration. [0080] In one option, starting from a first Slot for PDCCH Monitoring, which can be configured by a periodicity and an offset

( monitoringSIotPeriodicityAndOffset ), a bitmap is used to indicate which slot(s) in a window is configured for PDCCH monitoring. The first slot of the window starts is the above first slot for PDCCH monitoring. The length of the bitmap determined the total number of slots in the window. A bit that is set to ‘ 1 in the bitmap indicates that the corresponding slot contains PDCCH MO(s). Alternatively, a bit in the bitmap corresponds to a group of consecutive slots. Different bit in the bitmap corresponds to different group of slots. Therefore, a bit in the bitmap is set to ‘ 1 indicates that the corresponding group of slots contains PDCCH MOs. The number of slots in the window can be configured by SS set configuration, then the bitmap length can be derived. Alternatively, the length of the bitmap is predefined or configured by high layer signaling.

[0081] In one option, starting from a first Slot for PDCCH Monitoring, which can be configured by a periodicity and an offset (monitoringSlotPeriodiciiyAndOffset ), MOs for PDCCH monitoring is configured to be present in every X slots, X ≥ 1 or X ≥ 1. X can be configured in the SS set configuration. X could equal to the size

of the slot group in multi-slot PDCCH monitoring capability. X could be the minimum between size and the configured periodicity of the SS set. The above first slot can be used for PDCCH monitoring. Denote the slot index of the first slot, as s, the slots containing MQs for PDCCH monitoring is slot with index X · k +s ,k = 0,1, ... Further, the total number of slots K that contain MQs for PDCCH monitoring can be configured by high layer signaling, e.g. k = 0,1, ..... ,K — 1. Alternatively, a window length starting from the above first slot L can be configured.

Therefore, the total number of slots containing MQs for PDCCH monitoring is K = (L - 1 )/ X+1 . Alternatively, a window length starting from the above first slot L and the number of slots K contain MQs for PDCCH monitoring in the window can be configured. Therefore, the slots containing MQs for PDCCH monitoring is slot k · [(L — 1)/K + s ,k = 0 ,1,. . K — 1.

[0082] FIG. 3 illustrates one example of the allocation of MQs for a SS set. It is assumed that MQs for PDCCH monitoring are configured in every 2 slots and the number of slots with MQs is 3.

In another option, starting from a first Slot for PDCCH Monitoring, which can be configured by a periodicity and an offset (monitoringSlotPeriodicityAndOjfset ), MQs for PDCCH monitoring can configured to be present in a window according to a second periodicity X. X could equal to the size of the slot group in multi-slot. PDCCH monitoring

capability. The first slot of the window⁷ starts is the above first slot for PDCCH monitoring. Alternatively, a period of the second periodicity is defined relative to a. predefined timing, e.g. subframe boundary. The first period of the second periodicity that is configured with MQs for the SS set can be configured in the SS set configuration, or determined by the above first slot for PDCCH monitoring. The second periodicity must be lower than first periodicity that is determined by monitoringSlotPeriodicityAndOffset. Y consecutive slots can be configured with MOs for PDCCH monitoring in a period of the second periodicity X. The MQs of a SS set may be configured in a subset or all of the Y slots. Y could be configured in the SS set configuration, Y ≥ 1. Y could equal to the number of slots F. in multi-slot PDCCH monitoring capability that can be configured with PDCCH MOs. The MOs of the SS set in the Y slots can be configured by a bitmap of 147 bits, which enables the configuration of MO from any symbol in the Y slots. Alternatively, certain compression can be considered. If the MO of the SS set can only start from a fixed symbol, e.g. symbol 0 in a slot, the configuration can be reduced to Y bits. If the MO of the SS set can only start from up to two fixed symbols, e.g. symbol 0 and/or 7 in a slot, the configuration can be reduced to bits. The configured MOs of a SS set could be fixedly within the beginning Y slots of a group of the multi-slot

PDCCH monitoring capability. If the position of the

slots in a

group is changed, e.g., due to the change of the slot of Type0 CSS set, the configured MOs in the

slots of a SS set can shift to the new position of

slots in a group.

[0084] The offset indicated by monitoringSlotPeriodicityAndOffset can be reinterpreted to indicate the first period of the second periodicity that is configured with MOs for a SS set. [0085] Alternatively, the offset indicated by monitoringSlotPeriodicityAndOffset can be reinterpreted to indicate the first period of the second periodicity

that is configured with MOs for a SS and a second offset relative to the start of the

slots in a

group of the multi- slot PDCCH monitoring capability. For example, the period of the second periodicity is indicated by

and the second offset relative to the start of the slots is

The MOs for the SS set may be

configured in the slot

in the

slots. [0086] The number of periods with the second periodicity X can be configured in the SS set configuration. Alternatively, the window on which the allocation of MOs with the second periodicity applies is configured. The number of slots in the window could be configured in the SS set configuration. The window could be configured by a new parameter or reinterpretation of existing parameter ‘duration’, e.g. duration is configured to be

, k is a integer. The periodicity and offset of the SS set can be defined as times of

too. [0087] FIG.4 illustrates one example of the allocation of MOs for a SS set with two periodicities. In a period determined by the first periodicity, start from a first slot determined by monitoringSlotPeriodicityAndOffset, Y=2 beginning slots contains MOs for PDCCH monitoring with a second periodicity of 3 slots. In this example, the multi-slot PDCCH monitoring capability can be defined as a combination

[0088] In one embodiment, for the high SCS, if the set of slots that contain MOs for PDCCH monitoring by the SS set configuration can be inconsecutive, certain limitation applies to configure the MO(s) in each of the set of slots. The number of MO in each of the set of slots can be limited to 1. The start symbol of the MO in each of the set of slots can be limited to symbol 0. Or the start symbol of the MO can be any symbol in a slot. Note: the first symbol of the MO may be selected to avoid the MO crossing slot boundary. Further, a fixed gap between two MOs may be configured in the SS set configuration if multiple MOs can be configured in a slot. Alternatively, a minimum gap between two MOs may be configured in the SS set configuration if multiple MOs can be configured in a slot, e.g.7. Capability of PDCCH monitoring per group of consecutive slots [0089] In NR, it can be observed that when subcarrier spacing is increased from 15kHz to 120kHz, maximum number of monitored PDCCH candidates and non-overlapped CCEs for PDCCH monitoring is reduced substantially. This is primarily due to UE processing capability with short symbol and slot duration. For system operating in high frequency, when a large subcarrier spacing is introduced, it is envisioned that maximum number of monitored PDCCH candidates and non-overlapped CCEs for PDCCH monitoring would be further scaled down. For instance, the number of blind detections may be reduced to ~10 or even smaller values when 960kHz subcarrier spacing is employed. Especially for non-overlapped CCEs, it causes limitation on the aggregation level (AL) of a PDCCH candidate. For example, if the maximum number of non-overlapped CCEs is less than 8, both PDCCH AL 8 and AL 16 cannot be supported in high frequency. On the other hand, if the total number of monitored PDCCH candidates and non-overlapped CCEs in a slot is not reduced, the total number of monitored PDCCH candidates and non- overlapped CCEs in the consecutive slots become quite larger, which enforces an extreme high UE capability for PDCCH monitoring. [0090] To balance PDCCH monitoring in a slot and in multiple consecutive slots, it is proposed that the maximum number of monitored PDCCH candidates and non-overlapped CCEs for PDCCH monitoring can be applied to a group of consecutive slots. The total numbers of monitored PDCCH candidates and non-overlapped CCEs in the group of slots are respectively limited to the corresponding maximum numbers. The group of consecutive slots is also named as a multi-slot span in RAN1 discussion. [0091] In one embodiment, the maximum number of monitored PDCCH candidates and non-overlapped CCEs are defined in a group of consecutive slots and two adjacent groups are non-overlapped and mapped to consecutive slots. The number and/or position of the slots configured with PDCCH MOs can be different in different groups. In this way, a slot belongs to only one group of consecutive slots. FIG.5A illustrates one example of non-overlapped groups to apply maximum number of monitored PDCCH candidates and non-overlapped CCEs. [0092] In one option, the PDCCH monitoring capability is defined in a group of X consecutive slots, and PDCCH MOs can be configured in the first Y slots in a group, Y<X. The PDCCH MOs may be configured in a subset or all of the Y slots. [0093] In another option, the PDCCH monitoring capability is defined in a group of X consecutive slots, and PDCCH MOs can be configured in Y slots in a group, Y<X. The Y slots is not limited to the first Y slot, e.g. they are distributed in a group or the Y consecutive slots may not start from the beginning of the slot group. The PDCCH MOs may be configured in a subset or all of the Y slots. [0094] In another option, the PDCCH monitoring capability is defined in a group of X consecutive slots, and PDCCH MOs can be configured in a subset or all of the X slots in a group. The PDCCH MOs may be configured in a subset or all of the X slots. [0095] In one embodiment, the group of consecutive slots to apply the maximum number of monitored PDCCH candidates and the group of consecutive slots to apply non-overlapped CCEs can be staggered in time. Denote the number of slots in a group is X, the slot group checking monitored PDCCH candidates can have an offset of X/2 from the slot group checking non- overlapped CCEs. To verify the numbers of monitored PDCCH candidates and non-overlapped CCEs, the slot groups checking monitored PDCCH candidates and the slot groups checking non-overlapped CCEs can be handled in the time order of the first slot of the groups. [0096] FIG.5B illustrates one example of a scheme to avoid back-to- back PDCCH monitoring occasions across two consecutive groups of slots that may not violate the BD/CCE limits if defined over a groups of slots that do not overlap. It is assumed that PDCCH monitoring occasions are all in the last slot of group 1, e.g. slot A, while PDCCH monitoring occasions are all in the first slot of group 2, e.g. slot B. With the limits on the number of monitored PDCCH candidates and non-overlapped CCEs being defined over different groups of slots as shown in FIG.5B, such a search space set configuration may not violate the checking of monitored PDCCH candidates (e.g., number of BDs) but may violate the limit defined for number of non-overlapped CCEs, thereby effectively precluding such back-to-back PDCCH MOs across two consecutive groups of slots over which the limits on either number of BDs or non-overlapped CCEs are defined. [0097] In one embodiment, the maximum number of monitored PDCCH candidates and non-overlapped CCEs are defined in a group of consecutive slots and the groups can slide in slot level or in every X slots, X>1. X could be predefined or configured by high layer signaling. For example, X equals to half of the number of slots in the group. In this way, a slot can belong to multiple groups. FIG.6 illustrates one example of the sliding groups. It assumes that each group includes 4 consecutive slots. Each group is shifted by one slot relative to a previous group. With this scheme, it avoids requiring UE to do excessive blind detections in adjacent slots. For example, if the number of monitored PDCCH candidates and non-overlapped CCEs configured for slot A equals to the corresponding maximum numbers, it is not allowed to configure any monitored PDCCH candidates and non-overlapped CCEs in slot B. Otherwise, the total numbers of monitored PDCCH candidates and non-overlapped CCEs exceed the corresponding maximum numbers in group 2, 3 and 4. [0098] In one embodiment, the maximum number of monitored PDCCH candidates is defined in a first group of consecutive slots, while the maximum number of non-overlapped CCEs is defined in a second group of consecutive slots. The size, e.g. the number of slots in the first group and the second group could be different. Specifically, the size of the second group of be a factor of the first group. For example, a first group contains 4 consecutive slots on which the maximum number of monitored PDCCH candidates applies. Further, the maximum number of non-overlapped CCEs respectively applies to the first 2 slots and the last 2 slots in the first group. [0099] In one embodiment, if the maximum numbers of monitored PDCCH candidates and non-overlapped CCEs are defined per group of consecutive slots on a serving cell, the size, e.g. number of slots in the group is determined by the SCS configuration of the serving cell. For example, the group size is 4 and 8 for SCS 480kHz and 960kHz. By this way, the duration of the group for SCS 480kHz and 960kHz equals to the slot length with SCS 120kHz. [00100] FIG.7 illustrates one example of the size of group of consecutive slots to apply the maximum number of monitored PDCCH candidates and non- overlapped CCEs for different SCSs. By choosing group size of 4 and 8 for SCS 480kHz and 960kHz, the duration of the groups for SCS 480kHz and 960kHz is same as the slot length of SCS 120kHz. [00101] In one embodiment, if the maximum numbers of monitored PDCCH candidates and non-overlapped CCEs is defined per group of consecutive slots on a serving cell, the size, e.g. number of slots in the group can be configured by high layer signaling. For SCS 120kHz in NR, it is already supported to define maximum numbers of monitored PDCCH candidates and non-overlapped CCEs per slot. If using slot length of SCS 120kHz as the maximum duration of the group of consecutive slots, the maximum group size is 4 or 8 for SCS 480kHz or 960kHz respectively. On the other hand, the minimum duration of the group of consecutive slots may be limited too. As analyzed above, it may cause scheduling restriction or high UE capability if defining the maximum numbers of monitored PDCCH candidates and non-overlapped CCEs per slot, especially for SCS 960kHz. For example, it may be considered that minimum group size is 1 or 2 for SCS 480kHz or 960kHz respectively. In one example, the value range for the configuration of group size can be 1,2,4,8. In another example, the value range for the configuration of group size can be 2,4,8. [00102] In one embodiment, for carrier aggregation (CA), if the maximum numbers of monitored PDCCH candidates and non-overlapped CCEs is defined per group of consecutive slots on a serving cell, it is preferred that the groups on different serving cells can be aligned in time as much as possible. [00103] In one option, in synchronized CA with aligned frame boundary, the groups of consecutive slots can be defined with reference to slot 0 of system frame number (SFN) 0. Denote a group has X slots, the k^th group includes slot index

By this way, the groups of different serving cells are fully overlapped if the groups have the same duration. For the serving cells with same SCS, the groups are fully overlapped if group size are same on the serving cells. For the serving cells with different SCS, the groups can be fully overlapped by proper setting the group size on the serving cells. as show in FIG. 7, by using group size of 4 and 8 for SCS 480kHz and 960kHz, the the groups for serving cells with SCS 480kHz and 960kHz can be fully overlapped with a slot of serving cell with SCS 120kHz. [00104] In one option, in synchronized CA with unaligned frame boundary, the groups of consecutive slots can be defined with reference to slot 0 of SFN 0 of PCell. By this way, the groups of different serving cells are fully overlapped if the groups have the same duration. Monitored PDCCH candidates and non-overlapped CCEs in a group of consecutive slots [00105] In NR Rel-15, according the capability on the maximum number of monitored PDCCH candidates and non-overlapped CCEs in a slot, - For PCell or PSCell, it is allowed that the configured number of monitored PDCCH candidates and non-overlapped CCEs in a slot by the configuration of SS set(s) is larger than the corresponding maximum numbers. Certain dropping rule is defined so that the actual number in the slot doesn’t exceed the corresponding maximum numbers. This is known as PDCCH overbooking. - For a SCell, the gNB should guarantee that the configured numbers of monitored PDCCH candidates and non-overlapped CCE in a slot by the configuration of SS set(s) do not exceed the corresponding maximum numbers. [00106] Assuming the maximum number of monitored PDCCH candidates and non-overlapped CCEs for PDCCH monitoring is defined and applies per group of consecutive slots, the above rules to determine PDCCH monitoring in PCell/PSCell and SCell need to be adapted. - For PCell or PSCell, it is allowed that the configured number of monitored PDCCH candidates and non-overlapped CCEs in the group of consecutive slots by the configuration of SS set(s) is larger than the corresponding maximum numbers. Certain dropping rule is defined so that the actual number in the group doesn’t exceed the corresponding maximum numbers. That is, PDCCH overbooking applies to the group. - For a SCell, the gNB should guarantee that the configured numbers of monitored PDCCH candidates and non-overlapped CCE in a group of consecutive slots by the configuration of SS set(s) do not exceed the corresponding maximum numbers. [00107] In one embodiment, to do PDCCH overbooking for PCell and PSCell, the total numbers of monitored PDCCH candidates and non-overlapped CCEs for all the configured common SS (CSS) sets in a group of consecutive slots do not exceed the corresponding maximum numbers per the group of consecutive slots. The remaining numbers of monitored PDCCH candidates and non-overlapped CCEs after excluding the corresponding numbers for CSS are used to allocate UE specific SS (USS). [00108] In one option, if a CSS set is allocated with MOs in X slots, e.g. X consecutive slots that are within the same group of consecutive slots, the monitored PDCCH candidates and non-overlapped CCEs in the X slots of the CSS set are summed together. Therefore, the numbers of the monitored PDCCH candidates and non-overlapped CCEs of the CSS set are the X times of the corresponding numbers that are configured in single slot for the CSS set. Assuming the corresponding maximum numbers per group are fixed, the remaining numbers of the monitored PDCCH candidates and non-overlapped CCEs for USS are reduced in accordance with value X. [00109] In one option, if a CSS set is allocated with MOs in X slots, e.g. X consecutive slots that are within the same group of consecutive slots, the numbers of the monitored PDCCH candidates and non-overlapped CCEs that are configured in single slot for the CSS set is assumed to represent PDCCH monitoring for the CSS set in the group. By this way, the UE is required to process larger numbers of the monitored PDCCH candidates and non-overlapped CCEs for USS, when X>1 for a CSS. Effectively, the UE capability on the detection of CSS and USS can be increased in the group depending on value X. [00110] In one embodiment, if the configured USS sets result in that the total numbers of monitored PDCCH candidates and/or non-overlapped CCEs per group of consecutive slots that exceed the corresponding maximum numbers per group of consecutive slots, dropping a USS sets is done until the corresponding maximum numbers per group of consecutive slots are not exceeded. A USS set with a largest SS set index that is configured in the group of consecutive slots is dropped. A USS set which is associated with a DCI format for multi-TTI scheduling with multiple TBs can be prioritized over a USS set for single-TTI scheduling. The procedure is repeated until that the maximum numbers per group of consecutive slots are not exceeded. [00111] In one option, if multiple MOs of the USS set are mapped in the group of consecutive slots, the USS set is dropped in all the multiple MOs. The multiple MOs could be allocated in same slot or in different slots in the group of consecutive slots. FIG.8 illustrates a USS set which is allocated with 8 MOs in the group of consecutive slots. if the total numbers of monitored PDCCH candidates and/or non-overlapped CCEs of the group exceed the corresponding maximum numbers, all 8 MOs of the USS set are dropped. [00112] In another option, if multiple MOs of the USS set are mapped in multiple slots within the group of consecutive slots, the MOs of the USS set in one, e.g. the last one of the multiple slots is dropped. The procedure is repeated until that the maximum numbers per group of consecutive slots are not exceeded. With the example shown in FIG.8, UE may first drop MO 7 and MO 8 in the last slot and check the total numbers of monitored PDCCH candidates and/or non-overlapped CCEs of the group again. If it still exceeds the corresponding maximum numbers, MO 5 and MO 6 in the second last slot are dropped. [00113] In another option, if multiple MOs of the USS set are mapped in multiple slots within the group of consecutive slots, the last MO of the USS set in the multiple slots is dropped. The procedure is repeated until that the maximum numbers per group of consecutive slots are not exceeded. With the example shown in FIG.8, UE may first drop MO 8 in the last slot and check the total numbers of monitored PDCCH candidates and/or non-overlapped CCEs of the group again. If it still exceeds the corresponding maximum numbers, MO 7 in the last slot is dropped. [00114] In one embodiment, if a group of consecutive slots on which the maximum number of monitored PDCCH candidates and non-overlapped CCEs are defined can slide in slot level, or in every X slots, X>1 the corresponding maximum numbers are checked in every slid group in time order. For example, as shown in FIG.6, the groups are checked in the order from 1 to 5. The total numbers of monitored PDCCH candidates and non-overlapped CCEs for all the configured common SS (CSS) sets in each slid group do not exceed the corresponding maximum numbers for the group of consecutive slots. The remaining numbers of monitored PDCCH candidates and non-overlapped CCEs after excluding the corresponding numbers for CSS sets are used to allocate UE specific SS (USS). [00115] In one option, if the maximum numbers per group of consecutive slots are exceeded when a slid group is checked, a USS set with a largest SS set index that is configured in the slide group is dropped. A USS set which is associated with a DCI for multi-TTI scheduling with multiple TBs can be prioritized over a USS set for single-TTI scheduling. The procedure is repeated until that the corresponding maximum numbers are not exceeded. If multiple MOs of the USS set are mapped in the slid group, all the multiple MOs of the USS set in the slid group are dropped. The multiple MOs could be allocated in same slot or in different slots in the slid group. Alternatively, if multiple MOs of the USS set are mapped in multiple slots within the slid group, the MOs of the USS set in one, e.g. the last one of the multiple slots is dropped. The procedure is repeated until that the corresponding maximum numbers are not exceeded. Alternatively, if multiple MOs of the USS set are mapped in multiple slots within the slid group, the last MO of the USS set in the multiple slots is dropped. The procedure is repeated until that the corresponding maximum numbers are not exceeded. [00116] In another option, if the maximum numbers per group of consecutive slots are exceeded when a slid group is checked, a USS set with a largest SS set index in the last slot or last X slots of the slid group is dropped. A USS set which is associated with a DCI for multi-TTI scheduling with multiple TBs can be prioritized over a USS set for single-TTI scheduling. The procedure is repeated until that the corresponding maximum numbers are not exceeded. By this way, the dropping of a USS set doesn’t impact the number of monitored PDCCH candidates and non-overlapped CCEs in a previous slid group. This avoids reducing PDCCH monitoring in the previous slid group excessively. If multiple MOs of the USS set are mapped in the last slot of the slid group, all the multiple MOs of the USS set in the last slot are dropped. Alternatively, the last MO of the USS set in the last slot is dropped. The procedure is repeated until that the corresponding maximum numbers are not exceeded. If multiple MOs of the USS set are mapped in the last X slots of the slid group, all the multiple MOs of the USS set in the last X slots are dropped. Alternatively, if multiple MOs of the USS set are mapped in multiple slots within the last X slots of the slid group, the MOs of the USS set in one, e.g. the last one of the multiple slots within the last X slots is dropped. The procedure is repeated until that the corresponding maximum numbers are not exceeded. Alternatively, if multiple MOs of the USS set are mapped in multiple slots within the last X slots of the slid group, the last MO of the USS set in the multiple slots within the last X slots is dropped. The procedure is repeated until that the corresponding maximum numbers are not exceeded. [00117] FIG.9 illustrates one example of checking the number of monitored PDCCH candidates and non-overlapped CCEs in the groups which are slid in slot level and USS dropping in the last slot in a slid group if the corresponding maximum numbers are exceeded. The numbers of monitored PDCCH candidates and non-overlapped CCEs in the slid group 1 are checked first so that the corresponding maximum numbers are not exceeded. Then, the slid group 2 is checked. If it exceeds the corresponding maximum numbers, only a USS set the last slot of group 2, e.g. slot X will be dropped. By this way, the PDCCH monitoring in slid group 1 is not impacted. After it doesn’t it exceeds the corresponding maximum numbers in slid group 2, the slid group 3 is checked. Similarly, the potential dropping USS only applies to the last slot of group 3, e.g. slot Y. [00118] In one embodiment, in carrier aggregation, for a SCS configuration , the duration of the group of consecutive slots is a factor which impacts the numbers of monitored PDCCH candidates and non-overlapped CCEs for a serving cell. Two sets of the maximum numbers of monitored PDCCH candidates and non-overlapped CCEs are applicable. One set includes the maximum numbers of monitored PDCCH candidates and non-overlapped CCEs for one scheduled serving cell, which are denoted as and

respectively. The other set is the maximum numbers of monitored

PDCCH candidates and non-overlapped CCEs that applies to multiple serving cells, which are denoted as respectively. In NR Rel-15, are determined for multiple serving cells

with the same SCS configuration . [00119] In one option, and are determined for the serving cells with the same configuration and same length of the group of consecutive slots on which the maximum numbers of monitored PDCCH candidates and non-overlapped CCEs are defined. For each scheduled cell, the UE is not required to monitor on the active DL BWP with SCS configuration of the scheduling cell more than PDCCH candidates or more than non-overlapped CCEs per group of

consecutive slots. [00120] FIG.10 illustrates one example of determining a set of serving cells for the application of

Since cell 1 and cell 2 has the same SCS and same duration of the groups on which the maximum numbers of monitored PDCCH candidates and non-overlapped CCEs are defined, same values of

are determined for cell 1 and cell 2. On the other hand,

are separately determined for cell 3 and cell 4. [00121] In one option,

are determined for the serving cells with same length of the group of consecutive slots on which the maximum numbers of monitored PDCCH candidates and non-overlapped CCEs are defined, irrespective of the SCS configuration

For example, one slot of SCS 120kHz, 4 slots of SCS 480kHz and 8 slots of SCS 960kHz has the time duration, if the size of the group of consecutive slots is 1, 4 or 8 for some serving cells with SCS 120, 480 or 960 respectively, a pair of values

and can be determined and applied to the serving cells. For each scheduled

cell, the UE is not required to monitor on the active DL BWP with SCS configuration

of the scheduling cell more than

PDCCH candidates or more than non-overlapped CCEs

per group of consecutive slots. [00122] For example, as shown in FIG.10, though cell 4 has different SCS from cell 1 and cell 2, they have the same duration of the groups on which the maximum numbers of monitored PDCCH candidates and non-overlapped CCEs are defined. Therefore, same values of are

determined for cell 1, cell 2 and cell 4. On the other hand,

and

are separately determined for cell 3. [00123] In one embodiment, the maximum numbers of monitored PDCCH candidates and non-overlapped CCEs are defined for the PDCCH monitoring in a group of consecutive slots, and there is no other limitation on the number of monitored PDCCH candidates and non-overlapped CCEs in each slot in the group of consecutive slots. [00124] In another embodiment, the maximum numbers of monitored PDCCH candidates and non-overlapped CCEs are defined for the PDCCH monitoring in a group of consecutive slots, denoted as

and respectively. Further, the maximum numbers of monitored PDCCH

candidates and non-overlapped CCEs are defined for the PDCCH monitoring in each slot in the group of consecutive slots, denoted as respectively. By this way, applies to all slots in the group as the limitations to

the total number of monitored PDCCH candidates and non-overlapped CCEs, and the UE may not be required to have capability to process

monitored PDCCH candidates and non-overlapped CCEs in single

slot. [00125] If the number of monitored PDCCH candidates and non- overlapped CCEs in a slot exceed the corresponding maximum numbers, a USS set configured in the slot can be dropped. The procedure is repeated until that the corresponding maximum numbers are not exceeded. If the number of monitored PDCCH candidates and non-overlapped CCEs in the group of consecutive slots exceed the corresponding maximum numbers, a USS set configured in the group can be dropped. The procedure is repeated until that the corresponding maximum numbers are not exceeded. PDCCH overbooking may be applied to all slots in the group of consecutive slots. Alternatively, PDCCH overbooking may be applied to first slot in the group of consecutive slots. [00126] FIG.11 illustrates a functional block diagram of a wireless communication device, in accordance with some embodiments. Wireless communication device 1100 may be suitable for use as a UE or gNB configured for operation in a 5G NR or 6G network. [00127] The communication device 1100 may include communications circuitry 1102 and a transceiver 1110 for transmitting and receiving signals to and from other communication devices using one or more antennas 1101. The communications circuitry 1102 may include circuitry that can operate the physical layer (PHY) communications and/or medium access control (MAC) communications for controlling access to the wireless medium, and/or any other communications layers for transmitting and receiving signals. The communication device 1100 may also include processing circuitry 1106 and memory 1108 arranged to perform the operations described herein. In some embodiments, the communications circuitry 1102 and the processing circuitry 1106 may be configured to perform operations detailed in the above figures, diagrams, and flows. [00128] In accordance with some embodiments, the communications circuitry 1102 may be arranged to contend for a wireless medium and configure frames or packets for communicating over the wireless medium. The communications circuitry 1102 may be arranged to transmit and receive signals. The communications circuitry 1102 may also include circuitry for modulation/demodulation, upconversion/downconversion, filtering, amplification, etc. In some embodiments, the processing circuitry 1106 of the communication device 1100 may include one or more processors. In other embodiments, two or more antennas 1101 may be coupled to the communications circuitry 1102 arranged for sending and receiving signals. The memory 1108 may store information for configuring the processing circuitry 1106 to perform operations for configuring and transmitting message frames and performing the various operations described herein. The memory 1108 may include any type of memory, including non-transitory memory, for storing information in a form readable by a machine (e.g., a computer). For example, the memory 1108 may include a computer-readable storage device, read-only memory (ROM), random-access memory (RAM), magnetic disk storage media, optical storage media, flash-memory devices and other storage devices and media. [00129] In some embodiments, the communication device 1100 may be part of a portable wireless communication device, such as a personal digital assistant (PDA), a laptop or portable computer with wireless communication capability, a web tablet, a wireless telephone, a smartphone, a wireless headset, a pager, an instant messaging device, a digital camera, an access point, a television, a medical device (e.g., a heart rate monitor, a blood pressure monitor, etc.), a wearable computer device, or another device that may receive and/or transmit information wirelessly. [00130] In some embodiments, the communication device 1100 may include one or more antennas 1101. The antennas 1101 may include one or more directional or omnidirectional antennas, including, for example, dipole antennas, monopole antennas, patch antennas, loop antennas, microstrip antennas, or other types of antennas suitable for transmission of RF signals. In some embodiments, instead of two or more antennas, a single antenna with multiple apertures may be used. In these embodiments, each aperture may be considered a separate antenna. In some multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) embodiments, the antennas may be effectively separated for spatial diversity and the different channel characteristics that may result between each of the antennas and the antennas of a transmitting device. [00131] In some embodiments, the communication device 1100 may include one or more of a keyboard, a display, a non-volatile memory port, multiple antennas, a graphics processor, an application processor, speakers, and other mobile device elements. The display may be an LCD screen including a touch screen. [00132] Although the communication device 1100 is illustrated as having several separate functional elements, two or more of the functional elements may be combined and may be implemented by combinations of software-configured elements, such as processing elements including digital signal processors (DSPs), and/or other hardware elements. For example, some elements may include one or more microprocessors, DSPs, field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), radio-frequency integrated circuits (RFICs) and combinations of various hardware and logic circuitry for performing at least the functions described herein. In some embodiments, the functional elements of the communication device 1100 may refer to one or more processes operating on one or more processing elements. [00133] FIG.12 illustrates a procedure performed by a UE for PDCCH monitoring for high-carrier frequencies, in accordance with some embodiments. Procedure 1200 may be performed by a UE for Multi-Slot PDCCH monitoring for high-carrier frequencies. [00134] In operation 1202, the UE may decode higher-layer signalling comprising configuration information to configure the UE with a search space (SS) set comprising a set of slots for multi-slot physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) monitoring. At least some slots of the SS set may be indicated to have a PDCCH monitoring occasion (MO). [00135] In operation 1204, the UE may perform multi-slot monitoring by monitoring the indicated slots of the configured SS set for detection of a PDCCH comprising an indicated DCI format. [00136] In operation 1206, the UE may decode the DCI format. The DCI format may schedule one or multiple physical downlink shared channels (PDSCHs). The UE may the decode the one or more scheduled PDSCHs to receive data. [00137] EXAMPLES: [00138] Example 1 may include a method of wireless communication comprising receiving, by a UE, a high layer configuration of search space (SS) sets; decoding, by the UE, a DCI from physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) based on the SS sets. [00139] Example 2 may include the method of example 1 or some other example herein, wherein in the set of the slots that are determined by monitoringSlotPeriodicityAndOffset and duration, at most one PDCCH MO is configured for a SS set in each slot [00140] Example 3 may include the method of example 1 or some other example herein, wherein in the set of the slots that are determined by monitoringSlotPeriodicityAndOffset and duration, a first symbol and a gap are configured for a SS set. [00141] Example 4 may include the method of example 1 or some other example herein, wherein in the set of the slots that are determined by monitoringSlotPeriodicityAndOffset and duration, a first symbol, a minimum gap and a bitmap are configured for a SS set. [00142] Example 5 may include the method of example 1 or some other example herein, wherein within a period that is determined by the periodicity of the SS set, the slots containing the MOs for PDCCH monitoring can be inconsecutive. [00143] Example 6 may include the method of example 5 or some other example herein, wherein a bitmap is used to indicate which slot(s) in a window is configured for PDCCH monitoring. [00144] Example 7 may include the method of example 5 or some other example herein, wherein the MOs for PDCCH monitoring is configured to be present in every X slots, X > 1 or X ≥1. [00145] Example 8 may include the method of example 5 or some other example herein, wherein the MOs for PDCCH monitoring is configured to be present in a window according to a second periodicity. [00146] Example 9 may include the method of example 1 or some other example herein, wherein the maximum number of monitored PDCCH candidates and non-overlapped CCEs are defined in a group of consecutive slots and two adjacent groups are non-overlapped and mapped to consecutive slots. [00147] Example 10 may include the method of example 9 or some other example herein, wherein the group of consecutive slots to apply the maximum number of monitored PDCCH candidates and the group of consecutive slots to apply non-overlapped CCEs are staggered in time. [00148] Example 11 may include the method of example 1 or some other example herein, wherein the maximum number of monitored PDCCH candidates and non-overlapped CCEs are defined in a group of consecutive slots and the groups slide in slot level or in every X slot, X>1. [00149] Example 12 may include the method of examples 9 or 11 or some other example herein, wherein the maximum number of monitored PDCCH candidates is defined in a first group of consecutive slots, while the maximum number of non-overlapped CCEs is defined in a second group of consecutive slots. [00150] Example 13 may include the method of examples 9 or 11 or some other example herein, wherein the number of slots in the group is determined by the SCS configuration of the serving cell or configured by high layer signaling. [00151] Example 14 may include the method of examples 9 or 11 or some other example herein, wherein for carrier aggregation (CA), the groups on different serving cells are aligned in time. [00152] Example 15 may include the method of examples 9 or 11 or some other example herein, PDCCH overbooking per group of consecutive slots applies to PCell or PSCell. [00153] Example 16 may include the method of examples 9 or 11 or some other example herein, wherein, if the configured USS sets result in that the total numbers of monitored PDCCH candidates and/or non-overlapped CCEs per group of consecutive slots that exceed the corresponding maximum numbers per group of consecutive slots, dropping a USS sets is done until the corresponding maximum numbers per group of consecutive slots are not exceeded. [00154] Example 17 may include the method of example 16 or some other example herein, wherein a USS set with a largest SS set index that is configured in the group of consecutive slots is dropped. [00155] Example 18 may include the method of example 17 or some other example herein, wherein a USS set which is associated with a DCI format for multi-TTI scheduling with multiple TBs is prioritized over a USS set for single- TTI scheduling. [00156] Example 19 may include the method of example 17 or some other example herein, wherein if multiple MOs of the USS set are mapped in the group of consecutive slots, the USS set is dropped in all the multiple MOs, or the MOs of the USS set in the last one of the multiple slots is dropped, or, the last MO of the USS set in the multiple slots is dropped. [00157] Example 20 may include the method of example 11 or some other example herein, wherein the maximum number of monitored PDCCH candidates and non-overlapped CCEs are checked in a slid group in time order. [00158] Example 21 may include the method of example 20 or some other example herein, wherein a USS set with a largest SS set index in the last slot of the slid group is dropped. [00159] Example 22 may include the method of example 21 or some other example herein, wherein a USS set which is associated with a DCI for multi-TTI scheduling with multiple TBs can be prioritized over a USS set for single-TTI scheduling. [00160] Example 23 may include the method of example 9 or 11 or some other example herein, wherein the maximum numbers of monitored PDCCH candidates and non-overlapped CCEs that applies to multiple serving cells,

are determined for the serving cells with the same configuration μ and same length of the group of consecutive slots. [00161] Example 24 may include the method of examples 9 or 11 or some other example herein, wherein the maximum numbers of monitored PDCCH candidates and non-overlapped CCEs that applies to multiple serving cells, are determined for the

serving cells with same length of the group of consecutive slots. [00162] Example 25 may include the method of examples 9 or 11 or some other example herein, wherein the maximum numbers of monitored PDCCH candidates and non-overlapped CCEs are respectively defined for a group of consecutive slots and for each slot in the group of consecutive slots. [00163] Example 26 may include a method comprising: receiving configuration information for one or more search space (SS) sets; and monitoring the one or more SS sets for a DCI to schedule one or more transmission time intervals (TTIs). [00164] Example 27 may include the method of example 26 or some other example herein, wherein in a set of the slots that are determined by monitoringSlotPeriodicityAndOffset and duration, at most one PDCCH monitoring occasion (MO) is configured for a SS set in each slot. [00165] Example 28 may include the method of example 26 or some other example herein, wherein in a set of the slots that are determined by monitoringSlotPeriodicityAndOffset and duration, a first symbol and a gap are configured for a respective SS set. [00166] Example 29 may include the method of example 26 or some other example herein, wherein in a set of the slots that are determined by monitoringSlotPeriodicityAndOffset and duration, a first symbol, a minimum gap, and a bitmap are configured for a respective SS set. [00167] Example 30 may include the method of example 26 or some other example herein, wherein within a period that is determined by a periodicity of a respective SS set, the slots containing the MOs for PDCCH monitoring are nonconsecutive. [00168] Example 31 may include the method of example 26-30 or some other example herein, wherein the method is performed by a UE or a portion thereof. [00169] The Abstract is provided to comply with 37 C.F.R. Section 1.72(b) requiring an abstract that will allow the reader to ascertain the nature and gist of the technical disclosure. It is submitted with the understanding that it will not be used to limit or interpret the scope or meaning of the claims. The following claims are hereby incorporated into the detailed description, with each claim standing on its own as a separate embodiment.

Claims

CLAIMS What is claimed is: 1. An apparatus of a user equipment (UE), the apparatus comprising: processing circuitry; and memory, the processing circuitry is configured to: decode higher-layer signalling comprising configuration information from a gNodeB (gNB), the configuration information to configure the UE with a search space (SS) set comprising a set of slots for multi-slot physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) monitoring, wherein at least some slots of the SS set are indicated to have a PDCCH monitoring occasion (MO), the configuration information indicating a downlink control information (DCI) format to monitor; perform multi-slot monitoring by monitoring the indicated slots of the SS set for detection of the DCI format; and decode the DCI format, the DCI format scheduling one or multiple physical downlink shared channels (PDSCHs), wherein the memory is configured to store the configuration information.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the processing circuitry is configured to perform the multi-slot monitoring for higher-frequency operations comprising operations with carrier frequencies above 52.6 GHz with a subcarrier spacing (SCS) of 480kHz and 960kHz, wherein the processing circuitry is configured to refrain from performing the multi-slot monitoring for the higher-frequency operations with a SCS of 120kHz, and wherein the processing circuitry is configured to refrain from performing the multi-slot monitoring for lower-frequency operations comprising operations with carrier frequencies below 52.6GHz.

3. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein when the configuration information indicates that two or more PDCCH MOs are configured, the two or more PDCCH MOs are configured with a minimum gap between the PDCCH MOs, the gap comprising one or more slots without a configured PDCCH MO.

4. The apparatus of claim 3, when the configuration information indicates that two PDCCH MOs are configured in a same slot of the set of slots, the two PDCCH MOs are configured with a minimum gap of seven (7) symbols.

5. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the SS set includes a plurality of slot groups, each slot group comprising a number of slots, and wherein the configuration information for the SS set includes a monitoring occasion periodicity (X), the monitoring occasion periodicity (X) indicating that a PDCCH MO is to occur once in every X slots of each slot group in the SS set.

6. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein the monitoring occasion periodicity (X) comprises maximum value Xc, the maximum value being the number of slots in a slot group.

7. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the configuration information for the SS set indicates a number of consecutive slots (Y) in each slot group that are configured with the PDCCH MOs.

8. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the SS set includes a plurality of slot groups, each slot group comprising a number of slots, wherein the number of slots in each slot group in the SS set are based on the SCS, wherein for a 480 kHz SCS, the number of slots in the slot group comprise four (4) slots, and wherein for a 960 kHz SCS, the number of slots in the slot group comprise eight (8) slots.

9. The apparatus of any of claims 1 – 8, wherein the search space set is configurable include a common search space (CSS) set and a UE-specific search space (USS) set, wherein the configuration information allocates the CSS set to include up to a maximum number of PDCCH MOs for PDCCH monitoring in a slot group; and wherein the configuration information allocates an additional number of PDCCH MOs for PDCCH monitoring in the USS set in the slot group.

10. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the processing circuitry is configured to decode the one or more scheduled PDSCHs, and wherein the processing circuitry comprises a baseband processor.

11. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium that stores instructions for execution by processing circuitry of a user equipment (UE), the processing circuitry configured to: decode higher-layer signalling comprising configuration information from a gNodeB (gNB), the configuration information to configure the UE with a search space (SS) set comprising a set of slots for multi-slot physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) monitoring, wherein at least some slots of the SS set are indicated to have a PDCCH monitoring occasion (MO), the configuration information indicating a downlink control information (DCI) format to monitor; cause the UE to perform multi-slot monitoring by monitoring the indicated slots of the SS set for detection of the DCI format; and decode the DCI format, the DCI format scheduling one or multiple physical downlink shared channels (PDSCHs).

12. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 11, wherein the processing circuitry is configured to perform the multi-slot monitoring for higher-frequency operations comprising operations with carrier frequencies above 52.6 GHz with a subcarrier spacing (SCS) of 480kHz and 960kHz, wherein the processing circuitry is configured to refrain from performing the multi-slot monitoring for the higher-frequency operations with a SCS of 120kHz, and wherein the processing circuitry is configured to refrain from performing the multi-slot monitoring for lower-frequency operations comprising operations with carrier frequencies below 52.6GHz.

13. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 12, wherein when the configuration information indicates that two or more PDCCH MOs are configured, the two or more PDCCH MOs are configured with a minimum gap between the PDCCH MOs, the gap comprising one or more slots without a configured PDCCH MO.

14. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 13, when the configuration information indicates that two PDCCH MOs are configured in a same slot of the set of slots, the two PDCCH MOs are configured with a minimum gap of seven (7) symbols.

15. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 12, wherein the SS set includes a plurality of slot groups, each slot group comprising a number of slots, and wherein the configuration information for the SS set includes a monitoring occasion periodicity (X), the monitoring occasion periodicity (X) indicating that a PDCCH MO is to occur once in every X slots of each slot group in the SS set.

16. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 15, wherein the monitoring occasion periodicity (X) comprises maximum value Xc, the maximum value being the number of slots in a slot group.

17. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 16, wherein the configuration information for the SS set indicates a number of consecutive slots (Y) in each slot group that are configured with the PDCCH MOs.

18. An apparatus of gNodeB (gNB), the apparatus comprising: processing circuitry; and memory, the processing circuitry is configured to: encode higher-layer signalling comprising configuration information to configure a user equipment (UE) with a search space (SS) set comprising a set of slots for multi-slot physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) monitoring, wherein at least some slots of the SS set are indicated to have a PDCCH monitoring occasion (MO), the configuration information indicating a downlink control information (DCI) format for the UE to monitor; encode the indicated DCI format scheduling one or multiple physical downlink shared channels (PDSCHs); and encode the one or multiple PDSCHs that are scheduled by the DCI format, wherein the configuration information configures the UE to perform multi-slot monitoring by monitoring the indicated slots of the configured SS set for blind detection of PDCCH candidates for the DCI format, and wherein the memory is configured to store the configuration information.

19. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein the processing circuitry is configured to encode the configuration information to configure the UE to perform the multi-slot monitoring for higher-frequency operations comprising operations with carrier frequencies above 52.6 GHz with a subcarrier spacing (SCS) of 480kHz and 960kHz, wherein the processing circuitry is configured to refrain from encoding the configuration information to configure the UE to perform performing the multi-slot monitoring for the higher-frequency operations with a SCS of 120kHz, and wherein the processing circuitry is configured to refrain from encoding the configuration information to configure the UE to perform performing the multi-slot monitoring for lower-frequency operations comprising operations with carrier frequencies below 52.6GHz.

20.^The DSSDUDWXV of claim 19,wherein when the configuration information is encoded to indicate that two or more PDCCH MOs are configured, the two or more PDCCH MOs are configured with a minimum gap between the PDCCH MOs, the gap comprising one or more slots without a configured PDCCH MO.