Methods and apparatuses for flexible radio frequency utilization
The present disclosure provides methods and apparatuses for flexible radio frequency (RF) utilization and switching. In some embodiments, carriers and/or panels are activated and deactivated at an apparatus as needed, to conserve power at the apparatus. Fast carrier activation and fast panel activation are provided, to reduce carrier activation delay and panel activation delay. Round robin patterns for obtaining carrier-specific measurement information and panel-specific measurement information are also provided, to further reduce carrier and panel activation delay. Further, RF chain and/or antenna switching between multiple carriers at the apparatus is provided to improve data throughput.
1 . A method for an apparatus in a wireless communication network, the method comprising:
receiving, by the apparatus from a network device, activation information for a carrier of a cell, the activation information comprising at least one of synchronization information, beam management information, or automatic gain control (AGC) setting information for the carrier, the activation information further comprising an indication of a reference carrier of the cell;
receiving, by the apparatus from the network device, an indication to activate the carrier; and
activating, by the apparatus, the carrier based on the activation information.
2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the activation information is independent of a synchronization signal block (SSB).
3 . The method of claim 1 , wherein:
activating the carrier comprises performing at least one of synchronization, beam management, or AGC setting for the carrier based on the reference carrier.
4 . The method of claim 3 , wherein the activating the carrier comprises performing the synchronization for the carrier based on a synchronization to the reference carrier.
5 . The method of claim 3 , wherein the activating the carrier comprises performing the beam management for the carrier based on a beam of the reference carrier.
6 . The method of claim 3 , wherein the activating the carrier comprises performing the AGC setting for the carrier based on at least one of a pathloss or a coupling loss of the reference carrier.
7 . The method of claim 1 , wherein:
the activation information comprises an indication of a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS); and
the activating the carrier comprises performing at least one of synchronization or AGC setting for the carrier based on the CSI-RS.
8 . The method of claim 1 , wherein:
the activation information comprises an indication of a beam for the carrier; and
the activating the carrier comprises performing beam management for the carrier based on the indication of the beam.
9 . The method of claim 1 , wherein:
the activation information comprises at least one of an indication of a pathloss or a coupling loss for the carrier; and
the activating the carrier comprises performing AGC setting for the carrier based on the indication of at least one of the pathloss or the coupling loss.
10 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the receiving the activation information comprises receiving the activation information via radio resource control (RRC) signaling, medium access control (MAC) signaling or downlink control information (DCI).
11 . The method of claim 1 ,
wherein the activation information comprises the synchronization information, the beam management information, and the AGC setting information, and
wherein at least two of the synchronization information, the beam management information, or the AGC setting information are associated with at least two different respective reference carriers of the cell.
12 . A method for a network device in a wireless communication network, the method comprising:
transmitting, by the network device to an apparatus, activation information for a carrier of a cell, the activation information comprising at least one of synchronization information, beam management information, or automatic gain control (AGC) setting information for the carrier, the activation information further comprising an indication of a reference carrier of the cell; and
transmitting, by the network device to the apparatus, an indication to activate the carrier, wherein the transmitting the indication causes the apparatus to activate the carrier based on the activation information.
13 . The method of claim 12 , wherein the activation information is independent of a synchronization signal block (SSB).
14 . The method of claim 12 , wherein the transmitting the indication causes the apparatus to perform at least one of synchronization, beam management, or AGC setting for the carrier based on the reference carrier.
15 . The method of claim 14 , wherein the transmitting the indication causes the apparatus to perform the synchronization for the carrier based on a synchronization to the reference carrier.
16 . The method of claim 14 , wherein the transmitting the indication causes the apparatus to perform the beam management for the carrier based on a beam of the reference carrier.
17 . The method of claim 14 , wherein the transmitting the indication causes the apparatus to perform at least one of AGC setting for the carrier based on a pathloss or a coupling loss of the reference carrier.
18 . The method of claim 12 , wherein the transmitting the indication causes the apparatus to perform at least one of synchronization and/or AGC setting for the carrier based on a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) indicated by the activation information.
19 . The method of claim 12 , wherein the transmitting the indication causes the apparatus to perform beam management for the carrier based on a beam indicated by the activation information.
20 . An apparatus comprising:
at least one processor; and
a computer-readable storage medium operatively coupled to the at least one processor, the computer-readable storage medium storing programming for execution by the at least one processor, the programming comprising instructions that cause the apparatus to:
receive, from a network device, activation information for a carrier of a cell, the activation information comprising at least one of synchronization information, beam management information, or automatic gain control (AGC) setting information for the carrier, the activation information further comprising an indication of a reference carrier of the cell;
receive, from the network device, an indication to activate the carrier; and
activate the carrier based on the activation information.
21 . A network device comprising:
at least one processor; and
a computer-readable storage medium operatively coupled to the at least one processor, the computer-readable storage medium storing programming for execution by the at least one processor, the programming comprising instructions that cause the network device to:
transmit, to an apparatus, activation information for a carrier of a cell, the activation information comprising at least one of synchronization information, beam management information or automatic gain control (AGC) setting information for the carrier, the activation information further comprising an indication of a reference carrier of the cell; and
transmit, to the apparatus, an indication to activate the carrier, wherein transmitting the indication causes the apparatus to activate the carrier based on the activation information.