Efficiently identifying system waveform in uplink transmission

1. A method comprising:

selecting, by an access terminal, a type of waveform for an uplink transmission;

generating a reference signal as a function of the selected type of waveform;

controlling at least one of a symbol location within a slot or a tone location for the reference signal as a function of the selected type of waveform; and

sending the reference signal as part of the uplink transmission.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the type of waveform is selected from a set of possible waveform types.

3. The method of claim 2 , wherein the set of possible waveform types includes a single carrier-frequency division multiple access waveform and an orthogonal frequency division multiple access waveform.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein selecting the type of waveform for the uplink transmission is in response to a received signal.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein selecting the type of waveform for the uplink transmission further comprises overriding a received signal.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein selecting the type of waveform for the uplink transmission is based upon a metric.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the reference signal is a demodulation reference signal yielded from a Zadoff-Chu sequence.

8. The method of claim 7 , wherein the Zadoff-Chu sequence used for the demodulation reference signal is a function of the selected type of waveform.

9. The method of claim 8 , wherein generating the reference signal as a function of the selected type of waveform further comprises choosing a cyclic shift from a set of possible, differing cyclic shifts for the Zadoff-Chu sequence, wherein the chosen cyclic shift corresponds to the selected type of waveform.

10. The method of claim 8 , wherein generating the reference signal as a function of the selected type of waveform further comprises electing a root index from a set of possible, differing root indexes for the Zadoff-Chu sequence, wherein the elected root index corresponds to the selected type of waveform.

11. The method of claim 8 , wherein generating the reference signal as a function of the selected type of waveform further comprises controlling whether a discrete Fourier transform/fast Fourier transform operation is applied to the demodulation reference signal prior to implementing an inverse fast Fourier transform operation upon the demodulation reference signal as a function of the selected type of waveform.

12. A wireless communications apparatus, comprising:

a memory that retains instructions related to choosing a type of waveform for an uplink transmission, yielding a demodulation reference signal as a function of the chosen type of waveform, controlling at least one of a symbol location within a slot or a tone location for the demodulation reference signal as a function of the chosen type of waveform, and transmitting the demodulation reference signal as part of the uplink transmission; and

a processor, coupled to the memory, configured to execute the instructions retained in the memory.

13. The wireless communications apparatus of claim 12 , wherein the type of waveform is chosen from a set of possible waveform types that includes a single carrier-frequency division multiple access waveform and an orthogonal frequency division multiple access waveform.

14. The wireless communications apparatus of claim 12 , wherein the memory further retains instructions related to choosing the type of waveform for the uplink transmission in response to a received signal.

15. The wireless communications apparatus of claim 14 , wherein the memory further retains instructions related to choosing the type of waveform for the uplink transmission by overriding the received signal.

16. The wireless communications apparatus of claim 12 , wherein the memory further retains instructions related to choosing the type of waveform for the uplink transmission based upon a metric, wherein the metric relates to at least one of a signal to noise ratio, a cubic metric, a power headroom, a geometry, or a transmission mode.

17. The wireless communications apparatus of claim 12 , wherein the memory further retains instructions related to yielding the demodulation reference signal from a Zadoff-Chu sequence, wherein the Zadoff-Chu sequence is a function of the chosen type of waveform.

18. The wireless communications apparatus of claim 17 , wherein the memory further retains instructions related to selecting a cyclic shift from a set of possible, differing cyclic shifts for the Zadoff-Chu sequence, wherein the selected cyclic shift corresponds to the chosen type of waveform.

19. The wireless communications apparatus of claim 17 , wherein the memory further retains instructions related to selecting a root index from a set of possible, differing root indexes for the Zadoff-Chu sequence, wherein the selected root index corresponds to the chosen type of waveform.

20. The wireless communications apparatus of claim 17 , wherein the memory further retains instructions related to managing whether a discrete Fourier transform/ fast Fourier transform operation is applied to the demodulation reference signal prior to implementing an inverse fast Fourier transform operation upon the demodulation reference signal as a function of the chosen type of waveform.

21. A wireless communications apparatus, comprising:

means for yielding a reference signal based upon a type of waveform for an uplink transmission;

means for controlling at least one of a symbol location within a slot or a tone location for the reference signal as a function of the type of waveform; and

means for transmitting the uplink transmission, which includes the reference signal.

22. The wireless communications apparatus of claim 21 , further comprising means for choosing the type of waveform for the uplink transmission.

23. The wireless communications apparatus of claim 21 , further comprising means for overriding a signaled selection of the type of waveform.

24. The wireless communications apparatus of claim 21 , wherein the type of waveform is from a set of possible waveform types that includes a single carrier-frequency division multiple access waveform and an orthogonal frequency division multiple access waveform.

25. A computer program product, comprising:

a non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising:

code for selecting a type of waveform for an uplink transmission, wherein the type of waveform is selected from a set of possible types of waveforms that includes a single carrier-frequency division multiple access waveform and an orthogonal frequency division multiple access waveform;

code for generating a demodulation reference signal as a function of the selected type of waveform;

code for controlling at least one of a symbol location within a slot or a tone location for the reference signal as a function of the selected type of waveform; and

code for transmitting the demodulation reference signal as part of the uplink transmission.

26. The computer program product of claim 25 , wherein the non-transitory computer-readable medium further comprises code for selecting the type of waveform based upon at least one of a received signal or an analyzed metric.

27. The computer program product of claim 25 , wherein the non-transitory computer-readable medium further comprises code for choosing a sequence utilized to generate the demodulation reference signal based upon the selected type of waveform.

28. A wireless communications apparatus, comprising:

a processor configured to:

select a type of waveform for an uplink transmission, wherein the type of waveform is selected from a set of possible types of waveforms that includes a single carrier-frequency division multiple access waveform and an orthogonal frequency division multiple access waveform;

generate a demodulation reference signal as a function of the selected type of waveform;

control at least one of a symbol location within a slot or a tone location for the reference signal as a function of the chosen type of waveform; and

send the demodulation reference signal as part of the uplink transmission.