Techniques for demodulation reference signal based signal-to-noise ratio for demodulation processing

1. A method of wireless communication performed by a user equipment (UE), comprising:

measuring a first energy level of a demodulation reference signal (DMRS);

measuring a second energy level of at least one of a tracking reference signal (TRS) or a synchronization signal block (SSB);

determining, based at least in part on the first energy level and the second energy level, a DMRS signal-to-noise ratio (SNR);

performing, based at least in part on the DMRS SNR, channel estimation for a physical channel associated with a communication to determine an estimated channel; and

performing, based at least in part on the estimated channel, demodulation processing for the communication.

2. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

receiving, using a beam that is selected based at least in part on at least one of the TRS or the SSB, the communication on the physical channel.

3. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

measuring a reference signal SNR (RS-SNR) that is based at least in part on the second energy level.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the determination of the DMRS SNR comprises:

determining the DMRS SNR for at least one of:

a slot during which the communication is received,

an antenna port used for receiving the communication, or

a DMRS port associated with the DMRS.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the determination of the DMRS SNR comprises:

measuring the DMRS SNR based at least in part on at least one of:

the first energy level,

the second energy level,

a noise level associated with the DMRS, or

a reference signal SNR (RS-SNR) that is based at least in part on the second energy level.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the determination of the DMRS SNR comprises:

measuring a noise level associated with the DMRS; and

determining, based at least in part on the first energy level and the noise level, the DMRS SNR.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the determination of the DMRS SNR comprises:

determining, based at least in part on the first energy level and the second energy level, a value;

measuring a reference signal SNR (RS-SNR) that is based at least in part on the second energy level; and

modifying the RS-SNR by the value to obtain the DMRS SNR.

8. The method of claim 7 , wherein the determination of the value comprises:

determining the value based at least in part on a function of the first energy level and the second energy level.

9. The method of claim 1 , wherein the determination of the DMRS SNR comprises:

determining, based at least in part on the first energy level and a measured noise level associated with the DMRS, a first SNR;

modifying a reference signal SNR (RS-SNR), that is based at least in part on the second energy level, by a first value to obtain a second SNR;

determining whether a ratio, of the first SNR to the second SNR, satisfies a threshold; and

determining that the DMRS SNR is:

the first SNR if the ratio of the first SNR to the second SNR satisfies the threshold, or

the second SNR if the ratio of the first SNR to the second SNR does not satisfy the threshold.

10. The method of claim 1 , wherein the determination of the DMRS SNR comprises:

determining, based at least in part on the first energy level and a measured noise level associated with the DMRS, a first SNR;

modifying a reference signal SNR (RS-SNR), that is based at least in part on the second energy level, by a first value to obtain a second SNR;

modifying the second SNR by a second value to obtain a third SNR; and

determining that the DMRS SNR is:

the first SNR if the first SNR is greater than the third SNR, or

the second SNR if the first SNR is less than or equal to the third SNR.

11. The method of claim 1 , wherein performing the channel estimation comprises:

performing a delay spread estimation for the physical channel based at least in part on the DMRS SNR.

12. The method of claim 11 , wherein performing the delay spread estimation comprises:

measuring a reference signal SNR (RS-SNR) that is based at least in part on the second energy level;

comparing the RS-SNR to the DMRS SNR to obtain a difference between the RS-SNR and the DMRS SNR; and

performing the delay spread estimation for the physical channel using the DMRS SNR based at least in part on the difference between the RS-SNR and the DMRS SNR satisfying a collision threshold.

13. The method of claim 12 , wherein performing the delay spread estimation for the physical channel using the DMRS SNR comprises:

performing, if the RS-SNR satisfies a reliability threshold, the delay spread estimation for the physical channel using the DMRS SNR to set a threshold value for separating a signal of the physical channel from noise over the estimated delay spread of the physical channel.

14. The method of claim 12 , wherein performing the delay spread estimation for the physical channel using the DMRS SNR comprises:

determining, if the RS-SNR does not satisfy a reliability threshold, that the delay spread for the physical channel is a default value.

15. A user equipment (UE) for wireless communication, comprising:

one or more memories; and

one or more processors, coupled to the one or more memories, configured to cause the UE to:

measure a first energy level of a demodulation reference signal (DMRS);

measure a second energy level of at least one of a tracking reference signal (TRS) or a synchronization signal block (SSB);

determine, based at least in part on the first energy level and the second energy level, a DMRS signal-to-noise ratio (SNR);

perform, based at least in part on the DMRS SNR, channel estimation for a physical channel associated with a communication to determine an estimated channel; and

perform, based at least in part on the estimated channel, demodulation processing for the communication.

16. The UE of claim 15 , wherein the one or more processors are further configured to cause the UE to:

receive, using a beam that is selected based at least in part on at least one of the TRS or the SSB, the communication on the physical channel.

17. The UE of claim 15 , wherein one or more processors are further configured to cause the UE to:

measure a reference signal SNR (RS-SNR) that is based at least in part on the second energy level.

18. The UE of claim 15 , wherein the one or more processors, to determine the DMRS SNR, are configured to cause the UE to:

determine the DMRS SNR for at least one of:

a slot during which the communication is received,

an antenna port used for receiving the communication, or

a DMRS port associated with the DMRS.

19. The UE of claim 15 , wherein the one or more processors, to determine the DMRS SNR, are configured to cause the UE to:

measure the DMRS SNR based at least in part on at least one of:

the first energy level,

the second energy level,

a noise level associated with the DMRS, or

a reference signal SNR (RS-SNR) that is based at least in part on the second energy level.

20. The UE of claim 15 , wherein the one or more processors, to determine the DMRS SNR, are configured to cause the UE to:

measure a noise level associated with the DMRS; and

determine, based at least in part on the first energy level and the noise level, the DMRS SNR.

21. The UE of claim 15 , wherein the one or more processors, to determine the DMRS SNR, are configured to cause the UE to:

determine, based at least in part on the first energy level and the second energy level, a value;

measure a reference signal SNR (RS-SNR) that is based at least in part on the second energy level; and

modify the RS-SNR by the value to obtain the DMRS SNR.

22. The UE of claim 21 , wherein the one or more processors, to determine the value, are configured to cause the UE to:

determine the value based at least in part on a function of the first energy level and the second energy level.

23. The UE of claim 15 , wherein the one or more processors, to determine the DMRS SNR, are configured to cause the UE to:

determine, based at least in part on the first energy level and a measured noise level associated with the DMRS, a first SNR;

modify a reference signal SNR (RS-SNR), that is based at least in part on the second energy level, by a first value to obtain a second SNR;

determine whether a ratio, of the first SNR to the second SNR, satisfies a threshold; and

determine that the DMRS SNR is:

the first SNR if the ratio of the first SNR to the second SNR satisfies the threshold, or

the second SNR if the ratio of the first SNR to the second SNR does not satisfy the threshold.

24. The UE of claim 15 , wherein the one or more processors, to determine the DMRS SNR, are configured to cause the UE to:

determine, based at least in part on the first energy level and a measured noise level associated with the DMRS, a first SNR;

modify a reference signal SNR (RS-SNR), that is based at least in part on the second energy level, by a first value to obtain a second SNR;

modify the second SNR by a second value to obtain a third SNR; and

determine that the DMRS SNR is:

the first SNR if the first SNR is greater than the third SNR, or

the second SNR if the first SNR is less than or equal to the third SNR.

25. The UE of claim 15 , wherein the one or more processors, to perform the channel estimation, are configured to cause the UE to:

perform a delay spread estimation for the physical channel based at least in part on the DMRS SNR.

26. The UE of claim 25 , wherein one or more processors, to perform the delay spread estimation, are configured to cause the UE to:

measure a reference signal SNR (RS-SNR) that is based at least in part on the second energy level;

compare the RS-SNR to the DMRS SNR to obtain a difference between the RS- SNR and the DMRS SNR; and

perform the delay spread estimation for the physical channel using the DMRS SNR based at least in part on the difference between the RS-SNR and the DMRS SNR satisfying a collision threshold.

27. The UE of claim 26 , wherein the one or more processors, to perform the delay spread estimation for the physical channel using the DMRS SNR, are configured to cause the UE to:

perform, if the RS-SNR satisfies a reliability threshold, the delay spread estimation for the physical channel using the DMRS SNR to set a threshold value for separating a signal of the physical channel from noise over the estimated delay spread of the physical channel.

28. The UE of claim 26 , wherein the one or more processors, to perform the delay spread estimation for the physical channel using the DMRS SNR, are configured to cause the UE to:

determine, if the RS-SNR does not satisfy a reliability threshold, that the delay spread for the physical channel is a default value.

29. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing a set of instructions for wireless communication, the set of instructions comprising:

one or more instructions that, when executed by one or more processors of a user equipment (UE), cause the UE to:

measure a first energy level of a demodulation reference signal (DMRS);

measure a second energy level of at least one of a tracking reference signal (TRS) or a synchronization signal block (SSB);

determine, based at least in part on the first energy level and the second energy level, a DMRS signal-to-noise ratio (SNR);

perform, based at least in part on the DMRS SNR, channel estimation for a physical channel associated with a communication to determine an estimated channel; and

perform, based at least in part on the estimated channel, demodulation processing for the communication.

30. An apparatus for wireless communication, comprising:

means for measuring a first energy level of a demodulation reference signal (DMRS);

means for measuring a second energy level of at least one of a tracking reference signal (TRS) or a synchronization signal block (SSB);

means for determining, based at least in part on the first energy level and the second energy level, a DMRS signal-to-noise ratio (SNR);

means for performing, based at least in part on the DMRS SNR, channel estimation for a physical channel associated with a communication to determine an estimated channel; and

means for performing, based at least in part on the estimated channel, demodulation processing for the communication.