COMMUNICATION

BACKGROUND

[0001] Embodiments of the present disclosure relate to apparatus and method for wireless communication.

[0002] Wireless communication systems are widely deployed to provide various telecommunication services such as telephony, video, data, messaging, and broadcasts. In cellular communication, such as the 4th-generation (4G) Long Term Evolution (LTE) and the 5th- generation (5G) New Radio (NR), the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) defines various operations for signal processing.

SUMMARY

[0003] Embodiments of apparatus and method for baseband signal processing are disclosed herein.

[0004] According to one aspect of the present disclosure, an apparatus of wireless communication of a user equipment is provided. The apparatus may include an RF chip including a first set of baseband circuits. The first set of baseband circuits may be configured to, in response to a first reception condition, perform first baseband operations. The apparatus may include a baseband chip including a second set of baseband circuits. The second set of baseband circuits may be configured to, in response to a second reception condition, perform second baseband operations.

[0005] According to one aspect of the present disclosure, an RF chip is provided. The RF chip may include a first set of baseband circuits configured to perform first baseband operations associated with a first reception condition. The RF chip may include a controller. The controller may be configured to, in response to a first reception condition, activate the first set of baseband circuits of the RF chip. The controller may be configured to, in response to a second reception condition, activate a second set of baseband circuits of a baseband chip.

[0006] According to yet another aspect of the disclosure, a method of wireless communication of a user equipment is provided. The method may include performing, by a first set of baseband circuits of an RF chip, first baseband operations in response to a first reception condition. The method may include performing, by a second set of baseband circuits of a baseband chip, second baseband operations in response to a second reception condition. In some embodiments, the first baseband operations mays include a subset of the second baseband operations. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0007] The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated herein and form a part of the specification, illustrate embodiments of the present disclosure and, together with the description, further serve to explain the principles of the present disclosure and to enable a person skilled in the pertinent art to make and use the present disclosure. [0008] FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary wireless network, according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0009] FIG. 2 illustrates a block diagram of an apparatus including a baseband chip, a radio frequency (RF) chip, and a host chip, according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. [0010] FIG. 3 illustrates a detailed view of the RF chip and baseband chip of the apparatus of FIG. 2, according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0011] FIG. 4 illustrates a flow chart of an exemplary method of wireless communication, according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0012] FIG. 5 illustrates a block diagram of an exemplary node, according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. [0013] FIG. 6A illustrates the RF chip and baseband chip of a conventional UE.

[0014] FIG. 6B illustrates a graphical representation of the power consumption during physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) reception of a conventional UE.

[0015] Embodiments of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0016] Although specific configurations and arrangements are discussed, it should be understood that this is done for illustrative purposes only. A person skilled in the pertinent art will recognize that other configurations and arrangements can be used without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure. It will be apparent to a person skilled in the pertinent art that the present disclosure can also be employed in a variety of other applications.

[0017] It is noted that references in the specification to “one embodiment,” “an embodiment,” “an example embodiment,” “some embodiments,” “certain embodiments,” etc., indicate that the embodiment described may include a particular feature, structure, or characteristic, but every embodiment may not necessarily include the particular feature, structure, or characteristic. Moreover, such phrases do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment. Further, when a particular feature, structure, or characteristic is described in connection with an embodiment, it would be within the knowledge of a person skilled in the pertinent art to effect such feature, structure, or characteristic in connection with other embodiments whether or not explicitly described.

[0018] In general, terminology may be understood at least in part from usage in context.

For example, the term “one or more” as used herein, depending at least in part upon context, may be used to describe any feature, structure, or characteristic in a singular sense or may be used to describe combinations of features, structures or characteristics in a plural sense. Similarly, terms, such as “a,” “an,” or “the,” again, may be understood to convey a singular usage or to convey a plural usage, depending at least in part upon context. In addition, the term “based on” may be understood as not necessarily intended to convey an exclusive set of factors and may, instead, allow for existence of additional factors not necessarily expressly described, again, depending at least in part on context.

[0019] Various aspects of wireless communication systems will now be described with reference to various apparatus and methods. These apparatus and methods will be described in the following detailed description and illustrated in the accompanying drawings by various blocks, modules, units, components, circuits, steps, operations, processes, algorithms, etc. (collectively referred to as “elements”). These elements may be implemented using electronic hardware, firmware, computer software, or any combination thereof. Whether such elements are implemented as hardware, firmware, or software depends upon the particular application and design constraints imposed on the overall system.

[0020] The techniques described herein may be used for various wireless communication networks, such as code division multiple access (CDMA) system, time division multiple access (TDMA) system, frequency division multiple access (FDMA) system, orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) system, single-carrier frequency division multiple access (SC- FDMA) system, wireless local area network (WLAN) system, and other networks. The terms “network” and “system” are often used interchangeably. A CDMA network may implement a radio access technology (RAT), such as Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (UTRA), evolved UTRA (E-UTRA), CDMA 2000, etc. A TDMA network may implement a RAT, such as the Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM). An OFDMA network may implement a RAT, such as LTE or NR. A WLAN system may implement a RAT, such as Wi-Fi. The techniques described herein may be used for the wireless networks and RATs mentioned above, as well as other wireless networks and RATs.

[0021] In wireless communication, a user equipment typically performs operations associated with cell searching, control channel (CCH) processing, and shared channel (SCH) processing using its baseband chip.

[0022] FIG. 6A illustrates a block diagram of a conventional user equipment 600 that includes a radio frequency (RF) chip 602 and a baseband chip 604. RF chip 602 of conventional user equipment 600 may include, e.g., an analog circuit 606, a digital front end (DFE) RF circuit 608, and an RF/baseband (BB) interface 610. Baseband chip 604 of conventional user equipment 600 may include, e.g., RF/BB interface 612, DFE BB circuit 614, search/measurement circuit 616, CCH receiver circuit 618, and SCH receiver circuit 620.

[0023] Referring to RF chip 602, analog circuit 606 may include, e.g., a mixer, a low pass filter, a phase-locked loop (PLL), a low-noise amplifier (LNA), etc. DFE RF circuit 608 may perform operations such as RF impairment compensation, frequency rotation, digital gain control, digital filtering, downsampling, etc. RF/BB interfaces 610 and 612 may be used to send/receive signals between RF chip 602 and baseband chip 604. RF/BB interfaces 610, 612 may include a standardized interface (e.g., mobile industry processor interface (MIPI), M-PHY interface, peripheral component interface express (PCI-e), etc.) or a proprietary interface.

[0024] Referring to baseband chip 604, DFE BB circuit 614 may perform operations, e.g., such as digital gain control, digital filtering, downsampling, fast-Fourier transform (FFT), etc. Search/measurement circuit 616 may perform operations associated with serving and neighboring cell search, as well as channel measurement s) of the serving cell. CCH receiver circuit 618 may perform channel estimation, demodulation, and decoding for the physical broadcast channel (PBCH) and PDCCH. SCH receiver circuit 620 may perform channel estimation, demodulation, and decoding for the PD SCH.

[0025] One challenge of conventional user equipment 600 relates to the power consumption of the RF chip 602 and baseband chip 604. This challenge is made worse during certain reception conditions, e.g., such discontinuous reception (DRX) (e.g., connected mode DRX (CDRX)), low throughput, and PDCCH-only reception, e.g., as illustrated in FIG. 6B.

[0026] The power diagram 650 of FIG. 6B illustrates the undesirable power consumption of conventional RF chip 602 and baseband chip 604 during DRX, low throughput scenarios, and PDCCH-only reception. As can be seen in FIG. 6B, RF/BB interfaces 610, 612 consume a significant amount of power over a lengthy duration. Moreover, there is a large, undesirable cross chip delay and control latency, which causes considerable power consumption of analog circuit 606, DFE RF circuit 608, and DFE BB circuit 614. Still further, baseband chip 604 may include a processor (not shown in FIG. 6A) that consumes a significant amount of power when activated along with search/measurement circuit 616, CCH receiver circuit 618, and SCH receiver circuit 620 during DRX, low throughput, or PDCCH-only reception.

[0027] Thus, there exists an unmet need for a mechanism for performing baseband operations that consume less power during certain reception conditions, e.g., such as DRX, low throughput, and/or PDCCH-only reception.

[0028] To overcome these and other challenges, the user equipment of the present disclosure includes a set of baseband circuits in the RF chip that can be activated during certain reception conditions. During these reception conditions, the baseband chip and the RF/BB interfaces may remain in low power mode, thereby reducing the power consumption considerably during those reception conditions mentioned above. The set of baseband circuits at the RF chip may be “mini” circuits, meaning that they are each configured to perform a subset or a limited set of baseband operations as compared to the set of more complex baseband circuits at the baseband chip. For example, a controller of the RF chip (or elsewhere in the user equipment) may determine when a first reception condition (e.g., DRX, low throughput, PDCCH-only reception) at the user equipment arises. During the first reception condition, the controller may active a first set of baseband circuits (e.g., “mini” baseband circuits) at the RF chip, which enables the RF/BB interfaces and the baseband chip, including its set of baseband circuits, and processor(s), to remain in low power mode. On the other hand, when a second reception condition (e.g., non-DRX, high throughput, PDCCH and PDSCH reception, etc.) arises, the controller of the RF chip may activate a second set of baseband circuits at the baseband chip. The more powerful set of baseband circuits of the baseband chip may be able to handle a larger number of component carriers (CCs), perform more complex demodulation, de-spreading, decoding, and channel estimation operations, among others. Using different baseband circuits under different reception conditions provides optimization of power consumption and baseband performance. Additional details of the baseband circuits of the RF chip and the baseband chip are described below in connection with FIGs. 1-5. [0029] FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary wireless network 100, in which some aspects of the present disclosure may be implemented, according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 1, wireless network 100 may include a network of nodes, such as a user equipment 102, an access node 104, and a core network element 106. User equipment 102 may be any terminal device, such as a mobile phone, a desktop computer, a laptop computer, a tablet, a vehicle computer, a gaming console, a printer, a positioning device, a wearable electronic device, a smart sensor, or any other device capable of receiving, processing, and transmitting information, such as any member of a vehicle to everything (V2X) network, a cluster network, a smart grid node, or an Internet-of-Things (IoT) node. It is understood that user equipment 102 is illustrated as a mobile phone simply by way of illustration and not by way of limitation.

[0030] Access node 104 may be a device that communicates with user equipment 102, such as a wireless access point, a base station (BS), a Node B, an enhanced Node B (eNodeB or eNB), a next-generation NodeB (gNodeB or gNB), a cluster master node, or the like. Access node 104 may have a wired connection to user equipment 102, a wireless connection to user equipment 102, or any combination thereof. Access node 104 may be connected to user equipment 102 by multiple connections, and user equipment 102 may be connected to other access nodes in addition to access node 104. Access node 104 may also be connected to other user equipments. When configured as a gNB, access node 104 may operate in millimeter wave (mmW) frequencies and/or near mmW frequencies in communication with the user equipment 102. When access node 104 operates in mmW or near mmW frequencies, the access node 104 may be referred to as an mmW base station. Extremely high frequency (EHF) is part of the RF in the electromagnetic spectrum. EHF has a range of 30 GHz to 300 GHz and a wavelength between 1 millimeter and 10 millimeters. Radio waves in the band may be referred to as a millimeter wave. Near mmW may extend down to a frequency of 3 GHz with a wavelength of 100 millimeters. The super high frequency (SHF) band extends between 3 GHz and 30 GHz, also referred to as centimeter wave. Communications using the mmW or near mmW radio frequency band have extremely high path loss and a short range. The mmW base station may utilize beamforming with user equipment 102 to compensate for the extremely high path loss and short range. It is understood that access node 104 is illustrated by a radio tower by way of illustration and not by way of limitation.

[0031] Access nodes 104, which are collectively referred to as E-UTRAN in the evolved packet core network (EPC) and as NG-RAN in the 5G core network (5GC), interface with the EPC and 5GC, respectively, through dedicated backhaul links (e.g., SI interface). In addition to other functions, access node 104 may perform one or more of the following functions: transfer of user data, radio channel ciphering and deciphering, integrity protection, header compression, mobility control functions (e.g., handover, dual connectivity), inter-cell interference coordination, connection setup and release, load balancing, distribution for non-access stratum (NAS) messages, NAS node selection, synchronization, radio access network (RAN) sharing, multimedia broadcast multicast service (MBMS), subscriber and equipment trace, RAN information management (RIM), paging, positioning, and delivery of warning messages. Access nodes 104 may communicate directly or indirectly (e.g., through the 5GC) with each other over backhaul links (e.g., X2 interface). The backhaul links may be wired or wireless.

[0032] Core network element 106 may serve access node 104 and user equipment 102 to provide core network services. Examples of core network element 106 may include a home subscriber server (HSS), a mobility management entity (MME), a serving gateway (SGW), or a packet data network gateway (PGW). These are examples of core network elements of an evolved packet core (EPC) system, which is a core network for the LTE system. Other core network elements may be used in LTE and in other communication systems. In some embodiments, core network element 106 includes an access and mobility management function (AMF), a session management function (SMF), or a user plane function (UPF) of the 5GC for the NR system. The AMF may be in communication with a Unified Data Management (UDM). The AMF is the control node that processes the signaling between the user equipment 102 and the 5GC. Generally, the AMF provides quality-of-service (QoS) flow and session management. All user Internet protocol (IP) packets are transferred through the UPF. The UPF provides UE IP address allocation as well as other functions. The UPF is connected to the IP Services. The IP Services may include the Internet, an intranet, an IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS), a Streaming Service, and/or other IP services. It is understood that core network element 106 is shown as a set of rack-mounted servers by way of illustration and not by way of limitation.

[0033] Core network element 106 may connect with a large network, such as the Internet

108, or another Internet Protocol (IP) network, to communicate packet data over any distance. In this way, data from user equipment 102 may be communicated to other user equipments connected to other access points, including, for example, a computer 110 connected to Internet 108, for example, using a wired connection or a wireless connection, or to a tablet 112 wirelessly connected to Internet 108 via a router 114. Thus, computer 110 and tablet 112 provide additional examples of possible user equipments, and router 114 provides an example of another possible access node. [0034] A generic example of a rack-mounted server is provided as an illustration of core network element 106. However, there may be multiple elements in the core network including database servers, such as a database 116, and security and authentication servers, such as an authentication server 118. Database 116 may, for example, manage data related to user subscription to network services. A home location register (HLR) is an example of a standardized database of subscriber information for a cellular network. Likewise, authentication server 118 may handle authentication of users, sessions, and so on. In the NR system, an authentication server function (AUSF) device may be the entity to perform user equipment authentication. In some embodiments, a single server rack may handle multiple such functions, such that the connections between core network element 106, authentication server 118, and database 116, may be local connections within a single rack.

[0035] Each element in FIG. 1 may be considered a node of wireless network 100. More detail regarding the possible implementation of a node is provided by way of example in the description of a node 500 in FIG. 5. Node 500 may be configured as user equipment 102, access node 104, or core network element 106 in FIG. 1. Similarly, node 500 may also be configured as computer 110, router 114, tablet 112, database 116, or authentication server 118 in FIG. 1. As shown in FIG. 5, node 500 may include a processor 502, a memory 504, and a transceiver 506. These components are shown as connected to one another by a bus, but other connection types are also permitted. When node 500 is user equipment 102, additional components may also be included, such as a user interface (UI), sensors, and the like. Similarly, node 500 may be implemented as a blade in a server system when node 500 is configured as core network element 106. Other implementations are also possible.

[0036] Transceiver 506 may include any suitable device for sending and/or receiving data.

Node 500 may include one or more transceivers, although only one transceiver 506 is shown for simplicity of illustration. An antenna 508 is shown as a possible communication mechanism for node 500. Multiple antennas and/or arrays of antennas may be utilized for receiving multiple spatially multiplex data streams. Additionally, examples of node 500 may communicate using wired techniques rather than (or in addition to) wireless techniques. For example, access node 104 may communicate wirelessly to user equipment 102 and may communicate by a wired connection (for example, by optical or coaxial cable) to core network element 106. Other communication hardware, such as a network interface card (NIC), may be included as well.

[0037] As shown in FIG. 5, node 500 may include processor 502. Although only one processor is shown, it is understood that multiple processors can be included. Processor 502 may include microprocessors, microcontroller units (MCUs), digital signal processors (DSPs), application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), programmable logic devices (PLDs), state machines, gated logic, discrete hardware circuits, and other suitable hardware configured to perform the various functions described throughout the present disclosure. Processor 502 may be a hardware device having one or more processing cores. Processor 502 may execute software. Software shall be construed broadly to mean instructions, instruction sets, code, code segments, program code, programs, subprograms, software modules, applications, software applications, software packages, routines, subroutines, objects, executables, threads of execution, procedures, functions, etc., whether referred to as software, firmware, middleware, microcode, hardware description language, or otherwise. Software can include computer instructions written in an interpreted language, a compiled language, or machine code. Other techniques for instructing hardware are also permitted under the broad category of software. [0038] As shown in FIG. 5, node 500 may also include memory 504. Although only one memory is shown, it is understood that multiple memories can be included. Memory 504 can broadly include both memory and storage. For example, memory 504 may include random-access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), static RAM (SRAM), dynamic RAM (DRAM), ferro electric RAM (FRAM), electrically erasable programmable ROM (EEPROM), compact disc read only memory (CD-ROM) or other optical disk storage, hard disk drive (HDD), such as magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, Flash drive, solid-state drive (SSD), or any other medium that can be used to carry or store desired program code in the form of instructions that can be accessed and executed by processor 502. Broadly, memory 504 may be embodied by any computer-readable medium, such as a non-transitory computer-readable medium.

[0039] Processor 502, memory 504, and transceiver 506 may be implemented in various forms in node 500 for performing wireless communication functions. In some embodiments, processor 502, memory 504, and transceiver 506 of node 500 are implemented (e.g., integrated) on one or more system-on-chips (SoCs). In one example, processor 502 and memory 504 may be integrated on an application processor (AP) SoC (sometimes known as a “host,” referred to herein as a “host chip”) that handles application processing in an operating system (OS) environment, including generating raw data to be transmitted. In another example, processor 502 and memory 504 may be integrated on a baseband processor (BP) SoC (sometimes known as a “modem,” referred to herein as a “baseband chip”) that converts the raw data, e.g., from the host chip, to signals that can be used to modulate the carrier frequency for transmission, and vice versa, which can run a real-time operating system (RTOS). In still another example, processor 502 and transceiver 506 (and memory 504 in some cases) may be integrated on an RF SoC (sometimes known as a “transceiver,” referred to herein as an “RF chip”) that transmits and receives RF signals with antenna 508. It is understood that in some examples, some or all of the host chip, baseband chip, and RF chip may be integrated as a single SoC. For example, a baseband chip and an RF chip may be integrated into a single SoC that manages all the radio functions for cellular communication.

[0040] Referring back to FIG. 1, in some embodiments, any suitable node of wireless network 100 (e.g., user equipment 102) may include an RF chip that includes a first set of baseband circuits and a baseband chip that includes a second set of baseband circuits. The first set of baseband circuits of the RF chip may include “mini” circuits that perform a subset of the baseband operations/capabilities/complexities of the second set of baseband circuits of the baseband chip. In some embodiments, user equipment 102 may include a controller (e.g., at the RF chip or elsewhere in user equipment 102) that is configured to identify when first reception condition (e.g., DRX, low throughput, PDCCH-only reception, etc.) or a second reception condition (e.g., non- DRX, high throughput, PDCCH/PDSCH reception, etc.) occurs.

[0041] Under the first reception condition, the controller may activate the first set of baseband circuits at the RF chip. Here, the RF/BB interfaces and the baseband chip, including the second set of baseband circuits and processor, may remain in a reduced power mode. On the other hand, under the second reception condition, the controller may activate the second set of baseband circuits at the baseband chip, as well as the RF/BB interfaces, so that the full range of baseband circuit operations are available. The first set of baseband circuits at the RF chip may remain in the reduced power state under the second reception condition. By including a set of “mini” baseband circuits at the RF chip of user equipment 102, performance optimization can be achieved under certain reception conditions, as compared with conventional devices and approaches that use the baseband chip in all scenarios. Additional details of the RF chip and baseband chip of user equipment 102 are provided below in connection with FIGs. 2-4.

[0042] FIG. 2 illustrates a block diagram of an apparatus 200 including a baseband chip

202, an RF chip 204, and a host chip 206, according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. Apparatus 200 may be implemented as user equipment 102 of wireless network 100 in FIG. 1. As shown in FIG. 2, apparatus 200 may include baseband chip 202, RF chip 204, host chip 206, and one or more antennas 210. In some embodiments, baseband chip 202 is implemented by processor 502 and memory 504, and RF chip 204 is implemented by processor 502, memory 504, and transceiver 506, as described above with respect to FIG. 5. Besides the on-chip memory 218 (also known as “internal memory,” e.g., registers, buffers, or caches) on each chip 202, 204, or 206, apparatus 200 may further include an external memory 208 (e.g., the system memory or main memory) that can be shared by each chip 202, 204, or 206 through the system/main bus. Although baseband chip 202 is illustrated as a standalone SoC in FIG. 2, it is understood that in one example, baseband chip 202 and RF chip 204 may be integrated as one SoC; in another example, baseband chip 202 and host chip 206 may be integrated as one SoC; in still another example, baseband chip 202, RF chip 204, and host chip 206 may be integrated as one SoC, as described above.

[0043] In the uplink, host chip 206 may generate raw data and send it to baseband chip 202 for encoding, modulation, and mapping. Host/BB interface unit 216 of baseband chip 202 may receive the data from host chip 206. Baseband chip 202 may also access the raw data generated by host chip 206 and stored in external memory 208, for example, using the direct memory access (DMA). Baseband chip 202 may first encode (e.g., by source coding and/or channel coding) the raw data and modulate the coded data using any suitable modulation techniques, such as multi phase shift keying (MPSK) modulation or quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM). Baseband chip 202 may perform any other functions, such as symbol or layer mapping, to convert the raw data into a signal that can be used to modulate the carrier frequency for transmission. In the uplink, baseband chip 202 may send the modulated signal to RF chip 204 via RF/BB interface unit 214. RF chip 204, through the transmitter, may convert the modulated signal in the digital form into analog signals, i.e., RF signals, and perform any suitable front-end RF functions, such as filtering, digital pre-distortion, up-conversion, or sample-rate conversion. Antenna 210 (e.g., an antenna array) may transmit the RF signals provided by the transmitter of RF chip 204.

[0044] In the downlink, antenna 210 may receive RF signals from an access node or other wireless device. The RF signals may be passed to the RF circuits 226 of RF chip 204. RF circuits 226 may perform any suitable front-end RF functions, such as filtering, IQ imbalance compensation, down-paging conversion, or sample-rate conversion, and convert the RF signals (e.g., transmission) into low-frequency digital signals (baseband signals) that can be passed to baseband chip 202 via RF/BB interfaces 214. [0045] As seen in FIG. 2, RF chip 204 may also include a controller 222 (e.g., implemented as hardware, firmware, or software) and a first set of baseband circuits 224. Baseband chip 202 may include a second set of baseband circuits 220. The first set of baseband circuits 224 of the RF chip 204 may include “mini” circuits that perform a subset of the baseband operations/capabilities/complexities of the second set of baseband circuits 220 of the baseband chip. In some embodiments, controller 222 (e.g., which may be located anywhere in apparatus 200) may identify when a first reception condition (e.g., DRX, low throughput, PDCCH-only reception, etc.) or a second reception condition (e.g., non-DRX, high throughput, PDCCH/PDSCH reception, etc.) occurs. By way of example, controller 222 may determine when the first reception condition or the second reception condition occurs based on signaling or configuration information from a base station, e.g., such as by access node 104 in FIG. 1.

[0046] Under the first reception condition, controller 222 may activate the first set of baseband circuits 224 at the RF chip 204 such that the RF/BB interfaces 214 and baseband chip 202, including the second set of baseband circuits 220 and processor (not shown), may remain in a reduced or low power mode. In a first example of low-power mode, the clock (not shown) at baseband chip 202 may be powered on, while RF/BB interface 214 and the second set of baseband circuits 220 are powered off. In a second example of low power mode, the clock, RF/BB interface 214, and the second set of baseband circuits 220 of baseband chip 202 may be powered off.

[0047] On the other hand, under the second reception condition, controller 222 may activate the second set of baseband circuits 220 at the baseband chip 202, as well as the RF/BB interfaces 214, so that the full range of baseband circuit operations are available. The first set of baseband circuits 224 at the RF chip 204 may remain in the reduced power state under the second reception condition. By including a set of “mini” baseband circuits (e.g., first set of baseband circuits 224) at the RF chip 204, performance optimization may be achieved under different reception conditions, as compared with conventional devices and approaches that only use baseband circuits at the baseband chip. Additional details of the first set of baseband circuits 224 and the second set of baseband circuits 220 are provided below in connection with FIGs. 3 and 4. [0048] FIG. 3 illustrates a detailed view of RF chip 204 and baseband chip 202 of the apparatus 200 of FIG. 2, according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. As seen in FIG. 3, RF circuits 226 of RF chip 204 may include an analog circuit 302 and a DFE RF circuit 304. First set of baseband circuits 224 of RF chip 204 may include one or more of, e.g., a mini- DFE baseband circuit 306, a mini-search circuit 308, a mini-CCH receiver circuit 310, and a mini- SCH receiver circuit 312. However, in some embodiments, mini-search circuit 308 may be omitted from first set of baseband circuits 224. Referring to baseband chip 202, second set of baseband circuits 220 may include one or more of, e.g., DFE baseband circuit 314, search/measurement circuit 316, CCH receiver circuit 318, and SCH receiver circuit 320. In response to a first reception condition (e.g., DRX, low throughput, PDCCH-only reception, etc.), controller 222 may activate first set of baseband circuits 224. Conversely, controller 222 may activate second set of baseband circuits 220 and RF/BB interfaces 214 at RF chip 204 and baseband chip 202 in response to a second reception condition (e.g., non-DRX, high throughput, PDCCH/PDSCH reception, etc.). [0049] When the second set of baseband circuits 220 are activated, signals received from the base station may be processed by RF circuits 226 and then passed to second set of baseband circuits 220 via RF/BB interfaces 214. Here, DFE baseband circuit 314 may perform operations such as digital gain control, digital filtering, downsampling, FFT, etc. Search/measurement circuit 316 may perform operations associated with cell search for the serving and neighboring cells, as well as performing channel measurement(s) of the serving cell. CCH receiver circuit 318 may perform channel estimation, demodulation, and decoding for both the physical broadcast channel (PBCH) and the PDCCH. SCH receiver circuit 320 may perform channel estimation, demodulation, and decoding for the PDSCH.

[0050] Each of the circuits of first set of baseband circuits 224 of RF chip 204 may be implemented as a simplified version of its counterpart circuit in the second set of baseband circuits 220. By way of example and not limitation, these simplifications may include: 1) performing a simplified set of functions and/or algorithms, 2) processing signals of a shorter bit-width, 3) implementation as hardware rather than firmware, 4) limited capabilities with respect to the number of CCs served, the number of Rx antennas served, a lower multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) rank, or supporting a lower maximum data rate.

[0051] For example, mini-DFE baseband circuit 306 may support fewer data paths associated with fewer Rx antennas than DFE baseband circuit 314. Further, mini-DFE baseband circuit 306 may include a digital filter with a shorter length than that used by DFE baseband circuit 314. Still further, mini-DFE baseband circuit 306 may have a shorter processing latency than DFE baseband circuit 314. Compared with search/measurement circuit 316 of baseband chip 202, mini search circuit 308 may not perform channel measurement of the serving or neighboring cells. Mini search circuit 308 may perform other baseband operations, e.g., such as synchronization and the determination of timing and frequency offsets. Unlike CCH receiver circuit 318 of baseband chip 202, mini-CCH receiver circuit 310 may not support PBCH reception. Instead, mini-CCH receiver circuit 310 may be configured to support PDCCH reception.

[0052] As compared with SCH receiver circuit 320 of baseband chip 202, mini-SCH receiver circuit 312 may support a lower MIMO rank and a lower data rate, for example. In some embodiments, mini-SCH receiver circuit 312 may support hybrid-automatic repeat request (HARQ) operations. However, in some other embodiments, mini-SCH receiver circuit 312 may not support HARQ operations. Moreover, mini-SCH receiver circuit 312 may perform a reduced channel estimation algorithm, as compared to SCH receiver circuit 320. For example, mini-SCH receiver circuit 312 may perform a one-dimensional channel estimation algorithm rather than a two-dimensional channel estimation algorithm. SCH receiver circuit 320 may support both one dimensional and two-dimensional channel estimation. Still further, mini-SCH receiver circuit 312 may use a reduced number of filter taps, update channel filter coefficients less frequently, or use a simplified MIMO detection algorithm, as compared with SCH receiver circuit 320. In some embodiments, the decoder of mini-SCH receiver circuit 312 may support lower parallelism associated with low-throughput scenarios. Supporting lower parallelism, mini-SCH receiver circuit 312 to be designed with a reduced size (e.g., which uses less power consumption), as compared with the decoder of SCH receiver circuit 320.

[0053] However, while mini-CCH receiver circuit 310 and mini-SCH receiver circuit 312 both provide power savings over their counterpart circuits in baseband chip 202, they may reduce the overall performance of the system. In some instances, controller 222 may determine that a performance or capability requirement is not met while using these receivers of the first set of baseband circuits 224. Here, controller 222 may deactivate mini-CCH receiver circuit 310 and/or mini-SCH receiver circuit 312, and instead, activate CCH receiver circuit 318 and/or SCH receiver circuit 320 to achieve a desired performance or capability.

[0054] By way of example, under the first reception condition, one or more of the following operations may occur: 1) controller 222 may activate one or more circuits of first set of baseband circuits 224, 2) RF/BB interfaces 214 of RF chip 204 and baseband chip 202 may remain in reduced power mode, 3) data of all PDCCH symbols may be buffered in DFE RF circuit 304 until PDCCH decoding is complete (e.g., when PDSCH may be sent in PDCCH symbols), 4) data from the potential PDSCH symbols may be buffered in DFE RF circuit 304 until PDCCH decoding is complete (e.g., when PDCCH and PDSCH is not sent in the same symbols), 5) mini-CCH receiver circuit 310 may attempt to decode PDCCH, 6) when a downlink control information (DCI) is not received in the PDCCH, RF chip 204 may enter reduced-power mode, and 7) if a DCI is received in PDCCH, controller 222 may determine whether to instruct DFE RF circuit 304 to send the buffered data to mini-SCH receiver circuit 312 or SCH receiver circuit 320. In addition, controller 222 may determine whether to activate mini-search circuit 308 when a synchronization signal block (SSB) or a primary synchronization signal (PSS)/secondary synchronization signal (SSS) is sent in a slot that does not include PDSCH symbols or when mini-SCH receiver circuit 312 is not used to receive PDSCH.

[0055] FIG. 4 illustrates a flowchart of an exemplary method 400 of wireless communication, according to embodiments of the disclosure. Exemplary method 400 may be performed by an apparatus for wireless communication, e.g., such as user equipment 102, apparatus 200, baseband chip 202, RF chip 204, first set of baseband circuits 224, RF circuits 226, RF/BB interface(s) 214, second set of baseband circuits 220, and/or node 500. Method 400 may include steps 402-408 as described below. It is to be appreciated that some of the steps may be optional, and some of the steps may be performed simultaneously, or in a different order than shown in FIG. 4.

[0056] At 402, the apparatus may activate a first set of baseband circuits of the RF chip in response to a first reception condition. For example, referring to FIGs. 2 and 3, in response to determining a first reception condition (e.g., DRX, low throughput, PDCCH-only reception, etc.), controller 222 may activate first set of baseband circuits 224.

[0057] At 404, the apparatus may perform first baseband operations when the first set of baseband circuits of the RF chip are activated. For example, referring to FIG. 3, each of the circuits of first set of baseband circuits 224 of RF chip 204 may be implemented as a simplified version of its counterpart circuit in the second set of baseband circuits 220. By way of example and not limitation, these simplifications may include: 1) performing a simplified set of functions and/or algorithms, 2) processing signals of a shorter bit-width, 3) implementation as hardware rather than firmware, 4) limited capabilities with respect to the number of CCs served, the number of Rx antennas served, a lower multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) rank, or supporting a lower maximum data rate. For example, mini-DFE baseband circuit 306 may support fewer data paths associated with fewer Rx antennas than DFE baseband circuit 314. Further, mini-DFE baseband circuit 306 may include a digital filter with a shorter length than that of DFE baseband circuit 314. Still further, mini-DFE baseband circuit 306 may have a shorter processing latency than DFE baseband circuit 314. Compared with search/measurement circuit 316 of baseband chip 202, mini- search circuit 308 may not perform channel measurement of the serving or neighboring cells. Mini search circuit 308 may perform other baseband operations, e.g., such as synchronization and the determination of timing and frequency offsets. Unlike CCH receiver circuit 318 of baseband chip 202, mini-CCH receiver circuit 310 may not support PBCH reception. Instead, mini-CCH receiver circuit 310 may be configured to support PDCCH reception. As compared with SCH receiver circuit 320 of baseband chip 202, mini-SCH receiver circuit 312 may support a lower MIMO rank and a lower data rate, for example. In some embodiments, mini-SCH receiver circuit 312 may support hybrid-automatic repeat request (HARQ) operations. However, in some other embodiments, mini-SCH receiver circuit 312 may not support HARQ operations. Moreover, mini- SCH receiver circuit 312 may perform a reduced channel estimation algorithm, as compared to SCH receiver circuit 320. For example, mini-SCH receiver circuit 312 may perform a one dimensional channel estimation algorithm rather than a two-dimensional channel estimation algorithm, which may be performed by SCH receiver circuit 320. Still further, mini-SCH receiver circuit 312 may use a reduced number of filter taps, update channel filter coefficients less frequently, or use a simplified MIMO detection algorithm, as compared with SCH receiver circuit 320. In some embodiments, the decoder of mini-SCH receiver circuit 312 may implement lower parallelism for low throughput scenarios, which enables mini-SCH receiver circuit 312 to be implemented with a reduced size (e.g., which uses less power consumption), as compared with the decoder of SCH receiver circuit 320.

[0058] At 406, the apparatus may activate a second set of baseband circuits of the baseband chip in response to a second reception condition. For example, referring to FIGs. 2 and 3, in response to determining the second reception condition (e.g., non-DRX, high throughput, PDCCH/PDSCH reception, etc.), controller 222 may activate second set of baseband circuits 220 and RF/BB interfaces 214 at RF chip 204 and baseband chip 202.

[0059] At 408, the apparatus may perform second baseband operations when the second set of baseband circuits of the baseband chip are activated. For example, referring to FIG. 3, when the second set of baseband circuits 220 are activated, signals received from the base station may be processed by RF circuits 226 and then passed to second set of baseband circuits 220 via RF/BB interfaces 214. Here, DFE BB circuit 314 may perform operations such as, e.g., digital gain control, digital filtering, downsampling, FFT, etc. Search/measurement circuit 316 may perform operations associated with cell search for the serving and neighboring cells, as well as performing channel measurement s) of the serving cell. CCH receiver circuit 318 may perform channel estimation, demodulation, and decoding for the physical broadcast channel (PBCH), as well as the PDCCH. SCH receiver circuit 320 may perform channel estimation, demodulation, and decoding for the PD SCH.

[0060] In various aspects of the present disclosure, the functions described herein may be implemented in hardware, software, firmware, or any combination thereof. If implemented in software, the functions may be stored on or encoded as instructions or code on a non-transitory computer-readable medium. Computer-readable media includes computer storage media. Storage media may be any available media that can be accessed by a computing device, such as node 500 in FIG. 5. By way of example, and not limitation, such computer-readable media can include RAM, ROM, EEPROM, CD-ROM or other optical disk storage, HDD, such as magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, Flash drive, SSD, or any other medium that can be used to carry or store desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures and that can be accessed by a processing system, such as a mobile device or a computer. Disk and disc, as used herein, includes CD, laser disc, optical disc, digital video disc (DVD), and floppy disk where disks usually reproduce data magnetically, while discs reproduce data optically with lasers. Combinations of the above should also be included within the scope of computer-readable media. [0061] According to one aspect of the present disclosure, an apparatus of wireless communication of a user equipment is provided. The apparatus may include an RF chip including a first set of baseband circuits. The first set of baseband circuits may be configured to, in response to a first reception condition, perform first baseband operations. The apparatus may include a baseband chip including a second set of baseband circuits. The second set of baseband circuits may be configured to, in response to a second reception condition, perform second baseband operations.

[0062] In some embodiments, the first set of baseband circuits may be further configured to, in response to the second reception condition, remain in a reduced-power mode.

[0063] In some embodiments, the second set of baseband circuits may be further configured to, in response to the first reception condition, remain in the reduced-power mode. [0064] In some embodiments, the RF chip may further include a controller. In some embodiments, the controller may be configured to, in response to the first reception condition, activate the first set of baseband circuits of the RF chip. The controller may be configured to, in response to the second reception condition, activate the second set of baseband circuits of the baseband chip. [0065] In some embodiments, the RF chip may further include a first interface configured to interface with the baseband chip. In some embodiments, the baseband chip may further include a second interface configured to interface with the RF chip. In some embodiments, the controller may be further configured to, in response to the second reception condition, activate the first interface and the second interface.

[0066] In some embodiments, the first reception condition includes one or more of a DRX, a first data throughput level less than a threshold, or a PDCCH reception without PDSCH reception. [0067] In some embodiments, the second reception condition includes one or more of a non-DRX, a second data throughput level greater than or equal to the threshold, or a PDCCH reception with PDSCH reception.

[0068] In some embodiments, the first set of baseband circuits may include a first DFE baseband circuit configured to perform first DFE operations. In some embodiments, the first set of baseband circuits may include a CCH receiver configured to perform first CCH operations. [0069] In some embodiments, the first set of baseband circuits may further include a cell search circuit configured to perform first cell search operations. In some embodiments, the first set of baseband circuits may further include a first SCH receiver configured to perform first SCH operations.

[0070] In some embodiments, the second set of baseband circuits may include a second

DFE baseband circuit configured to perform second DFE operations. In some embodiments, the second set of baseband circuits may include a cell search and measurement circuit configured to perform second cell search operations and channel measurement operations. In some embodiments, the second set of baseband circuits may include a second CCH receiver configured to perform second CCH operations. In some embodiments, the second set of baseband circuits may include a second SCH receiver configured to perform second SCH operations.

[0071] According to one aspect of the present disclosure, an RF chip is provided. The RF chip may include a first set of baseband circuits configured to perform first baseband operations associated with a first reception condition. The RF chip may include a controller. The controller may be configured to, in response to a first reception condition, activate the first set of baseband circuits of the RF chip. The controller may be configured to, in response to a second reception condition, activate a second set of baseband circuits of a baseband chip.

[0072] In some embodiments, the RF chip may further include the first set of baseband circuits. In some embodiments, the first set of baseband circuits may be configured to, in response to the second reception condition, remain in a reduced-power mode.

[0073] In some embodiments, the RF chip may further include a first interface configured to interface with the baseband chip. In some embodiments, the controller may be further configured to, in response to the second reception condition, activate the first interface.

[0074] In some embodiments, the controller may be further configured to, in response to the second reception condition, activate a second interface of the baseband chip. In some embodiments, the second interface may be configured to interface with the RF chip.

[0075] In some embodiments, the first reception condition may include one or more of a

DRX, a first data throughput level less than a threshold, or a PDCCH reception without PDSCH reception.

[0076] In some embodiments, the second reception condition may include one or more of a non-DRX, a second data throughput level greater than or equal to the threshold, or a PDCCH reception with PDSCH reception.

[0077] In some embodiments, the first set of baseband circuits may include a DFE baseband circuit configured to perform first DFE operations. In some embodiments, the first set of baseband circuits may include a CCH receiver configured to perform first CCH operations. [0078] In some embodiments, the first set of baseband circuits may include a cell search circuit configured to perform first cell search operations. In some embodiments, the first set of baseband circuits may include an SCH receiver configured to perform first SCH operations.

[0079] According to yet another aspect of the disclosure, a method of wireless communication of a user equipment is provided. The method may include performing, by a first set of baseband circuits of an RF chip, first baseband operations in response to a first reception condition. The method may include performing, by a second set of baseband circuits of a baseband chip, second baseband operations in response to a second reception condition. In some embodiments, the first baseband operations mays include a subset of the second baseband operations.

[0080] In some embodiments, the method may further include activating, by a controller of the RF chip, the first set of baseband circuits of the RF chip in response to the first reception condition. In some embodiments, the method may further include activating, by the controller of the RF chip, the second set of baseband circuits of the baseband chip in response to the second reception condition.

[0081] The foregoing description of the specific embodiments will so reveal the general nature of the present disclosure that others can, by applying knowledge within the skill of the art, readily modify and/or adapt for various applications such specific embodiments, without undue experimentation, without departing from the general concept of the present disclosure. Therefore, such adaptations and modifications are intended to be within the meaning and range of equivalents of the disclosed embodiments, based on the teaching and guidance presented herein. It is to be understood that the phraseology or terminology herein is for the purpose of description and not of limitation, such that the terminology or phraseology of the present specification is to be interpreted by the skilled artisan in light of the teachings and guidance.

[0082] Embodiments of the present disclosure have been described above with the aid of functional building blocks illustrating the implementation of specified functions and relationships thereof. The boundaries of these functional building blocks have been arbitrarily defined herein for the convenience of the description. Alternate boundaries can be defined so long as the specified functions and relationships thereof are appropriately performed.

[0083] The Summary and Abstract sections may set forth one or more but not all exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure as contemplated by the inventor(s), and thus, are not intended to limit the present disclosure and the appended claims in any way.

[0084] Various functional blocks, modules, and steps are disclosed above. The particular arrangements provided are illustrative and without limitation. Accordingly, the functional blocks, modules, and steps may be re-ordered or combined in different ways than in the examples provided above. Likewise, certain embodiments include only a subset of the functional blocks, modules, and steps, and any such subset is permitted.

[0085] The breadth and scope of the present disclosure should not be limited by any of the above-described exemplary embodiments, but should be defined only in accordance with the following claims and their equivalents.