阅读说明：本技术 波束成形多播中继器 (Beamforming multicast repeater ) 是由 R·霍米斯 J·李 N·阿贝迪尼 J·塞尚 O·科曼 于 2020-03-26 设计创作，主要内容包括：描述了用于无线通信的方法、系统和设备。无线中继器可以接收单播传输并且可以将该单播传输作为多播传输来中继到用户装备(UE)的集合。传送该多播传输可涉及在波束成形方向集合中的每个波束成形方向上重传该单播传输或从该单播传输导出的信号。该多播传输可以在多个天线阵列或与巴特勒矩阵相关联的单个天线阵列上被传送。附加地或替换地,无线中继器可以从多个UE接收传输；可以形成与所接收到的传输相关联的聚集信号；并且可以(诸如向基站)传送与该聚集信号相关联的单播传输。该多个UE传输可以在多个天线阵列上或在与巴特勒矩阵相关联的单个天线阵列上被接收。(Methods, systems, and devices for wireless communication are described. A wireless relay may receive a unicast transmission and may relay the unicast transmission to a set of User Equipments (UEs) as a multicast transmission. Transmitting the multicast transmission may involve retransmitting the unicast transmission or a signal derived from the unicast transmission in each beamforming direction of a set of beamforming directions. The multicast transmission may be transmitted over multiple antenna arrays or a single antenna array associated with a butler matrix. Additionally or alternatively, the wireless relay may receive transmissions from a plurality of UEs; may form an aggregate signal associated with the received transmission; and may transmit (such as to a base station) a unicast transmission associated with the aggregated signal. The multiple UE transmissions may be received over multiple antenna arrays or over a single antenna array associated with a butler matrix.)

1. A method for wireless communication, comprising:

receiving a unicast transmission via directional beamforming at a first antenna array of a wireless relay;

mapping the unicast transmission to a plurality of beamforming directions for transmission by the wireless relay; and

transmitting a multicast transmission to a plurality of User Equipments (UEs) in the plurality of beamforming directions using at least a second antenna array of the wireless relay, the multicast transmission based at least in part on the unicast transmission.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein transmitting the multicast transmission comprises:

retransmitting signals received via the unicast transmission in each of the plurality of beamforming directions.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein mapping the unicast transmission to the plurality of beamforming directions comprises:

routing signals received via the unicast transmission to at least two signal paths within the wireless repeater, wherein;

a first signal path of the at least two signal paths is associated with a first beamforming direction of the plurality of beamforming directions; and

a second signal path of the at least two signal paths is associated with a second beamforming direction of the plurality of beamforming directions.

4. The method of claim 3, further comprising:

feeding the signal into a beamforming network based at least in part on a Butler matrix and coupled with the at least two signal paths.

5. The method of claim 3, further comprising:

routing the signal from the first signal path to a first quadrature coupler; and

transmitting the multicast transmission in the plurality of beamforming directions based at least in part on an output of the first orthogonal coupler.

6. The method of claim 5, further comprising:

routing the signal from the second signal path to the first quadrature coupler; and

transmitting the multicast transmission in the plurality of beamforming directions based at least in part on routing the signal from the second signal path to the first orthogonal coupler.

7. The method of claim 6, further comprising:

transmitting the multicast transmission in the plurality of beamforming directions based at least in part on a second output of the first orthogonal coupler.

8. The method of claim 5, further comprising:

routing the signal from the second signal path to a second quadrature coupler; and

transmitting the multicast transmission in the plurality of beamforming directions based at least in part on an output of the second orthogonal coupler.

9. The method of claim 8, further comprising:

transmitting the multicast transmission in the plurality of beamforming directions based at least in part on a second output of the first orthogonal coupler and a second output of the second orthogonal coupler.

10. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

transmitting a first portion of the multicast transmission in a first beamforming direction of the plurality of beamforming directions using the second antenna array of the wireless repeater; and

transmitting a second portion of the multicast transmission in a second beamforming direction of the plurality of beamforming directions using a third antenna array of the wireless repeater.

11. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving, at the second antenna array of the wireless relay, a first transmission from a first UE of the plurality of UEs in a first beamforming direction of the plurality of beamforming directions;

receiving, at the second antenna array of the wireless relay, a second transmission from a second UE of the plurality of UEs in a second beamforming direction of the plurality of beamforming directions;

aggregating a first signal received via the first transmission and a second signal received via the second transmission to form an aggregated signal; and

transmitting, using the first antenna array of the wireless repeater, a second unicast transmission based at least in part on the aggregated signal.

12. The method of claim 11, further comprising:

switching a signal path within the wireless relay from a downlink configuration to an uplink configuration, wherein switching the signal path occurs after transmitting the multicast transmission and before receiving a transmission from the first UE and a transmission from the second UE.

13. The method of claim 12, further comprising:

processing the aggregated signal and signals received via the unicast transmission using at least one of: the same Low Noise Amplifier (LNA), the same Power Amplifier (PA), or the same PA driver.

14. The method of claim 12, further comprising:

processing a signal received via the unicast transmission based at least in part on a first set of a Low Noise Amplifier (LNA), a Power Amplifier (PA), and a PA driver; and

processing the aggregated signal based at least in part on a second set of LNAs, PAs, and PA drivers.

15. The method of claim 11, wherein a first time period between receiving the unicast transmission and transmitting the multicast transmission at least partially overlaps a second time period between receiving the first transmission and transmitting the second unicast transmission.

16. The method of claim 15, further comprising:

routing, by a first beamforming network within the wireless relay, signals received via the unicast transmission; and;

routing the first signal and the second signal through a second beamforming network within the wireless repeater, wherein both the first beamforming network and the second beamforming network are based at least in part on a Butler matrix.

17. The method of claim 15, further comprising:

routing the first signal through a first duplexer within the wireless repeater; and

routing the second signal through a second duplexer within the wireless repeater.

18. A method for wireless communication, comprising:

receiving a first transmission from a first User Equipment (UE) in a first beamforming direction and a second transmission from a second UE in a second beamforming direction using at least a second antenna array of a wireless relay;

aggregating a first signal received via the first transmission and a second signal received via the second transmission to form an aggregated signal; and

transmitting a unicast transmission based at least in part on the aggregated signal using a first antenna array of the wireless repeater.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein the first transmission from the first UE and the first transmission from the second UE are received at the second antenna array of the wireless repeater.

20. The method of claim 19, further comprising:

generating the first signal and the second signal using a beamforming network based at least in part on a Butler matrix and coupled with the second antenna array.

21. The method of claim 19, further comprising:

routing signals from a first antenna of the second antenna array to a first quadrature coupler; and

obtaining the first signal associated with the first UE based at least in part on an output of the first quadrature coupler.

22. The method of claim 21, further comprising:

routing signals from a second antenna of the second antenna array to the first quadrature coupler; and

obtaining the first signal associated with the first UE based at least in part on routing the signal from the second antenna to the first quadrature coupler.

23. The method of claim 22, further comprising:

obtaining the second signal associated with the second UE based at least in part on a second output from the first quadrature coupler.

24. The method of claim 21, further comprising:

routing signals from a second antenna of the second antenna array to a second quadrature coupler; and

obtaining the second signal associated with the second UE based at least in part on an output of the second quadrature coupler.

25. The method of claim 24, further comprising:

obtain the first signal associated with the first UE based at least in part on the output from the second quadrature coupler.

26. The method of claim 18, wherein the transmission from the first UE is received at the second antenna array of the wireless repeater and the transmission from the second UE is received at a third antenna array of the wireless repeater.

27. The method of claim 18, further comprising:

receiving a second unicast transmission via directional beamforming at the first antenna array of the wireless relay;

mapping the second unicast transmission to a plurality of beamforming directions including the first beamforming direction and the second beamforming direction; and

transmitting, using at least the second antenna array of the wireless relay, a multicast transmission to a plurality of UEs including the first UE and the second UE, the multicast transmission based at least in part on the second unicast transmission and in the plurality of beamforming directions.

28. The method of claim 18, further comprising:

routing the first signal associated with the first UE to a first signal path within the wireless relay;

routing the second signal associated with the second UE to a second signal path within the wireless relay; and

aggregating the first signal and the second signal based at least in part on routing the first signal to the first signal path and routing the second signal to the second signal path.

29. An apparatus for wireless communication, comprising:

means for receiving a unicast transmission via directional beamforming at a first antenna array of a wireless relay;

means for mapping the unicast transmission to a plurality of beamforming directions for transmission by the wireless relay; and

means for transmitting a multicast transmission to a plurality of User Equipments (UEs) in the plurality of beamforming directions using at least a second antenna array of the wireless relay, the multicast transmission based at least in part on the unicast transmission.

30. An apparatus for wireless communication, comprising:

means for receiving a first transmission from a first User Equipment (UE) in a first beamforming direction and a second transmission from a second UE in a second beamforming direction using at least a second antenna array of a wireless relay;

means for aggregating a first signal received via the first transmission and a second signal received via the second transmission to form an aggregated signal; and

means for transmitting a unicast transmission based at least in part on the aggregated signal using a first antenna array of the wireless repeater.

Background

The following relates generally to wireless communications and more particularly to beamforming multicast repeaters.

Wireless communication systems are widely deployed to provide various types of communication content such as voice, video, packet data, messaging, broadcast, and so on. These systems may be able to support communication with multiple users by sharing the available system resources (e.g., time, frequency, and power). Examples of such multiple-access systems include fourth generation (4G) systems, such as Long Term Evolution (LTE) systems, LTE-advanced (LTE-a) systems, or LTE-a Pro systems, and fifth generation (5G) systems that may be referred to as New Radio (NR) systems. These systems may employ various techniques, such as Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA), Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA), Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA), or discrete Fourier transform spread orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (DFT-S-OFDM). A wireless multiple-access communication system may include several base stations or network access nodes, each supporting communication for multiple communication devices simultaneously, which may otherwise be referred to as User Equipment (UE).

A wireless relay may receive a transmission from a base station and may retransmit the transmission to a User Equipment (UE). The transmission may be received at a first wireless array of the wireless repeater and may be transmitted at a second wireless array of the transmitter. In some cases, the retransmitted transmission may be transmitted at a higher power than the power with which the received transmission was received.

SUMMARY

The described technology relates to improved methods, systems, devices, and apparatus supporting beamformed multicast repeaters. In general, the described techniques provide a wireless relay to receive a unicast transmission and to transmit a corresponding multicast transmission along a set of beamforming directions to a set of User Equipments (UEs). Transmitting the multicast transmission may involve retransmitting the unicast transmission or a signal derived from the unicast transmission in each of the beamforming directions. The multicast transmission may be transmitted over multiple antenna arrays or a single antenna array associated with a butler matrix. Additionally or alternatively, the wireless relay may receive transmissions from a plurality of UEs; may form an aggregate signal associated with the received transmission; and may transmit (e.g., to a base station) a unicast transmission associated with the aggregated signal. The multiple UE transmissions may be received over multiple antenna arrays or over a single antenna array associated with a butler matrix.

In some examples, a wireless relay may switch between a downlink configuration (e.g., a configuration for receiving unicast transmissions and transmitting multicast transmissions (such as to multiple UEs)) and an uplink configuration (e.g., a configuration for receiving transmissions from multiple sources (such as multiple UEs) and transmitting unicast transmissions). In other examples, the wireless repeater may be configured to assist downlink and uplink operations simultaneously. For example, a wireless relay may be configured to simultaneously receive unicast transmissions and transmissions from multiple UEs, or to simultaneously transmit unicast transmissions and multicast transmissions. Alternatively, the wireless repeater may be configured to receive unicast transmissions and transmit unicast transmissions simultaneously.

A method of wireless communication is described. The method can comprise the following steps: receiving a unicast transmission via directional beamforming at a first antenna array of a wireless relay; mapping the unicast transmission to a set of beamforming directions for transmission by the wireless relay; and transmitting a multicast transmission to the set of UEs over the set of beamforming directions using at least a second antenna array of the wireless relay, the multicast transmission based on the unicast transmission.

An apparatus for wireless communication is described. The apparatus may include a processor of a wireless repeater, a memory in electronic communication with the processor, and instructions stored in the memory. The instructions may be executable by the processor to cause the apparatus to: receiving a unicast transmission via directional beamforming at a first antenna array of the wireless relay; mapping the unicast transmission to a set of beamforming directions for transmission by the wireless relay; and transmitting a multicast transmission to the set of UEs over the set of beamforming directions using at least a second antenna array of the wireless relay, the multicast transmission based on the unicast transmission.

Another apparatus for wireless communication is described. The apparatus may include means for: receiving a unicast transmission via directional beamforming at a first antenna array of a wireless relay; mapping the unicast transmission to a set of beamforming directions for transmission by the wireless relay; and transmitting a multicast transmission to the set of UEs over the set of beamforming directions using at least a second antenna array of the wireless relay, the multicast transmission based on the unicast transmission.

A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing code for wireless communication is described. The code may include instructions executable by a processor for: receiving a unicast transmission via directional beamforming at a first antenna array of a wireless relay; mapping the unicast transmission to a set of beamforming directions for transmission by the wireless relay; and transmitting a multicast transmission to the set of UEs over the set of beamforming directions using at least a second antenna array of the wireless relay, the multicast transmission based on the unicast transmission.

In some examples of the methods, apparatuses (devices), and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, transmitting the unicast transmission may include operations, features, apparatuses, or instructions for: retransmitting, in each beamforming direction of the set of beamforming directions, a signal received via the unicast transmission.

In some examples of the methods, apparatuses (devices), and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, mapping the unicast transmission to a set of beamforming directions may comprise operations, features, apparatuses, or instructions to: routing signals received via the unicast transmission to at least two signal paths within the wireless relay, wherein a first signal path of the at least two signal paths may be associated with a first beamforming direction of the set of beamforming directions and a second signal path of the at least two signal paths may be associated with a second beamforming direction of the set of beamforming directions.

Some examples of the methods, apparatuses (devices), and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein may further include operations, features, apparatuses, or instructions to: the signal is fed into a beamforming network that may be based on a butler matrix and that may be coupled with the at least two signal paths.

Some examples of the methods, apparatuses (devices), and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein may further include operations, features, apparatuses, or instructions to: the method further includes routing a signal from the first signal path to a first orthogonal coupler, and transmitting the multicast transmission on a set of beamforming directions based on an output of the first orthogonal coupler.

Some examples of the methods, apparatuses (devices), and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein may further include operations, features, apparatuses, or instructions to: the method further includes routing a signal from the second signal path to the first orthogonal coupler, and transmitting the multicast transmission over a set of beamforming directions based on routing the signal from the second signal path to the first orthogonal coupler.

Some examples of the methods, apparatuses (devices), and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein may further include operations, features, apparatuses, or instructions to: the multicast transmission is transmitted over a set of beamforming directions based on the second output of the first orthogonal coupler.

Some examples of the methods, apparatuses (devices), and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein may further include operations, features, apparatuses, or instructions to: routing the signal from the second signal path to a second quadrature coupler; and transmitting the multicast transmission over a set of beamforming directions based on an output of the second orthogonal coupler.

Some examples of the methods, apparatuses (devices), and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein may further include operations, features, apparatuses, or instructions to: the multicast transmission is transmitted over a set of beamforming directions based on a second output of the first orthogonal coupler and a second output of the second orthogonal coupler.

Some examples of the methods, apparatuses (devices), and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein may further include operations, features, apparatuses, or instructions to: transmitting a first portion of the multicast transmission in a first beamforming direction of a set of beamforming directions using a second antenna array of the wireless repeater; and transmitting a second portion of the multicast transmission in a second beamforming direction of the set of beamforming directions using a third antenna array of the wireless repeater.

Some examples of the methods, apparatuses (devices), and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein may further include operations, features, apparatuses, or instructions to: receiving, at a second antenna array of the wireless relay, a first transmission from a first UE of the set of UEs in a first beamforming direction of the set; receiving, at a second antenna array of the wireless relay, a second transmission from a second UE of the set of UEs in a second beamforming direction of the set; aggregating a first signal received via a first transmission and a second signal received via a second transmission to form an aggregated signal; and transmitting a second unicast transmission based on the aggregated signal using the first antenna array of the wireless repeater.

Some examples of the methods, apparatuses (devices), and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein may further include operations, features, apparatuses, or instructions to: switching a signal path within the wireless relay from a downlink configuration to an uplink configuration, wherein switching the signal path occurs after transmitting the multicast transmission and before receiving the transmission from the first UE and the transmission from the second UE.

Some examples of the methods, apparatuses (devices), and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein may further include operations, features, apparatuses, or instructions to: the aggregate signal and the signal received via the unicast transmission are processed using at least one of the same Low Noise Amplifier (LNA), the same PA, or the same PA driver.

Some examples of the methods, apparatuses (devices), and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein may further include operations, features, apparatuses, or instructions to: processing a signal received via the unicast transmission based on a first set of LNAs, PAs, and PA drivers; and processing the aggregated signal based on a second set of LNAs, PAs, and PA drivers.

In some examples of the methods, apparatuses (devices), and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, a first time period between receiving the unicast transmission and transmitting the multicast transmission at least partially overlaps a second time period between receiving the first transmission and transmitting the second unicast transmission.

Some examples of the methods, apparatuses (devices), and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein may further include operations, features, apparatuses, or instructions to: routing signals received via the unicast transmission through a first beamforming network within the wireless relay; and; the first and second signals are routed through a second beamforming network within the wireless repeater, where both the first and second beamforming networks may be based on butler matrices.

Some examples of the methods, apparatuses (devices), and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein may further include operations, features, apparatuses, or instructions to: routing a first signal through a first duplexer within the wireless repeater; and routing the second signal through a second duplexer within the wireless repeater.

Some examples of the methods, apparatuses (devices), and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein may further include operations, features, apparatuses, or instructions to: receiving, at the wireless repeater, additional unicast transmissions comprising control information at a lower frequency than the unicast transmissions; and transmitting the multicast transmission based on the control information.

In some examples of the methods, apparatuses (devices), and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, the second antenna array may have the same number of antennas as the first antenna array and output the multicast transmission in each beamforming direction in the set of beamforming directions.

A method of wireless communication is described. The method can comprise the following steps: receiving a first transmission from a first UE in a first beamforming direction and a second transmission from a second UE in a second beamforming direction using at least a second antenna array of the wireless relay; aggregating a first signal received via a first transmission and a second signal received via a second transmission to form an aggregated signal; and transmitting a unicast transmission based on the aggregated signal using a first antenna array of the wireless repeater.

An apparatus for wireless communication is described. The apparatus may include a processor of a wireless repeater, a memory in electronic communication with the processor, and instructions stored in the memory. The instructions may be executable by the processor to cause the apparatus to: receiving a first transmission from a first UE in a first beamforming direction and a second transmission from a second UE in a second beamforming direction using at least a second antenna array of the wireless relay; aggregating a first signal received via a first transmission and a second signal received via a second transmission to form an aggregated signal; and transmitting a unicast transmission based on the aggregated signal using a first antenna array of the wireless repeater.

Another apparatus for wireless communication is described. The apparatus may include means for: receiving a first transmission from a first UE in a first beamforming direction and a second transmission from a second UE in a second beamforming direction using at least a second antenna array of the wireless relay; aggregating a first signal received via a first transmission and a second signal received via a second transmission to form an aggregated signal; and transmitting a unicast transmission based on the aggregated signal using a first antenna array of the wireless repeater.

A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing code for wireless communication is described. The code may include instructions executable by a processor for: receiving a first transmission from a first UE in a first beamforming direction and a second transmission from a second UE in a second beamforming direction using at least a second antenna array of the wireless relay; aggregating a first signal received via a first transmission and a second signal received via a second transmission to form an aggregated signal; and transmitting a unicast transmission based on the aggregated signal using a first antenna array of the wireless repeater.

In some examples of the methods, apparatuses (devices), and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, the first transmission from the first UE and the first transmission from the second UE may be received at a second antenna array of the wireless relay.

Some examples of the methods, apparatuses (devices), and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein may further include operations, features, apparatuses, or instructions to: the first and second signals are generated using a beamforming network that may be based on a butler matrix and coupled with a second antenna array.

Some examples of the methods, apparatuses (devices), and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein may further include operations, features, apparatuses, or instructions to: routing a signal from a first antenna of a second antenna array to a first quadrature coupler; and obtaining a first signal associated with the first UE based on an output of the first quadrature coupler.

Some examples of the methods, apparatuses (devices), and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein may further include operations, features, apparatuses, or instructions to: routing signals from a second antenna of the second antenna array to the first quadrature coupler; and obtaining a first signal associated with the first UE based on routing the signal from the second antenna to the first quadrature coupler.

Some examples of the methods, apparatuses (devices), and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein may further include operations, features, apparatuses, or instructions to: a second signal associated with a second UE is obtained based on a second output from the first quadrature coupler.

Some examples of the methods, apparatuses (devices), and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein may further include operations, features, apparatuses, or instructions to: routing signals from a second antenna of the second antenna array to a second quadrature coupler; and obtaining a second signal associated with the second UE based on an output of the second quadrature coupler.

Some examples of the methods, apparatuses (devices), and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein may further include operations, features, apparatuses, or instructions to: a first signal associated with a first UE is obtained based on an output from a second quadrature coupler.

In some examples of the methods, apparatuses (devices), and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, a transmission from a first UE may be received at a second antenna array of the wireless relay and a transmission from a second UE may be received at a third antenna array of the wireless relay.

Some examples of the methods, apparatuses (devices), and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein may further include operations, features, apparatuses, or instructions to: receiving a second unicast transmission via directional beamforming at a first antenna array of the wireless relay; mapping the second unicast transmission to a set of beamforming directions comprising the first beamforming direction and the second beamforming direction; and transmitting, using at least a second antenna array of the wireless relay, a multicast transmission to a set of UEs including the first UE and the second UE, the multicast transmission being based on the second unicast transmission and on the set of beamforming directions.

Some examples of the methods, apparatuses (devices), and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein may further include operations, features, apparatuses, or instructions to: the unicast transmission is transmitted in a single beamforming direction.

Some examples of the methods, apparatuses (devices), and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein may further include operations, features, apparatuses, or instructions to: routing a first signal associated with a first UE to a first signal path within the wireless relay; routing a second signal associated with a second UE to a second signal path within the wireless relay; and aggregating the first signal and the second signal based on routing the first signal to the first signal path and routing the second signal to the second signal path.

Brief Description of Drawings

Fig. 1 illustrates an example of a wireless communication system supporting beamformed multicast relays, according to aspects of the present disclosure.

Fig. 2 illustrates an example of a block diagram of a wireless communication system supporting beamformed multicast relays, according to aspects of the present disclosure.

Fig. 3 illustrates an example of a butler matrix network mechanism supporting a beamformed multicast repeater, according to aspects of the present disclosure.

Fig. 4 through 10 illustrate examples of signal processing chains supporting a beamformed multicast relay according to aspects of the present disclosure.

Fig. 11 illustrates an example of a process flow to support a beamforming multicast repeater in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

Fig. 12 and 13 show block diagrams of devices supporting a beamforming multicast repeater, according to aspects of the present disclosure.

Fig. 14 illustrates a block diagram of a communication manager supporting a beamforming multicast repeater, in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

Fig. 15-21 show flow diagrams illustrating a support beamforming multicast repeater according to aspects of the present disclosure.

Detailed Description

In some cases, a wireless relay may receive a unicast signal from a base station and may retransmit the unicast signal to a User Equipment (UE). The unicast signal may be received at a first antenna array and may be retransmitted at a second antenna array. In some cases, the wireless relay may amplify or perform other modifications to the unicast signal prior to retransmitting the unicast signal to the UE. Some wireless relays may not have the capability or be configured to transmit or receive multiple signals from multiple UEs. Additionally or alternatively, some wireless repeaters may not have the ability or be configured to simultaneously receive and transmit and/or process both uplink and downlink unicast signals.

To support such capabilities, a wireless relay may receive a unicast transmission (e.g., from a base station) and may map the unicast transmission to a set of beamforming directions. For example, a wireless relay may select a set of beamforming directions and may route a unicast transmission or a signal derived from the unicast transmission along a set of corresponding signal paths. Each signal path may be associated with one beamforming direction of a set of beamforming directions. Upon performing the mapping, the wireless relay may transmit the multicast transmission along the set of beamforming directions. Transmitting the multicast transmission may involve retransmitting a unicast transmission or a unicast derived signal in each beamforming direction in the set of beamforming directions. In one example, each signal path may correspond to a respective antenna array along which unicast derived signals may be transmitted. For example, a unicast derived signal along the first signal path may be transmitted at a second antenna array of the wireless repeater, and a unicast derived signal along the second signal path may be transmitted at a third antenna array of the wireless repeater. In another example, the unicast derived signal along the first signal path and the unicast derived signal along the second signal path may be transmitted at a single antenna array. In such examples, the first signal path and the second signal path may be fed into a beamforming network associated with a butler matrix and coupled with a single antenna array.

Additionally or alternatively, the wireless relay may receive multiple transmissions from multiple UEs. For example, the wireless relay may receive a transmission from a first UE in a first beamforming direction and may receive a transmission from a second UE in a second beamforming direction. In one case, each transmission may be received by a different antenna array. For example, the second antenna array may receive transmissions from the first UE and the third antenna array may receive transmissions from the second UE. In another case, all transmissions may be received by the same antenna array. In such cases, the antenna array may feed into a beamforming network associated with the butler matrix. In either case, transmissions from the first and second UEs, or signals derived from these transmissions, may be aggregated. The wireless transmitter may transmit a unicast transmission derived from the aggregated signal or the aggregated signal itself to the base station. In some cases, a unicast transmission or aggregate signal may be transmitted at the first antenna array.

When a wireless relay is assisting Time Division Duplex (TDD) operation, the wireless relay may switch between a downlink configuration (e.g., a configuration for receiving unicast transmissions and transmitting multicast transmissions) and an uplink configuration (e.g., a configuration for receiving transmissions, such as from multiple UEs, and transmitting unicast transmissions). In some examples, the wireless repeater may perform switching such that signals associated with the uplink configuration and signals associated with the downlink configuration pass through the same set of power components (e.g., a Low Noise Amplifier (LNA), a Power Amplifier (PA) driver, a PA, or a combination thereof). In other examples, the wireless repeater may perform a handover such that signals associated with the first configuration pass through the first set of power components and signals associated with the second configuration pass through the second set of power components.

When the wireless repeater is assisting with Frequency Division Duplex (FDD) operation, the wireless repeater may be configured to perform uplink and downlink operations simultaneously. In one embodiment, a wireless relay may receive unicast transmissions, transmit corresponding multicast transmissions, or otherwise perform downlink processing associated with unicast transmissions and/or multicast transmissions at times that at least partially overlap (are concurrent) with uplink processing associated with receiving transmissions from multiple UEs, transmitting corresponding unicast transmissions, or otherwise performing unicast transmissions from multiple UEs and/or to be transmitted. In another embodiment (e.g., when the wireless relay is assisting in single fdd (sfdd) operation), the wireless relay may receive a unicast transmission from the UE or otherwise perform downlink processing associated with the received unicast transmission at a time that at least partially overlaps with transmitting the unicast transmission to the UE or otherwise performing uplink processing associated with the unicast transmission to be transmitted.

Aspects of the present disclosure are initially described in the context of a wireless communication system. Additional aspects of the present disclosure are further described in the context of additional wireless communication systems, butler matrix network schemes, signal processing chains, and processing flows. Aspects of the present disclosure are further illustrated and described by and with reference to apparatus diagrams, system diagrams, and flowcharts related to beamforming multicast repeaters.

Fig. 1 illustrates an example of a wireless communication system 100 supporting beamformed multicast relays, according to aspects of the present disclosure. The wireless communication system 100 includes base stations 105, UEs 115, and a core network 130. In some examples, the wireless communication system 100 may be a Long Term Evolution (LTE) network, an LTE-advanced (LTE-a) network, an LTE-a Pro network, or a New Radio (NR) network. In some cases, wireless communication system 100 may support enhanced broadband communications, ultra-reliable (e.g., mission critical) communications, low latency communications, or communications with low cost and low complexity devices.

The base station 105 may communicate wirelessly with the UE115 via one or more base station antennas. The base stations 105 described herein may include or may be referred to by those skilled in the art as base transceiver stations, radio base stations, access points, radio transceivers, node bs, evolved node bs (enbs), next generation node bs or gigabit node bs (any of which may be referred to as gnbs), home node bs, home evolved node bs, or some other suitable terminology. The wireless communication system 100 may include different types of base stations 105 (e.g., macro cell base stations or small cell base stations). The UEs 115 described herein may be capable of communicating with various types of base stations 105 and network equipment, including macro enbs, small cell enbs, gbbs, relay base stations, and so forth.

Each base station 105 may be associated with a particular geographic coverage area 110, supporting communication with various UEs 115 in that particular geographic coverage area 110. Each base station 105 may provide communication coverage for a respective geographic coverage area 110 via a communication link 125, and the communication link 125 between the base station 105 and the UE115 may utilize one or more carriers. The communication links 125 shown in the wireless communication system 100 may include uplink transmissions from the UEs 115 to the base stations 105 or downlink transmissions from the base stations 105 to the UEs 115. Downlink transmissions may also be referred to as forward link transmissions, and uplink transmissions may also be referred to as reverse link transmissions.

The geographic coverage area 110 of a base station 105 can be divided into sectors that form a portion of the geographic coverage area 110, and each sector can be associated with a cell. For example, each base station 105 may provide communication coverage for a macro cell, a small cell, a hot spot, or other type of cell, or various combinations thereof. In some examples, the base stations 105 may be mobile and thus provide communication coverage for a moving geographic coverage area 110. In some examples, different geographic coverage areas 110 associated with different technologies may overlap, and the overlapping geographic coverage areas 110 associated with different technologies may be supported by the same base station 105 or different base stations 105. The wireless communication system 100 may include, for example, a heterogeneous LTE/LTE-A/LTE-A Pro or NR network in which different types of base stations 105 provide coverage for various geographic coverage areas 110.

The term "cell" refers to a logical communication entity for communicating with a base station 105 (e.g., on a carrier) and may be associated with an identifier to distinguish between neighboring cells (e.g., Physical Cell Identifier (PCID), Virtual Cell Identifier (VCID)) operating via the same or different carriers. In some examples, a carrier may support multiple cells, and different cells may be configured according to different protocol types (e.g., Machine Type Communication (MTC), narrowband internet of things (NB-IoT), enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), or others) that may provide access for different types of devices. In some cases, the term "cell" may refer to a portion (e.g., a sector) of geographic coverage area 110 over which a logical entity operates.

The UEs 115 may be dispersed throughout the wireless communication system 100, and each UE115 may be stationary or mobile. A UE115 may also be referred to as a mobile device, a wireless device, a remote device, a handheld device, or a subscriber device, or some other suitable terminology, where a "device" may also be referred to as a unit, station, terminal, or client. The UE115 may also be a personal electronic device, such as a cellular telephone, a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), a tablet computer, a laptop computer, or a personal computer. In some examples, the UE115 may also refer to a Wireless Local Loop (WLL) station, an internet of things (IoT) device, an internet of everything (IoE) device, or an MTC device, among others, which may be implemented in various items such as appliances, vehicles, meters, and so forth.

Some UEs 115, such as MTC or IoT devices, may be low cost or low complexity devices and may provide automated communication between machines (e.g., communication via machine-to-machine (M2M)). M2M communication or MTC may refer to data communication techniques that allow devices to communicate with each other or with the base station 105 without human intervention. In some examples, M2M communications or MTC may include communications from devices that integrate sensors or meters to measure or capture information and relay the information to a central server or application that may utilize the information or present the information to a person interacting with the program or application. Some UEs 115 may be designed to collect information or implement automated behavior of a machine. Examples of applications for MTC devices include: smart metering, inventory monitoring, water level monitoring, equipment monitoring, healthcare monitoring, field survival monitoring, weather and geographic event monitoring, queue management and tracking, remote security sensing, physical access control, and transaction-based business charging.

Some UEs 115 may be configured to employ a reduced power consumption mode of operation, such as half-duplex communications (e.g., a mode that supports unidirectional communication via transmission or reception but does not simultaneously transmit and receive). In some examples, half-duplex communication may be performed with a reduced peak rate. Other power saving techniques for the UE115 include entering a power saving "deep sleep" mode when not engaged in active communication, or operating on a limited bandwidth (e.g., according to narrowband communication). In some cases, the UE115 may be designed to support critical functions (e.g., mission critical functions), and the wireless communication system 100 may be configured to provide ultra-reliable communication for these functions.

In some cases, the UE115 may also be able to communicate directly with other UEs 115 (e.g., using peer-to-peer (P2P) or device-to-device (D2D) protocols). One or more UEs of the group of UEs 115 communicating with D2D may be within the geographic coverage area 110 of the base station 105. The other UEs 115 in the group may be outside the geographic coverage area 110 of the base station 105 or otherwise unable to receive transmissions from the base station 105. In some cases, groups of UEs 115 communicating via D2D may utilize a one-to-many (1: M) system, where each UE115 transmits to every other UE115 in the group. In some cases, the base station 105 facilitates scheduling of resources for D2D communication. In other cases, D2D communication is performed between UEs 115 without involving base stations 105.

The base stations 105 may communicate with the core network 130 and with each other. For example, the base stations 105 may interface with the core network 130 over backhaul links 132 (e.g., via S1, N2, N3, or other interfaces). The base stations 105 may communicate with each other over backhaul links 134 (e.g., via X2, Xn, or other interfaces) directly (e.g., directly between base stations 105) or indirectly (e.g., via the core network 130).

The core network 130 may provide user authentication, access authorization, tracking, Internet Protocol (IP) connectivity, and other access, routing, or mobility functions. The core network 130 may be an Evolved Packet Core (EPC) that may include at least one Mobility Management Entity (MME), at least one serving gateway (S-GW), and at least one Packet Data Network (PDN) gateway (P-GW). The MME may manage non-access stratum (e.g., control plane) functions such as mobility, authentication, and bearer management for UEs 115 served by base stations 105 associated with the EPC. User IP packets may be communicated through the S-GW, which may itself be connected to the P-GW. The P-GW may provide IP address allocation as well as other functions. The P-GW may be connected to network operator IP services. The operator IP services may include access to the internet, intranets, IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS), or Packet Switched (PS) streaming services.

At least some network devices, such as base stations 105, may include subcomponents, such as access network entities, which may be examples of Access Node Controllers (ANCs). Each access network entity may communicate with UEs 115 through a number of other access network transport entities, which may be referred to as radio heads, intelligent radio heads, or transmission/reception points (TRPs). In some configurations, the various functions of each access network entity or base station 105 may be distributed across various network devices (e.g., radio heads and access network controllers) or consolidated into a single network device (e.g., base station 105).

Wireless communication system 100 may operate using one or more frequency bands, typically in the range of 300 megahertz (MHz) to 300 gigahertz (GHz). Generally, the 300MHz to 3GHz region is referred to as an Ultra High Frequency (UHF) region or a decimeter band because the wavelengths range from about 1 decimeter to 1 meter long. UHF waves can be blocked or redirected by building and environmental features. However, these waves may penetrate a variety of structures sufficiently for a macro cell to provide service to a UE115 located indoors. UHF-wave transmission can be associated with smaller antennas and shorter ranges (e.g., less than 100km) than transmission using smaller and longer waves of the High Frequency (HF) or Very High Frequency (VHF) portions of the spectrum below 300 MHz.

The wireless communication system 100 may also operate in the ultra-high frequency (SHF) region using a frequency band from 3GHz to 30GHz, also referred to as a centimeter frequency band. The SHF region includes frequency bands (such as the 5GHz industrial, scientific, and medical (ISM) frequency bands) that may be opportunistically used by devices that may be able to tolerate interference from other users.

The wireless communication system 100 may also operate in the Extremely High Frequency (EHF) region of the spectrum (e.g., from 30GHz to 300GHz), which is also referred to as the millimeter-band. In some examples, the wireless communication system 100 may support millimeter wave (mmW) communication between the UE115 and the base station 105, and EHF antennas of respective devices may be even smaller and more closely spaced than UHF antennas. In some cases, this may facilitate the use of antenna arrays within the UE 115. However, propagation of EHF transmissions may experience even greater atmospheric attenuation and shorter ranges than SHF or UHF transmissions. The techniques disclosed herein may be employed across transmissions using one or more different frequency regions, and the frequency band usage designated across these frequency regions may differ by country or regulatory agency.

In some cases, the wireless communication system 100 may utilize both licensed and unlicensed radio frequency spectrum bands. For example, the wireless communication system 100 may employ Licensed Assisted Access (LAA), LTE unlicensed (LTE-U) radio access technology, or NR technology in an unlicensed band, such as the 5GHz ISM band. When operating in the unlicensed radio frequency spectrum band, wireless devices, such as base stations 105 and UEs 115, may employ a Listen Before Talk (LBT) procedure to ensure that frequency channels are clear before transmitting data. In some cases, operation in the unlicensed band may be based on a carrier aggregation configuration (e.g., LAA) in coordination with component carriers operating in the licensed band. Operations in the unlicensed spectrum may include downlink transmissions, uplink transmissions, peer-to-peer transmissions, or a combination of these. Duplexing in the unlicensed spectrum may be based on Frequency Division Duplexing (FDD), Time Division Duplexing (TDD), or a combination of both.

In some examples, a base station 105 or UE115 may be equipped with multiple antennas, which may be used to employ techniques such as transmit diversity, receive diversity, multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) communications, or beamforming. For example, the wireless communication system 100 may use a transmission scheme between a transmitting device (e.g., base station 105) equipped with multiple antennas and a receiving device (e.g., UE 115) equipped with one or more antennas. MIMO communication may employ multipath signal propagation to increase spectral efficiency by transmitting or receiving multiple signals via different spatial layers, which may be referred to as spatial multiplexing. For example, a transmitting device may transmit multiple signals via different antennas or different combinations of antennas. Also, the receiving device may receive multiple signals via different antennas or different combinations of antennas. Each of the multiple signals may be referred to as a separate spatial stream and may carry bits associated with the same data stream (e.g., the same codeword) or different data streams. Different spatial layers may be associated with different antenna ports for channel measurement and reporting. MIMO techniques include single-user MIMO (SU-MIMO), in which multiple spatial layers are transmitted to the same receiver device; and multi-user MIMO (MU-MIMO), in which a plurality of spatial layers are transmitted to a plurality of devices.

Beamforming, which may also be referred to as spatial filtering, directional transmission, or directional reception, is a signal processing technique that may be used at a transmitting or receiving device (e.g., base station 105 or UE 115) to shape or steer an antenna beam (e.g., a transmit beam or a receive beam) along a spatial path between the transmitting and receiving devices. Beamforming may be achieved by combining signals communicated via antenna elements of an antenna array such that signals propagating in a particular orientation relative to the antenna array undergo constructive interference while other signals undergo destructive interference. The adjustment to the signals communicated via the antenna elements may include the transmitting or receiving device applying a particular amplitude and phase offset to the signals carried via each antenna element associated with the device. The adjustment associated with each antenna element may be defined by a set of beamforming weights associated with a particular orientation (e.g., relative to an antenna array of a transmitting device or a receiving device, or relative to some other orientation).

In one example, the base station 105 may use multiple antennas or antenna arrays for beamforming operations for directional communication with the UEs 115. For example, some signals (e.g., synchronization signals, reference signals, beam selection signals, or other control signals) may be transmitted multiple times in different directions by the base station 105, which may include a signal being transmitted according to different sets of beamforming weights associated with different transmission directions. Transmissions in different beam directions may be used (e.g., by the base station 105 or a receiving device, such as UE 115) to identify beam directions used by the base station 105 for subsequent transmission and/or reception.

Some signals, such as data signals associated with a particular recipient device, may be transmitted by the base station 105 in a single beam direction (e.g., a direction associated with the recipient device, such as the UE 115). In some examples, a beam direction associated with transmission along a single beam direction may be determined based at least in part on signals transmitted in different beam directions. For example, the UE115 may receive one or more signals transmitted by the base station 105 in different directions, and the UE115 may report an indication to the base station 105 of the signal that the UE115 receives at the highest signal quality or other acceptable signal quality. Although the techniques are described with reference to signals transmitted by the base station 105 in one or more directions, the UE115 may use similar techniques for transmitting signals multiple times in different directions (e.g., to identify beam directions used by the UE115 for subsequent transmission or reception) or for transmitting signals in a single direction (e.g., for transmitting data to a receiving device).

A receiving device (e.g., UE115, which may be an example of a mmW receiving device) may attempt multiple receive beams when receiving various signals from base station 105, such as synchronization signals, reference signals, beam selection signals, or other control signals. For example, a recipient device may attempt multiple receive directions by: receiving via different antenna sub-arrays, processing received signals according to different antenna sub-arrays, receiving according to different sets of receive beamforming weights applied to signals received at multiple antenna elements of an antenna array, or processing received signals according to different sets of receive beamforming weights applied to signals received at multiple antenna elements of an antenna array, either of which may be referred to as "listening" according to different receive beams or receive directions. In some examples, the receiving device may use a single receive beam to receive along a single beam direction (e.g., when receiving a data signal). The single receive beam may be aligned in a beam direction determined based on listening from different receive beam directions (e.g., the beam direction determined to have the highest signal strength, highest signal-to-noise ratio, or other acceptable signal quality based on listening from multiple beam directions).

In some cases, the antennas of a base station 105 or UE115 may be located within one or more antenna arrays that may support MIMO operation or transmit or receive beamforming. For example, one or more base station antennas or antenna arrays may be co-located at an antenna assembly (such as an antenna tower). In some cases, the antennas or antenna arrays associated with the base station 105 may be located at different geographic locations. The base station 105 may have an antenna array with a number of rows and columns of antenna ports that the base station 105 may use to support beamforming for communications with the UEs 115. Likewise, the UE115 may have one or more antenna arrays that may support various MIMO or beamforming operations.

In some cases, the wireless communication system 100 may be a packet-based network operating according to a layered protocol stack. In the user plane, communication of the bearer or Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) layer may be IP-based. The Radio Link Control (RLC) layer may perform packet segmentation and reassembly to communicate on logical channels. The Medium Access Control (MAC) layer may perform priority handling and multiplexing of logical channels into transport channels. The MAC layer may also use hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) to provide retransmission by the MAC layer, thereby improving link efficiency. In the control plane, a Radio Resource Control (RRC) protocol layer may provide for establishment, configuration, and maintenance of RRC connections of radio bearers supporting user plane data between the UE115 and the base station 105 or core network 130. At the physical layer, transport channels may be mapped to physical channels.

In some cases, the UE115 and the base station 105 may support retransmission of data to increase the likelihood that the data is successfully received. HARQ feedback is a technique that increases the likelihood that data will be correctly received on the communication link 125. HARQ may include a combination of error detection (e.g., using Cyclic Redundancy Check (CRC)), Forward Error Correction (FEC), and retransmission (e.g., automatic repeat request (ARQ)). HARQ may improve throughput of the MAC layer in poor radio conditions (e.g., signal-to-noise conditions). In some cases, a wireless device may support simultaneous slot HARQ feedback, where the device may provide HARQ feedback in a particular slot for data received in a previous symbol in that slot. In other cases, the device may provide HARQ feedback in subsequent time slots or according to some other time interval.

The time interval in LTE or NR may be in a basic unit of time (which may for example refer to the sampling period T)_s1/30,720,000 seconds). The time intervals of the communication resources may be organized according to radio frames each having a duration of 10 milliseconds (ms), where the frame period may be expressed as T_f＝307,200T_s. The radio frame may be identified by a System Frame Number (SFN) ranging from 0 to 1023. Each frame may include 10 subframes numbered from 0 to 9, and each subframe may have a duration of 1 ms. A subframe may be further divided into 2 slots, each having a duration of 0.5ms, and each slot may contain 6 or 7 modulation symbol periods (e.g., depending on the length of the cyclic prefix preceding each symbol period). Each symbol period may contain 2048 sample periods, excluding the cyclic prefix. In some cases, a subframe may be the smallest scheduling unit of the wireless communication system 100 and may be referred to as a Transmission Time Interval (TTI). In other cases, the minimum scheduling unit of the wireless communication system 100 may be shorter than a subframe or may be dynamically selected (e.g., in a burst of shortened tti (sTTI) or in a selected component carrier using sTTI).

In some wireless communication systems, a slot may be further divided into a plurality of mini-slots containing one or more symbols. In some examples, a symbol of a mini-slot or a mini-slot may be a minimum scheduling unit. For example, each symbol may vary in duration depending on the subcarrier spacing or operating frequency band. Further, some wireless communication systems may implement timeslot aggregation, where multiple timeslots or mini-timeslots are aggregated together and used for communication between the UE115 and the base station 105.

The term "carrier" refers to a set of radio frequency spectrum resources having a defined physical layer structure for supporting communications over the communication link 125. For example, the carrier of the communication link 125 may comprise a portion of a radio frequency spectrum band operating according to a physical layer channel for a given radio access technology. Each physical layer channel may carry user data, control information, or other signaling. The carriers may be associated with predefined frequency channels (e.g., evolved universal mobile telecommunications system terrestrial radio access (E-UTRA) absolute radio frequency channel numbers (EARFCNs)) and may be located according to a channel grid for discovery by UEs 115. The carriers may be downlink or uplink (e.g., in FDD mode), or configured to carry downlink and uplink communications (e.g., in TDD mode). In some examples, a signal waveform transmitted on a carrier may include multiple subcarriers (e.g., using multicarrier modulation (MCM) techniques such as Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) or discrete fourier transform spread OFDM (DFT-S-OFDM)).

The organization of the carriers may be different for different radio access technologies (e.g., LTE-A, LTE-A Pro, NR). For example, communications on a carrier may be organized according to TTIs or slots, each of which may include user data as well as control information or signaling supporting decoding of the user data. The carrier may also include dedicated acquisition signaling (e.g., synchronization signals or system information, etc.) and control signaling that coordinates operation of the carrier. In some examples (e.g., in a carrier aggregation configuration), a carrier may also have acquisition signaling or control signaling that coordinates the operation of other carriers.

The physical channels may be multiplexed on the carriers according to various techniques. The physical control channels and physical data channels may be multiplexed on the downlink carrier using, for example, Time Division Multiplexing (TDM) techniques, Frequency Division Multiplexing (FDM) techniques, or hybrid TDM-FDM techniques. In some examples, control information transmitted in the physical control channel may be distributed in a cascaded manner between different control regions (e.g., between a common control region or common search space and one or more UE-specific control regions or UE-specific search spaces).

A carrier may be associated with a particular bandwidth of the radio frequency spectrum, and in some examples, the carrier bandwidth may be referred to as a carrier or "system bandwidth" of the wireless communication system 100. For example, the carrier bandwidth may be one of several predetermined bandwidths (e.g., 1.4, 3, 5, 10, 15, 20, 40, or 80MHz) of a carrier of a particular radio access technology. In some examples, each served UE115 may be configured to operate over part or all of the carrier bandwidth. In other examples, some UEs 115 may be configured for operation using a narrowband protocol type (e.g., an "in-band" deployment of narrowband protocol types) associated with a predefined portion or range within a carrier (e.g., a set of subcarriers or RBs).

In a system employing MCM technology, a resource element may include one symbol period (e.g., the duration of one modulation symbol) and one subcarrier, where the symbol period and subcarrier spacing are inversely related. The number of bits carried by each resource element may depend on the modulation scheme (e.g., the order of the modulation scheme). Thus, the more resource elements the UE115 receives and the higher the order of the modulation scheme, the higher the data rate of the UE115 may be. In a MIMO system, wireless communication resources may refer to a combination of radio frequency spectrum resources, time resources, and spatial resources (e.g., spatial layers), and using multiple spatial layers may further improve the data rate of communication with the UE 115.

Devices of the wireless communication system 100 (e.g., base stations 105 or UEs 115) may have a hardware configuration that supports communication over a particular carrier bandwidth or may be configurable to support communication over one carrier bandwidth of a set of carrier bandwidths. In some examples, the wireless communication system 100 may include a base station 105 and/or a UE115 that supports simultaneous communication via carriers associated with more than one different carrier bandwidth.

The wireless communication system 100 may support communication with UEs 115 over multiple cells or carriers, a feature that may be referred to as carrier aggregation or multi-carrier operation. The UE115 may be configured with multiple downlink component carriers and one or more uplink component carriers according to a carrier aggregation configuration. Carrier aggregation may be used with both FDD and TDD component carriers.

In some cases, the wireless communication system 100 may utilize an enhanced component carrier (eCC). An eCC may be characterized by one or more characteristics including a wider carrier or frequency channel bandwidth, a shorter symbol duration, a shorter TTI duration, or a modified control channel configuration. In some cases, an eCC may be associated with a carrier aggregation configuration or a dual connectivity configuration (e.g., when multiple serving cells have suboptimal or non-ideal backhaul links). An eCC may also be configured for use in unlicensed spectrum or shared spectrum (e.g., where more than one operator is allowed to use the spectrum). An eCC characterized by a wide carrier bandwidth may include one or more segments that may be utilized by UEs 115 that are unable to monitor the entire carrier bandwidth or are otherwise configured to use a limited carrier bandwidth (e.g., to conserve power).

In some cases, an eCC may utilize a different symbol duration than other component carriers, which may include using a reduced symbol duration compared to the symbol duration of the other component carriers. Shorter symbol durations may be associated with increased spacing between adjacent subcarriers. Devices utilizing an eCC, such as UE115 or base station 105, may transmit a wideband signal (e.g., according to a frequency channel or carrier bandwidth of 20, 40, 60, 80MHz, etc.) with a reduced symbol duration (e.g., 16.67 microseconds). A TTI in an eCC may include one or more symbol periods. In some cases, the TTI duration (i.e., the number of symbol periods in a TTI) may be variable.

The wireless communication system 100 may be an NR system that may utilize any combination of licensed, shared, and unlicensed spectrum bands, etc. Flexibility in eCC symbol duration and subcarrier spacing may allow eCC to be used across multiple spectra. In some examples, NR sharing spectrum may improve spectrum utilization and spectral efficiency, particularly through dynamic vertical (e.g., across frequency domains) and horizontal (e.g., across time domains) sharing of resources.

The wireless communication system 100 may include one or more wireless repeaters 140. The wireless relay 140 may include functionality of the base station 105 and/or the UE115 for relaying, extending, and/or redirecting wireless signals. In some cases, the radio repeater 140 may be used in line-of-sight (LOS) or non-line-of-sight (NLOS) scenarios. In LOS scenarios, transmissions such as mmW transmissions may be limited by path LOSs through the air, which may be overcome using beamforming techniques at the wireless repeater. In NLOS scenarios (such as in urban areas or indoors), mmW transmissions may be blocked by signal blocks or signal interfering physical objects. The mmW wireless relay 140 may be used to receive a signal from the base station 105 and transmit the signal to one or more UEs 115. Additionally, the mmW wireless relay 140 may be used to receive signals from multiple UEs and transmit an aggregate signal associated with the UE signals to the base station 105. Beamforming and gain control techniques may be used to improve signal quality between the base station 105, the wireless relay 140, and the UE115 by isolating signals (e.g., via beamforming), and improving or maintaining stability within the signal processing chain of the relay (e.g., via gain control).

The mmW wireless relay 140 may include an antenna array for communicating with the base station 105 and one or more antenna arrays for communicating with one or more UEs 115. For example, the wireless relay 140 may include an antenna array for each UE with which the wireless relay 140 may communicate. Alternatively, the wireless relay may include a single antenna array for communicating with one or more UEs 115. A single antenna array may be coupled to a beamforming network associated with the butler matrix. The antenna array and the single antenna used for communication with the base station 105 may comprise the same set of dipole antennas, where a dipole antenna may function as an antenna array for communication with the base station 105 in a first polarization and a dipole antenna functioning in a second polarization may function as a single antenna array for communication with one or more UEs 115. In some cases, the antenna may comprise a metamaterial antenna or an antenna array. The wireless repeater 140 may further include a beam steering system, which may include a system on a chip (SoC) for controlling the transmit beam and/or the receive beam (e.g., to control to reduce signal interference caused by retransmissions).

In some cases, the mmW wireless repeater 140 may be an analog Radio Frequency (RF) repeater, and the mmW wireless repeater may include a signal processing chain connected (e.g., coupled, linked, attached) between an antenna array for communicating with the base station 105 and one or more antenna arrays for communicating with one or more UEs 115. The signal processing chain may be implemented as a Radio Frequency Integrated Circuit (RFIC) and may include RF or microwave components such as one or more phase shifters, LNAs, PAs, PA drivers, gain controllers, power detectors, or other circuitry. The phase shifters may be controlled by one or more beam controllers for beamforming to reduce signal interference.

As described above, the mmW wireless repeater 140 may include components in the analog/RF domain (e.g., antenna array and signal processing chain circuitry). Accordingly, a mmW wireless repeater may not include any digital components for the various features described herein. In some cases, the mmW wireless repeater may include a side channel component to receive beamforming configurations from the base station 105 or other device. An example side channel may be implemented as a bluetooth, ultra-wideband, wireless Local Area Network (LAN), etc. protocol, and as such, the repeater may include circuitry and/or a processor for: receive and/or process signals received via those protocols, and control beamforming at the RF/microwave components based on those signals received at the side channels.

The wireless relay 140 may receive unicast transmissions and may transmit corresponding multicast transmissions to the set of UEs 115 along a set of beamforming directions. Transmitting the multicast transmission may involve retransmitting the unicast transmission or a signal derived from the unicast transmission in each of the beamforming directions. The multicast transmission may be transmitted over multiple antenna arrays or a single antenna array associated with a butler matrix. Additionally or alternatively, wireless relay 140 may receive transmissions from multiple UEs 115; may form an aggregate signal associated with the received transmission; and may transmit (e.g., to a base station) a unicast transmission associated with the aggregated signal. Multiple UE transmissions may be received over multiple antenna arrays or over a single antenna array associated with a butler matrix.

In some examples, the wireless relay 140 may switch between a downlink configuration (e.g., a configuration for receiving unicast transmissions and transmitting multicast transmissions (such as to the plurality of UEs 115)) and an uplink configuration (e.g., a configuration for receiving transmissions from multiple sources (such as the plurality of UEs 115) and transmitting unicast transmissions). In other examples, the wireless repeater 140 may be configured to assist downlink and uplink operations simultaneously. For example, the wireless relay 140 may be configured to receive unicast transmissions and transmissions from multiple UEs 115 simultaneously, or transmit unicast transmissions and multicast transmissions simultaneously. Alternatively, the wireless repeater 140 may be configured to receive unicast transmissions and transmit unicast transmissions simultaneously.

Fig. 2 illustrates an example of a block diagram 200 of a wireless relay 205 (which may also be referred to as a wireless repeater 205) according to aspects of the present disclosure. In some examples, the device of fig. 2 may implement aspects of the wireless communication system 100, and the wireless relay 205 may be an example of the wireless relay 140 as described with reference to fig. 1. The block diagram 200 may include a base station 105 and a UE 115. The wireless repeater 205 may include antenna arrays 225 and 230. Antenna array 225 may perform communication with base station 105 and antenna array 230 may perform communication with UE 115. Antenna arrays 225 and 230 may include metamaterial antennas. In some cases, antenna arrays 225 and 230 may be the same set of dipole antennas acting as the first and second polarizations for transmission and reception. In some cases, antenna array 230 may be replaced with a set of antenna arrays for communicating with UEs 115, where each antenna array in the set of antenna arrays may communicate with a different UE in UEs 115. Alternatively, the antenna array 225 may be communicating with a UE115 and/or the antenna array 230 may be communicating with one or more base stations 105 without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.

The wireless repeater 205 may further include a beam controller 210 and a signal processing chain 215, which signal processing chain 215 may include various circuitry including one or more PAs, LNAs, phase shifters, frequency dividers, and/or combiners. The signal processing chain may include various analog/RF domain components and may be implemented as an RFIC (e.g., a Monolithic Microwave Integrated Circuit (MMIC)). The beam controller 210 (e.g., beamformer) may use the phase shifters of the signal processing chain 215 to control the beam direction and width of the antenna array 225 to improve or maintain isolation between the various receive and transmit beams. In some cases, the beam controller 210 using phase shifters may control beam directions to ensure that the target receive beam and/or transmit beam are sufficiently spread apart to avoid interference. Further, the beam controller 210 may utilize antenna adjustments to adjust the beamwidth, such as particular amplitude and phase offsets to signals carried via antenna elements of the antenna array 225. In some cases, the adjustments associated with the antenna elements may be defined by a set of beamforming weights associated with the antenna array 225.

If each UE115 is performing communications with a separate antenna array 230 of the wireless relay 205 (e.g., a first UE115 is in contact with a first antenna array of the wireless relay 205 and a second UE115 is in contact with a second antenna array of the wireless relay 205), the beam controller 210 may control the beam direction and width of each antenna array 230, as described above. However, if a single antenna array 230 is communicating with multiple UEs 115, the beam controller 210 may determine the set of beam directions by: selecting a set of signal paths corresponding to each beamforming direction of the set of beamforming directions, and feeding the signal carried by each signal path into the beamforming network.

In some cases, the beam configuration (e.g., width and direction) and gain adjustment may be controlled by the base station 105 via a side control channel. For example, the beam controller 210 may be controlled by the base station 105 via a side channel implemented as a bluetooth channel, an ultra-wideband channel, a wireless LAN channel, and so forth. The transmission of the side channel may be received by RF component 245 (e.g., a sub-6 GHz RF component). The RF components 245 may communicate with the SoC 235 of the wireless repeater 205 using narrowband internet of things (NB-IoT) 240. The SoC 235 may provide the beam configuration to the wireless repeater 205. Accordingly, the wireless repeater 205 may include circuitry for receiving and/or processing side channel communications to control the beam controller 210. The base station 105 may transmit the beamforming control configuration based on the operating environment, the location of the UE115, and/or the configuration of the UE 115.

In some cases, the wireless repeater 205 may receive unicast transmissions from the base station 105 at the antenna array 225. Upon receiving the unicast transmission, the wireless relay 205 may map the unicast transmission to a set of beamforming directions (e.g., via the signal processing chain 215). For example, the wireless relay 205 may select a set of beamforming directions and may route a unicast transmission or a signal derived from the unicast transmission along a set of corresponding signal paths. Each signal path may be associated with one beamforming direction of a set of beamforming directions. Upon performing the mapping, the wireless relay 205 may transmit a multicast transmission along the set of beamforming directions. Transmitting the multicast transmission may involve retransmitting a unicast transmission or a unicast derived signal in each beamforming direction in the set of beamforming directions. In one example, the unicast derived signal along the first signal path and the unicast derived signal along the second signal path may be transmitted at the antenna array 230. In such examples, the first and second signal paths may feed into a butler matrix network 220, the output of the butler matrix network 220 being coupled with an antenna array 230. In another example, each signal path may correspond to an antenna array along which a unicast transmission or unicast derived signal may be transmitted. For example, the unicast derived signal along the first signal path may be transmitted at a second antenna array of the wireless relay 205, and the unicast derived signal along the second signal path may be transmitted at a third antenna array of the wireless relay 205.

Additionally or alternatively, the wireless relay 205 may receive multiple transmissions from the set of UEs 115. For example, the wireless relay 205 may receive a transmission from a first UE115 in a first beamforming direction and may receive a transmission from a second UE115 in a second beamforming direction. In one case, both transmissions may be received by antenna array 230. Each antenna element of the antenna array 230 may be fed into a butler matrix network 220, the output of which butler matrix network 220 may be coupled with a signal aggregator (e.g., Wilkinson combiner). The outputs may be signal paths and may each contain signals derived from transmissions from the first and second UEs 115. For example, the first signal path may contain an approximation of a transmission from a first UE, and the second signal path may contain an approximation of a transmission from a second UE. These approximations can be combined via a signal aggregator to form an aggregated signal. In another case, each transmission may be received by a different antenna array. For example, a first antenna array may receive transmissions from a first UE115, and a second antenna array may receive transmissions from a second UE 115. Transmissions from the first UE115 and transmissions from the second UE115 may be combined via a signal aggregator to form an aggregated signal. In either case, the aggregate signal may be carried to an antenna array 225, which antenna array 225 may transmit a unicast transmission derived from the aggregate signal or the aggregate signal itself to the base station 105.

When the wireless relay 205 is assisting with TDD operation, the wireless relay 205 may switch between a downlink configuration (e.g., a configuration for receiving unicast transmissions and transmitting multicast transmissions) and an uplink configuration (e.g., a configuration for receiving transmissions from multiple UEs 115 and transmitting unicast transmissions). In some examples, the wireless repeater 205 may perform switching such that signals associated with the uplink configuration and signals associated with the downlink configuration pass through the same set of power components (e.g., LNA, PA driver, PA, or a combination thereof). In other examples, the wireless repeater 205 may perform a handover such that signals associated with a first configuration pass through a first set of power components and signals associated with a second configuration pass through a second set of power components.

When the wireless relay 205 is assisting FDD operation, the wireless relay 205 may be configured to perform uplink and downlink operations simultaneously. In one embodiment, the wireless relay 205 may receive unicast transmissions, transmit corresponding multicast transmissions, or otherwise perform downlink processing associated with unicast transmissions and/or multicast transmissions at times that at least partially overlap with uplink processing associated with receiving transmissions from the plurality of UEs 115, transmitting corresponding unicast transmissions, or otherwise performing unicast transmissions from the plurality of UEs 115 and/or to be transmitted. In another embodiment (e.g., when the wireless relay 205 is assisting with SFDD operation), the wireless relay 205 may receive a unicast transmission from the UE115 or otherwise perform downlink processing associated with the received unicast transmission at a time that at least partially overlaps with transmitting the unicast transmission to the UE115 or otherwise performing uplink processing associated with the unicast transmission to be transmitted.

Fig. 3 illustrates an example of a butler matrix network scheme 300 in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. In some examples, butler matrix network scheme 300 may implement aspects of fig. 2. For example, the butler matrix network scheme 300 may include a butler matrix network 310, which may be an example of the butler matrix network 220 as described with reference to fig. 3. Additionally, the antenna array 230-a may be an example of the antenna array 230 as described with reference to fig. 3. Signal paths 305-a, 305-b, 305-c, and 305-d may correspond to beams 325-a, 325-b, 325-c, and 325-d, respectively. Butler matrix network 310 may perform a spatial Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) in one direction (e.g., left to right) and may perform a spatial inverse FFT (ifft) in the other direction.

Butler matrix network 310 may include quadrature couplers 315 (which may also be referred to as branch couplers) and phase shifters 320. At high frequencies (such as SHF, EHF, and/or mmW bands and above), it should be understood that signal path 305-as well as other signal paths connecting quadrature coupler 315, phase shifter 320, and antenna element 322-may include transmission lines and/or waveguides. In some cases, butler matrix network 310 may be partitioned to be equal to log₂Several stages of (N)Where N may be the number of inputs into butler matrix network 310. Each stage may haveAnd a quadrature coupler 315. Additionally, each stage except the last stage may haveA phase shifter 320. As such, each Butler matrix network 310 may haveA quadrature coupler 315 anda phase shifter 320. In general, N may be equal to 2^jWhere j is a positive integer. In this example, j may equal 2 and N may equal 4. As such, the present example may contain 2 phases. The first stage (i.e., stage 0) may contain 2 quadrature couplers 315 (e.g., quadrature couplers 315-a and 315-b) and 2 phase shifters 320 (e.g., phase shifters 320-a and 320-b), and the second stage (i.e., stage 1) may contain 2 quadrature couplers 315 (e.g., quadrature couplers 315-c and 315-d). The quadrature coupler 315 in each stage may be associated with a stage. For example, orthogonal couplers 315-a and 315-c may be associated with a first level, while orthogonal couplers 315-b and 315-d may be associated with a second level. In general, there may be present per stageAnd (4) each level.

Additionally, each quadrature coupler 315 may have two inputs and two outputs. In some cases, two inputs become two outputs and vice versa, based on the signal direction. For example, if a signal is incoming from signal path 305, the two left terminals of quadrature coupler 315 may be input terminals and the two right terminals may be output terminals of quadrature coupler 315. However, if a signal is coming from the antenna element 322, the right terminal of the quadrature coupler may be an input terminal, and the two left terminals may be output terminals. In some cases, signals entering the phase shifter 320 or the quadrature coupler 315 from one side may have their phases shifted by an amount opposite to if the signals entered the phase shifter 320 or the quadrature coupler 315 on the other side. For example, if a signal is shifted by 45 degrees or 90 degrees when entering from one side, the signal may be shifted by-45 degrees or-90 degrees when entering from the other side.

In addition to the first stage, one input into quadrature coupler 315 may be from the same level while the other input may be from a different level (e.g., one input of quadrature coupler 315-c may be from quadrature coupler 315-a while the other input may be from quadrature coupler 315-b). Inputs from the same level may have passed through phase shifter 320. In general, inputs from different levels may come from 2 apart^i-1The order of the orders, where i may be equal to the stage of the quadrature coupler 315. For example, quadrature coupler 315-c (which may be in phase 1 when viewed from left to right) may have a range from 2 apart⁰1 level of input (e.g., from quadrature coupler 315-b). Alternatively, quadrature coupler 315-a (which may be in phase 1 when viewed from right to left) may have a range from 2 apart⁰1 level of input (e.g., from quadrature coupler 315-d).

Additionally or alternatively, except for the final stage, one output into quadrature coupler 315 may go to the same level and one output may go to a different level (e.g., one output of quadrature coupler 315-a may go to quadrature coupler 315-b while the other output may go to quadrature coupler 315-b). Outputs to the same level may pass through a phase shifter. Typically, outputs to different levels may go 2 away from the quadrature coupler 315ⁱA level of the individual levels. For example, quadrature coupler 315-a (which may be in phase 0 when viewed from left to right) may have a range to 2⁰The output of 1 level (e.g., to quadrature coupler 315-d). Alternatively, quadrature coupler 315-c (which may be in phase 0 when viewed from right to left) may have a path to a range of 2⁰The output of 1 level (e.g., to quadrature coupler 315-b).

In general, quadrature coupler 315 may receive two input signals at two inputs and may output the difference of the input signals at two outputs. In some cases, one of the outputs may be 90 degrees out of phase with the signal formed by the difference of the input signals. For example, the first output signal at the first output may be directly in phase with the signal formed by the difference of the input signals, while the second output signal may be 90 degrees out of phase with the signal formed by the difference of the input signals. The first output may be coupled to the phase shifter 320 and the quadrature coupler 315 on the same level, while the second output may be coupled to the quadrature coupler 315 on a different level. Alternatively, the two outputs of each quadrature coupler 315 may be coupled to signal path 305 (e.g., where quadrature coupler 315 is at an innermost stage) or to antenna elements 322 of antenna array 230-a (e.g., where quadrature coupler 315 is at an outermost stage). In one example, a first output of quadrature coupler 315-a may be coupled to signal path 305-a, and a second output of quadrature coupler 315-a may be coupled to signal path 305-b. In another example, a first output of quadrature coupler 315-c may be coupled with antenna element 322-a, and a second output of quadrature coupler 315-c may be coupled with antenna element 322-b.

In one example, a first signal may enter quadrature coupler 315-a via signal path 305-a, a second signal may enter quadrature coupler 315-a via signal path 305-b, and a third signal may enter quadrature coupler 315-b via signal path 305-c. The quadrature coupler 315-a may output a first output signal at a first output terminal that is the same phase difference of the first signal and the second signal, and may pass the first output signal to the phase shifter 320-a. Phase shifter 320-a may shift the phase of the first output signal by a predetermined amount (e.g., 45 degrees) and may pass the resulting phase shifted first output signal to quadrature coupler 315-c. Additionally, quadrature coupler 315-a may output a second output signal that is 90 degrees out of phase as the difference between the first signal and the second signal and may pass the second output signal to quadrature coupler 315-d. Meanwhile, quadrature coupler 315-b may output a third output signal that is an in-phase version of the third signal and may pass the third output signal to phase shifter 320-b. Phase shifter 320-b may shift the phase of the third output signal by a predetermined amount (e.g., 45 degrees) and may pass the resulting phase-shifted third output signal to quadrature coupler 315-d. Additionally, quadrature coupler 315-a may output a fourth output signal that is a 90 degree out of phase version of the third signal, and may pass the fourth output signal to quadrature coupler 315-c. In some cases, the first output signal may be passed to quadrature coupler 315-d and the second output signal may be passed to phase shifter 320-a. Additionally or alternatively, the third output signal may be passed to quadrature coupler 315-a and the fourth output signal may be passed to phase shifter 320-b.

Quadrature coupler 315-c may output the in-phase difference of the phase shifted first output signal and the third output signal to antenna element 322-a. Additionally, quadrature coupler 315-c may output the phase-shifted first output signal 90 degrees out of phase with the difference between the third output signal to antenna element 322-b. Meanwhile, quadrature coupler 315-d may output the in-phase difference of the second output signal and the phase-shifted version of the fourth output signal to antenna element 322-c. Additionally, quadrature coupler 315-d may output the second output signal 90 degrees out of phase with the difference of the phase shifted fourth output signal to antenna element 322-d. With quadrature couplers 315-c and 315-d outputting their corresponding signals, a first signal may be transmitted along beam 325-a, a second signal may be transmitted along beam 325-b, and a third signal may be transmitted along beam 325-c.

In another example, antenna array 230-a may receive transmissions along beams 325-a, 325-b, and 325-c. Antenna elements 322-a and 322-b may pass the first and second signals, respectively, to quadrature coupler 315-c. Antenna elements 322-c and 322-d may pass the third signal and the fourth signal, respectively, to quadrature coupler 315-d. Quadrature coupler 315-c may output the first output signal as a co-phased first signal with the second signal and may pass the first output signal to phase shifter 320-a. Phase shifter 320-a may shift the phase of the first output signal by a predetermined amount (e.g., 45 degrees) and may pass the phase-shifted first output signal to quadrature coupler 315-a. Additionally, quadrature coupler 315-c may output a second output signal that is 90 degrees out of phase as the difference between the first signal and the second signal, and may pass the second output signal to quadrature coupler 315-b. Quadrature coupler 315-d may output a third output signal that is the same phase difference of the third signal and the fourth signal, and may pass the third output signal to phase shifter 320-b. The phase shifter 320-b may shift the phase of the third output signal by 45 degrees and may pass the phase shifted third output signal to the quadrature coupler 315-b. In some cases, the first output signal may be passed to quadrature coupler 315-b and the second output signal may be passed to phase shifter 320-a. Additionally or alternatively, the third output signal may be passed to quadrature coupler 315-a and the fourth output signal may be passed to phase shifter 320-b.

Quadrature coupler 315-a may output the in-phase difference of the phase-shifted first output signal and the third output signal to signal path 305-a. The signal output along signal path 305-a may be an approximation of the signal received from beam 325-a. Additionally, quadrature coupler 315-a may output the phase-shifted first output signal 90 degrees out of phase with the difference between the third output signal to signal path 305-b. The signal output along signal path 305-b may be an approximation of the signal received from beam 325-b. Meanwhile, quadrature coupler 315-b may output the in-phase difference of the second output signal and the phase-shifted version of the fourth output signal to signal path 305-c. The signal output along signal path 305-c may be an approximation of the signal received from beam 325-c.

Fig. 4 illustrates an example of a signal processing chain 400 according to aspects of the present disclosure. In some examples, the signal processing chain 400 may implement aspects of fig. 2 and 3. For example, the signal processing chain 400 is an example of the signal processing chain 215 described with reference to fig. 2. Additionally, butler matrix network 310-a may be an example of butler matrix network 310 as described with reference to fig. 3.

An antenna array including antenna elements 405-a and 405-b may receive transmissions (e.g., unicast transmissions) from a base station 105 or a UE 115. The antenna array may pass the signal at each antenna through LNA 410 and phase shifter 415. For example, antenna element 405-a may pass a first signal to LNA 410-a, which LNA 410-a may pass an amplified first signal to phase shifter 415-a, while antenna element 405-b may pass a second signal to LNA 410-b, which LNA 410-b may pass an amplified second signal to phase shifter 415-b. The amount by which the phase shifter 415 shifts the phase of the signal passing therethrough may be controlled by a receive (Rx) beam controller 420 and may correspond to the intended direction from which the transmission is received. Upon experiencing the phase shift, the phase-shifted signal may be aggregated by a signal aggregator 425 (e.g., a wilkinson combiner).

The aggregate signal may reach a single pole, no throw (SPNT) switch 430. SPNT switch 430 may select one signal path terminal 435 from the set of signal path terminals 435. While four signal path terminals 435 are depicted in this example, it should be understood that there may be more signal path terminals 435 without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. The SPNT switch 430 may determine which signal path terminal 435 to select under the direction of a transmit (Tx) beam controller 440. The Tx beam controller 440 may select the signal path terminal 435 based on the beam direction associated with the signal path terminal 435. In this example, Tx beam controller 440 may direct SPNT switch 430 to select signal path terminal 435-b.

The aggregate signal may be passed to the signal path terminal 435-b and fed to the butler matrix network 310-a. Butler matrix network 310-a may perform operations on the aggregated signals (e.g., via the processing described in fig. 3) and may output a set of output signals that are fed into PA driver 445. The number of terminals to which butler matrix network 310-a may output may be equal to the number of signal path terminals 435 (e.g., if there are four signal path terminals 435, there may be four output terminals). In one example, the first, second, third, and fourth output signals may be fed into PA drivers 445-a, 445-b, 445-c, and 445-d, respectively. The PA driver may pass the first, second, third, and fourth output signals to PAs 450-a, 450-b, 450-c, and 450-d, respectively. PA driver 445 and PA 450 may apply gain to the signal passing through. In some cases, each PA driver 445 may have the same gain and each PA 450 may have the same gain. The amplified output signal may be passed to an antenna element 455, and the antenna element 455 may output a unicast transmission. For example, in this example, the amplified first, second, third, and fourth output signals may be passed to antenna elements 455-a, 455-b, 455-c, and 455-d, respectively, and a unicast transmission may be transmitted. The transmission transmitted from antenna element 455 may correspond to a beamforming direction associated with selected signal path terminal 435. For example, in this example, the beam along which the transmission is transmitted may correspond to signal path terminal 435-b. The transmission may be received by the UE115 or the base station 105.

Fig. 5 illustrates an example of a signal processing chain 500 according to aspects of the present disclosure. In some examples, the signal processing chain 500 may implement aspects of fig. 2 and 3. For example, the signal processing chain 500 is an example of the signal processing chain 215 described with reference to fig. 2. Additionally, butler matrix network 310-b may be an example of butler matrix network 310 as described with reference to fig. 3.

An antenna array comprising antenna elements 505-a and 505-b may receive a transmission (e.g., a unicast transmission) from a base station 105 or a UE 115. The antenna array may pass the signal at each antenna through LNA 510 and phase shifter 515. For example, antenna element 505-a may pass a first signal to LNA 510-a, which LNA 510-a may pass an amplified first signal to phase shifter 515-a, and antenna element 505-b may pass a second signal to LNA 510-b, which LNA 510-b may pass an amplified second signal to phase shifter 515-b. The amount by which the phase shifter 515 shifts the phase of the signal passing therethrough may be controlled by the Rx beam controller 520 and may correspond to the intended direction from which the transmission is received. Upon experiencing the phase shift, the phase-shifted signal may be aggregated by a signal aggregator 525 (e.g., a wilkinson combiner).

The aggregate signal may be passed through a variable gain amplifier 530, which variable gain amplifier 530 may be an amplifier whose gain may be varied depending on a control signal. The variable gain amplifier 530 may pass the amplified aggregate signal to a signal aggregator/divider 535. In this example, the signal aggregator/divider 535 may pass the amplified aggregated signal to the signal path switch 540. Each signal path switch 540 may be associated with a different beamforming direction and may be controlled by a Tx beam controller 545. The Tx beam controller 545 may determine which of the signal path switches 540 may be open and which may be closed. In this example, signal path switches 540-a and 540-c may be open and signal path switches 540-b and 540-d may be closed. Although four signal path switches 540 may be depicted in this example, it should be understood that a different number of signal path switches 540 may be used without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.

The signal path switches 540-b and 540-d may pass the amplified aggregate signal to the butler matrix network 310-b. Butler matrix network 310-b may perform operations on the aggregated signals (e.g., via the processing described in fig. 3) and may output a set of output signals that are fed into PA driver 550. The number of terminals to which butler matrix network 310-b may output may be equal to the number of signal path switches 540 (e.g., if there are four signal path switches 540, there may be four output terminals). In one example, the first, second, third, and fourth output signals may be fed into PA drivers 550-a, 550-b, 550-c, and 550-d, respectively. Each PA driver 550 may pass the first, second, third, and fourth output signals to the PAs 555-a, 550-b, 555-c, and 555-d, respectively. PA driver 550 and PA 555 may apply gain to the signal passing through. In some cases, each PA driver 550 may have the same gain, and each PA 555 may have the same gain. The amplified output signal may be passed to the antenna element 560, and the antenna element 560 may output a multicast transmission. For example, in this example, the amplified first, second, third, and fourth output signals may be passed to antenna elements 560-a, 560-b, 560-c, and 560-d, respectively, and a multicast transmission may be transmitted. The transmission transmitted from the antenna element 560 may correspond to a beamforming direction associated with the selected signal path switch 540. For example, in this example, a first beam along which transmissions are transmitted may correspond to signal path switch 540-b, while a second beam along which transmissions are transmitted may correspond to signal path switch 540-d. A first UE115 or base station 105 may receive transmissions from a first beam, while a second UE115 or base station 105 may receive transmissions from a second beam. In some cases, the Tx beam controller 545 may only close a single signal path switch 540 and the resulting transmission may be unicast. In some cases, butler matrix network 310-b may be omitted and each signal path switch 540 may be coupled with an antenna array.

Fig. 6 illustrates an example of a signal processing chain 600 in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. In some examples, the signal processing chain 600 may implement aspects of fig. 2 and 3. For example, the signal processing chain 600 is an example of the signal processing chain 215 described with reference to fig. 2. Additionally, butler matrix network 310-c may be an example of butler matrix network 310 as described with reference to fig. 3.

Signal processing chain 600 may alternate between processing transmissions received by antenna element 605 (e.g., downlink transmissions) and transmissions received by antenna element 675. The signal processing chain 600 may switch a Double Pole Double Throw (DPDT) switch 630 when the signal processing chain 600 alternates as follows: receiving and retransmitting the received transmission from receiving the transmission at a first antenna array (e.g., an array comprising antenna elements 605) to receiving and retransmitting the transmission at a second antenna array (e.g., antenna elements 675) or set of antenna arrays (e.g., in the case where each signal path switch 665 is connected to an antenna array other than the butler matrix network 310-c). For example, the signal processing chain 600 may switch the DPDT switch 630 to the configuration 632-a when a transmission is received and retransmitted at the antenna element 605, and the signal processing chain 600 may switch the DPDT switch 630 to the configuration 632-b when a transmission is received and retransmitted from the antenna element 675 or a set of antenna arrays as described herein. Which configuration 632 the DPDT switch 630 is in may be controlled by the transmit switch controller 635. As such, the signal processing chain 600 may be used for TDD operation.

In one example, an antenna array including antenna elements 605-a and 605-b may receive a transmission (e.g., a unicast transmission) from a base station 105 or a UE 115. The antenna array may pass the signal at each antenna to a phase shifter 615. For example, antenna element 605-a may pass a first signal to phase shifter 615-a, and antenna element 605-b may pass a second signal to phase shifter 615-b. The amount by which the phase shifter 615 shifts the phase of the signal passing therethrough may be controlled by the unicast beam controller 620 and may correspond to the intended direction from which the transmission is received. Upon experiencing the phase shift, the phase shifted signal may be aggregated by a signal aggregator/divider 625 (e.g., a wilkinson combiner/divider).

The aggregated signal may pass through the DPDT switch 630 in configuration 632-a and may be fed into the LNA 640, the PA driver 645 (e.g., whose gain may be controlled by the controller 650), and the PA 655. The amplified aggregate signal may be passed to a signal aggregator/divider 660 (e.g., a wilkinson divider) through a DPDT switch 630 in configuration 632-a. The signal aggregator/divider 660 may pass the amplified aggregated signal to a signal path switch 665. Each signal path switch 665 may be associated with a different beamforming direction and may be controlled by the multicast beam controller 670. The multicast beam controller 670 can determine which of the signal path switches 665 can be open and which can be closed. In this example, signal path switches 665-a and 665-c can be open, and signal path switches 665-b and 665-d can be closed. Although four signal path switches 665 may be depicted in this example, it should be understood that a different number of signal path switches 665 may be used without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.

Signal path switches 665-b and 665-d may pass the resulting signals to butler matrix network 310-c. Butler matrix network 310-c may perform operations on the aggregate signals (e.g., via the processing described in fig. 3) and may output a set of output signals that are fed into antenna element 675. The number of terminals to which butler matrix network 310-c may output may be equal to the number of signal path switches 665 (e.g., if there are four signal path switches 665, there may be four output terminals). In one example, the first, second, third, and fourth output signals may be fed into antenna elements 675-a, 675-b, 675-c, 675-d, which may output a multicast transmission. The transmission transmitted from antenna element 675 may correspond to a beamforming direction associated with selected signal path switch 665. For example, in this example, a first beam along which transmissions are transmitted may correspond to signal path switch 665-b, while a second beam along which transmissions are transmitted may correspond to signal path switch 665-d. A first UE115 or base station 105 may receive transmissions from a first beam, while a second UE115 or base station 105 may receive transmissions from a second beam. In some cases, the multicast beam controller 670 closes only a single signal path switch 665 and the resulting transmission may be unicast. In some cases, Butler matrix network 310-c may be omitted and each signal path switched.

In another example, an antenna array including antenna elements 675 (e.g., antenna elements 675-a, 675-b, 675-c, and 675-d) may receive a first transmission from a first UE115 or base station 105 in a beamforming direction associated with signal path switch 665-b and may receive a second transmission from a second UE115 or base station 105 in a beamforming direction associated with signal path switch 665-d. The antenna array may pass signals from each antenna element to a butler matrix network 310-c. Butler matrix network 310-c may output the signal to signal path switch 665. In this example, a first signal approximating a first transmission may be output to signal path switch 665-b, while a second signal approximating a second transmission may be output to signal path switch 665-d. Alternatively, butler matrix network 310-c may be omitted and each signal path switch 665 may be coupled with an antenna array. In such a case, the antenna array associated with signal path switch 665-b may receive the first transmission, while the antenna array associated with signal path switch 665-d may receive the second transmission. In this example, signal path switches 665-b and 665-d may be closed. In other examples, the signal path switch 665-b or 665-d may be open (e.g., under command of the multicast beam controller 670) and may not receive transmissions received in the corresponding beam direction. The signal passing through the signal path switch 665 may be aggregated by a signal aggregator/divider 660.

The aggregated signal may pass through the DPDT switch 630 in configuration 632-b and may be fed into the LNA 640, the PA driver 645 (e.g., whose gain may be controlled by the controller 650), and the PA 655. The amplified aggregate signal may be passed to a signal aggregator/divider 625 (e.g., a wilkinson divider) through a DPDT switch 630 in configuration 632-a. The signal aggregator/divider 625 may divide the amplified aggregated signal and may pass the divided portions of the signal to the phase shifter 615. Phase shifter 615 may pass the signal to 605-a and the aggregated unicast transmission may be sent to base station 105 or UE 115.

Fig. 7 illustrates an example of a signal processing chain 700 according to aspects of the present disclosure. In some examples, the signal processing chain 700 may implement aspects of fig. 2 and 3. For example, the signal processing chain 700 is an example of the signal processing chain 215 described with reference to fig. 2. Additionally, butler matrix network 310-d may be an example of butler matrix network 310 as described with reference to fig. 3.

Signal processing chain 700 may alternate between processing transmissions received by antenna element 705 (e.g., downlink transmissions) and transmissions received by antenna element 755. The signal processing chain 700 may switch each Double Pole Double Throw (DPDT) switch 760 when the signal processing chain 700 alternates as follows: receiving and retransmitting the received transmission from receiving the transmission at a first antenna array (e.g., the array including antenna element 705) to receiving and retransmitting the transmission at a second antenna array (e.g., antenna element 775) or set of antenna arrays (e.g., in the case where each signal path switch 665 is connected to an antenna array instead of the butler matrix network 310-d). For example, signal processing chain 700 may switch each DPDT switch 760 to configuration 762-a when a transmission is received and retransmitted at antenna element 705, and signal processing chain 700 may switch DPDT switch 760 to configuration 762-b when a transmission is received and retransmitted from antenna element 755 or a set of antenna arrays as described herein. Which configuration 762 the DPDT switch 760 is in may be controlled by the transmit switch controller 765. As such, the signal processing chain 700 may be used for TDD operation.

In one example, each DPDT switch 760 may be in configuration 762-a. An antenna array including antenna elements 705-a and 705-b may receive a transmission (e.g., a unicast transmission) from a base station 105 or a UE 115. The antenna array may pass the signal at each antenna through a DPDT switch 760 to the LNA 710, and the LNA 710 may pass the signal through another DPDT switch 760 to the phase shifter 725. For example, antenna element 705-a may pass the first signal through DPDT switch 760-a to LNA 710-a, which LNA 710-a may pass the amplified first signal through DPDT switch 760-c to phase shifter 725-a. Additionally, antenna element 705-b may pass the second signal through DPDT switch 760-b to LNA 710-b, which LNA 710-b may pass the amplified second signal through DPDT switch 760-d to phase shifter 725-b. The amount by which the phase shifter 515 shifts the phase of the signal passing therethrough may be controlled by the unicast beam controller 730 and may correspond to the intended direction from which the transmission is received. Upon experiencing the phase shift, the phase shifted signal may be aggregated by a signal aggregator/divider 735 (e.g., a wilkinson combiner).

The aggregated signal may be passed to a signal aggregator/frequency divider 740. In some cases, the aggregate signal may first be passed through a Variable Gain Amplifier (VGA). The signal aggregator/divider 535 may pass the aggregated signal to a signal path switch 745. Each signal path switch 745 may be associated with a different beamforming direction and may be controlled by the multicast beam controller 750. The multicast beam controller 750 can determine which of the signal path switches 745 can be open and which can be closed. In this example, signal path switches 745-a and 745-c may be open and signal path switches 745-b and 745-d may be closed. Although four signal path switches 745 may be depicted in this example, it should be understood that a different number of signal path switches 745 may be used without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.

Signal path switches 745-b and 745-d may pass the aggregate signal to butler matrix network 310-d. Butler matrix network 310-d may perform operations on the aggregated signals (e.g., via the processing described in fig. 3) and may output a set of output signals that are fed into PA driver 715 through DPDT switch 760. The number of terminals to which butler matrix network 310-d outputs may be equal to the number of signal path switches 745 (e.g., if there are four signal path switches 745, there may be four output terminals). In one example, the first, second, third, and fourth output signals may be fed into PA drivers 715-c, 715-d, 715-e, and 715-f through DPDT switches 760-e, 760-f, 760-g, and 760-h, respectively. Each PA driver 715 may pass the first, second, third, and fourth output signals to PAs 720-a, 720-b, 720-c, and 720-d, respectively. PA driver 715 and PA 720 may apply gain to the signal passing through. In some cases, each PA driver 715 may have the same gain, and each PA 720 may have the same gain. The amplified output signal may be passed to antenna element 755 through DPDT switch 760, and antenna element 755 may output a multicast transmission. For example, in the present example, the amplified first, second, third, and fourth output signals may be delivered to antenna elements 755-a, 755-b, 755-c, and 755-d through DPDT switches 760-i, 760-j, 760-k, and 760-l, respectively, and a multicast transmission may be transmitted. The transmission transmitted from antenna element 755 may correspond to a beamforming direction associated with selected signal path switch 745. For example, in this example, the first beam along which transmissions are transmitted may correspond to signal path switches 745-b, while the second beam along which transmissions are transmitted may correspond to signal path switches 745-d. A first UE115 or base station 105 may receive transmissions from a first beam, while a second UE115 or base station 105 may receive transmissions from a second beam. In some cases, the multicast beam controller 750 may close only a single signal path switch 745 and the resulting transmission may be unicast. In some cases, butler matrix network 310-d may be omitted and each signal path switch 745 may be coupled with an antenna array.

In another example, each DPDT switch 760 may be in configuration 762-b. An antenna array including antenna elements 755 (e.g., antenna elements 755-a, 755-b, 755-c, and 755-d) may receive a first transmission from a first UE115 or base station 105 in a beamforming direction associated with signal path switch 745-b and may receive a second transmission from a second UE115 or base station 105 in a beamforming direction associated with signal path switch 745-d. The antenna array may pass signals from each antenna element through DPDT switch 760 to LNA 710. For example, antenna elements 755-a, 755-b, 755-c, and 755-d may pass corresponding signals to LNAs 710-c, 710-d, 710-e, and 710-f through DPDT switches 760-i, 760-j, 760-k, and 760-l, respectively. LNA 710 may pass the resulting signal through DPDT switch 760 to butler matrix network 310-d. For example, LNAs 710-c, 710-d, 710-e, and 710-f may pass their respective output signals to Butler matrix network 310-d through DPDT switches 760-e, 760-f, 760-g, and 760-h, respectively.

Butler matrix network 310-d may output signals to signal path switch 745. In this example, a first signal of approximately the first transmission may be output to signal path switches 745-b and a second signal of approximately the second transmission may be output to signal path switches 745-d. Alternatively, butler matrix network 310-d may be omitted and each signal path switch 745 may be coupled with an antenna array. In such a case, the antenna array associated with signal path switch 745-b may receive the first transmission, while the antenna array associated with signal path switch 745-d may receive the second transmission. In this example, signal path switches 745-b and 745-d may be closed. In other examples, the signal path switch 745-b or 745-d may be open (e.g., under the command of the multicast beam controller 750) and may not receive transmissions received in the corresponding beam direction. The first signal and the second signal may be fed into a signal aggregator/divider 740.

The aggregated signal may be passed to a signal aggregator/frequency divider 735. In some cases, the aggregate signal may first pass through the VGA. The signal aggregator/divider 735 may divide the aggregated signal and may pass the divided portions of the signal to the phase shifters 725 (e.g., to the phase shifters 725-a and 725-b), each phase shifter 725 may be controlled by the unicast beam controller 730. Each phase shifter 725 may output a phase-shifted signal to PA driver 715 through DPDT switch 760. For example, phase shifter 725-a may output a phase shifted signal to PA driver 715-a through DPDT switch 760-c, while phase shifter 725-b may output a phase shifted signal to PA driver 715-b through DPDT switch 760-d. Each PA driver 715 and PA 720 may amplify the phase-shifted signal and may pass the amplified phase-shifted signal through DPDT switch 760 to antenna element 705. For example, in this example, PA 720-a may pass the corresponding amplified phase-shifted signal through DPDT switch 760-a to antenna element 705-a, while PA 720-b may pass the corresponding amplified phase-shifted signal through DPDT switch 760-b to antenna element 705-b.

Fig. 8 illustrates an example of a signal processing chain 800 in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. In some examples, the signal processing chain 800 may implement aspects of fig. 2 and 3. For example, the signal processing chain 800 is an example of the signal processing chain 215 described with reference to fig. 2. Additionally, Butler matrix networks 310-e and 310-f may be examples of Butler matrix network 310 as described with reference to FIG. 3. The signal processing chain 800 may be capable of processing and retransmitting transmissions received at a second antenna array (e.g., antenna elements 860) or a set of antenna arrays (e.g., in the case where each signal path switch 850 and 865 is coupled to an antenna array instead of the butler matrix network 310-d) simultaneously with processing and retransmitting transmissions received at a first antenna array (e.g., an array including antenna elements 805). As such, the signal processing chain 800 may be used for FDD operation.

In one example, an antenna array including antenna elements 805-a and 805-b may receive a transmission (e.g., a unicast transmission) from a base station 105 or a UE 115. The antenna array may pass the signal at each antenna through a duplexer 810 to an LNA 815, which LNA 815 may pass the signal to a phase shifter 830. For example, antenna element 805-a may pass the first signal through duplexer 810-a to LNA 815-a, which LNA 815-a may pass the amplified first signal to phase shifter 830-a. Additionally, antenna element 805-b may pass the second signal through duplexer 810-b to LNA 815-b, which LNA 815-b may pass the amplified second signal to phase shifter 830-b. The amount by which the phase shifter 830 shifts the phase of the signal passing therethrough may be controlled by the unicast Rx beam controller 835 and may correspond to the intended direction from which the transmission is received. Upon experiencing the phase shift, the phase shifted signal may be aggregated by a signal aggregator/divider 840 (e.g., a wilkinson combiner).

The aggregate signal may be passed to a VGA 845, which VGA 845 may amplify the aggregate signal. The amplified aggregate signal may be passed to a signal aggregator/frequency divider 847. The signal aggregator/divider 847 may divide the aggregated signal in frequency and may pass the divided aggregated signal to the signal path switch 850. Each signal path switch 850 may be associated with a different beamforming direction and may be controlled by a multicast beam controller 855. Multicast beam controller 855 may determine which of the signal path switches 850 may be open and which signal path switches may be closed. In this example, signal path switch 850-a may be open and signal path switches 850-b and 850-c may be closed. Although three signal path switches 850 may be depicted in this example, it should be understood that a different number of signal path switches 850 (e.g., 2) may be used^jA switch, where j is 0,1,2,3 …) without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.

Signal path switches 850-b and 850-c may pass the aggregate signal to butler matrix network 310-e. Butler matrix network 310-e may perform operations on the aggregated signals (e.g., via the processing described in fig. 3) and may output a set of output signals that are fed to PA driver 820. The number of terminals to which butler matrix network 310-e outputs may be equal to the number of signal path switches 850 (e.g., if there are four signal path switches 850, there may be four output terminals). In one example, the first, second, and third output signals may be fed into PA drivers 820-c, 820-d, and 820-e, respectively. Each PA driver 820 may pass first, second, and third output signals to PAs 825-a, 825-b, and 825-c, respectively. PA driver 820 and PA 825 may apply gain to the signal passing through. In some cases, each PA driver 820 may have the same gain and each PA 825 may have the same gain. The amplified output signal may be passed through the duplexer 810 to the antenna element 860 and the antenna element 860 may output a multicast transmission. For example, in this example, the amplified first, second, and third output signals may be passed through multiplexers 810-c, 810-d, 810-e to antenna elements 860-a, 860-b, and 860-c, respectively, and a multicast transmission may be transmitted. The transmission transmitted from the antenna element 860 may correspond to a beamforming direction associated with the selected signal path switch 850. For example, in this example, a first beam along which transmissions are transmitted may correspond to signal path switch 850-b, while a second beam along which transmissions are transmitted may correspond to signal path switch 850-c. A first UE115 or base station 105 may receive transmissions from a first beam, while a second UE115 or base station 105 may receive transmissions from a second beam. In some cases, multicast beam controller 855 may close only a single signal path switch 850 and the resulting transmission may be unicast. In some cases, butler matrix network 310-e may be omitted and each signal path switch 850 may be coupled with an antenna array (e.g., the signal path switch may be coupled with phase shifter 830 and dual multiplexer 810).

Additionally or alternatively, an antenna array including antenna elements 860 (e.g., antenna elements 860-a, 860-b, and 860-c) may receive a first transmission from a first UE115 or base station 105 in a beamforming direction associated with signal path switch 865-a and may receive a second transmission from a second UE115 or base station 105 in a beamforming direction associated with signal path switch 865-b. The antenna array may pass signals from each antenna element 860 through the duplexer 810 to the LNA 815. For example, antenna elements 860-a, 860-b, and 860-c may pass corresponding signals through duplexers 810-c, 810-d, and 810-e to LNAs 815-c, 815-d, and 815-e, respectively. LNA 815 may pass the resulting signal to butler matrix network 310-f. For example, LNAs 815-c, 815-d, and 815-e may pass their respective output signals to Butler matrix network 310-f.

Butler matrix network 310-f may output signals to signal path switch 865. In this example, a first signal approximating a first transmission can be output to signal path switch 865-a and a second signal approximating a second transmission can be output to signal path switch 865-b. Alternatively, butler matrix network 310-c may be omitted and each signal path switch 865 may be coupled with an antenna array (e.g., each signal path switch 865 may be coupled with phase shifter 830, LNA 815, and multiplexer 810). In such a case, the antenna array associated with signal path switch 865-a may receive a first transmission, while the antenna array associated with signal path switch 865-b may receive a second transmission. In this example, signal path switches 865-a and 865-b may be closed. In other examples, the signal path switches 865-a or 865-b may be open (e.g., under command of the signal aggregation controller 870) and may not receive transmissions received in the corresponding beam direction. The first signal and the second signal may be fed into a signal aggregator/divider 875.

The aggregate signal may be passed through a VGA 880, which VGA 880 may pass the amplified aggregate signal to a signal aggregator/divider 885. The signal aggregator/divider 885 may divide the aggregated signal and may pass the divided portions of the signal to the phase shifters 830 (e.g., to phase shifters 830-c and 830-d), each phase shifter 830 may be controlled by a unicast Tx beam controller 890. Each phase shifter 830 may output a phase-shifted signal to the PA driver 820. For example, phase shifter 830-c may output a phase shifted signal to PA driver 820-b, and phase shifter 830-d may output a phase shifted signal to PA driver 820-a. Each PA driver 820 and PA 825 may amplify the phase-shifted signal and may pass the amplified phase-shifted signal through the duplexer 810 to the antenna element 805. For example, in the present example, PA 825-a may pass the corresponding amplified phase-shifted signal through duplexer 810-a to antenna element 805-a, and PA 825-b may pass the corresponding amplified phase-shifted signal through duplexer 810-b to antenna element 805-b.

Fig. 9 illustrates an example of a signal processing chain 900 according to aspects of the present disclosure. In some examples, the signal processing chain 900 may implement aspects of fig. 2 and 3. For example, the signal processing chain 900 is an example of the signal processing chain 215 described with reference to fig. 2. Additionally, butler matrix network 310-g may be an example of butler matrix network 310 as described with reference to fig. 3. The signal processing chain 900 may be capable of processing and retransmitting transmissions received at a second antenna array (e.g., antenna elements 960) or a set of antenna arrays (e.g., in the case where each duplexer 925 is coupled to an antenna array instead of the butler matrix network 310-g) simultaneously with processing and retransmitting transmissions received at a first antenna array (e.g., an array including antenna elements 905). In some cases, a single duplexer path may be selected at a time. As such, the signal processing chain 800 may be used for SFDD operations.

The signal processing chain 900 may include a Tx beam switch 945-a and an Rx beam switch 945-b. Both the Tx beam switch 945-a and the Rx beam switch 945-b may be SPNT switches. The Tx beam switch 945-a may be coupled with one of a set of signal path terminals 950 (e.g., signal paths 950-a, 950-b, 950-c, and 950-d), and the Rx beam switch 945-b may be coupled with one of a set of signal path terminals 955 (e.g., signal path terminals 955-a, 955-b, 955-c, and 955-d). The Tx beam switch 945-a and the Rx beam switch 945-b may be controlled by a Tx beam controller 947 and an Rx beam controller 948, respectively. Alternatively, both the Tx beam switch 945-a and the Rx beam switch 945-b may be controlled by the same beam controller. In some cases, the Tx beam switch 945-a and the Rx beam switch 945-b may select the signal path terminals 950 and 955 such that the Tx beam switch 945-a and the Rx beam switch 945-b are coupled with the same duplexer 925-b. For example, in this example, the Tx beam switch 945-a may select the signal path terminal 950-a (which may be coupled with the duplexer 925-b), while the Rx beam switch 945-b may select the signal path terminal 955-a (which may also be coupled with the duplexer 925-b). There may also be situations where the Tx beam switch 945-a and the Rx beam switch 945-b select the signal path terminals 950 and 955 associated with the separate duplexer 925.

An antenna array comprising antenna elements 905-a and 905-b may receive a transmission (e.g., a unicast transmission) from a base station 105 or a UE 115. The antenna array may pass the signal at each antenna to a phase shifter 910. For example, antenna element 905-a may pass a first signal to phase shifter 910-a, and antenna element 905-b may pass a second signal to phase shifter 910-b. The amount by which the phase shifter 910 shifts the phase of the signal passing therethrough may be controlled by the unicast beam controller 915 and may correspond to the intended direction from which the transmission is received. Upon experiencing the phase shift, the phase shifted signal may be aggregated by a signal aggregator/divider 920 (e.g., a wilkinson combiner/divider).

The aggregated signal may be passed through the duplexer 925-a to the LNA 930-a. LNA 930-a may pass the aggregated signal to PA driver 935-a, which PA driver 935-a may pass the aggregated signal to PA 940-a. LNA 930-a, PA driver 935-a, and PA 940-a may amplify the aggregate signal. The amplified aggregate signal may be passed through the Tx beam switch 945-a to the duplexer 925-b, which duplexer 925-b may pass the amplified aggregate signal to the butler matrix network 310-g.

Butler matrix network 310-g may perform operations on the amplified aggregate signals (e.g., via the processing described in fig. 3) and may output a set of output signals that are fed into antenna element 960. The number of terminals to which butler matrix network 310-g may output may be equal to the number of signal path terminals 950 or 955 (e.g., if there are four signal path terminals 950 and/or four signal path terminals 955, there may be four output terminals). In one example, the first, second, third, and fourth output signals may be fed into antenna elements 960-a, 960-b, 960-c, and 960-d, respectively, which may output a unicast transmission. The transmission transmitted from the antenna element 960 may correspond to a beamforming direction associated with the selected signal path terminal 950. For example, in this example, the beam along which the transmission is transmitted may correspond to signal path terminal 950-a. The first UE115 or base station 105 may receive a transmission from the beam. In some cases, the butler matrix network 310-g may be omitted and the duplexers 925 associated with each signal path terminal 950 may be coupled with an antenna array.

Additionally or alternatively, the first UE115 or base station 105 may transmit transmissions along the same beam. An antenna array including antenna elements 960 (e.g., antenna elements 960-a, 960-b, 960-c, and 960-d) may receive the transmission. The antenna array may pass signals from each antenna element 960 to the butler matrix network 310-g. Butler matrix network 310-g may output signals to duplexer 925 associated with signal path terminal 955. In this example, a signal approximating the transmission may be output to the duplexer 925-b. Alternatively, butler matrix network 310-g may be omitted and each duplexer 925 associated with signal path terminal 955 may be coupled with an antenna array. In such a case, the antenna array associated with the duplexer 925-b may receive the transmission and may communicate the transmission to the duplexer 925-b. In this example, the signal path terminal 955-b may not be connected to the Rx beam switch 945-b. As such, transmissions from the beam direction associated with the duplexer 925-c may not be received. The signal passing through the duplexer 925-b may be passed to the LNA 930-b. LNA 930-b may pass the signal to PA driver 935-b, which PA driver 935-b may pass the signal to PA 940-b. LNA 930-b, PA driver 935-b, and PA 940-b may amplify the signal. The amplified signal may pass through duplexer 925-a to signal aggregator/divider 920.

The signal aggregator/divider 920 may divide the amplified signal and may pass the divided portions to the phase shifter 910. Each phase shifter 910 may output a phase-shifted signal to an antenna element 905. For example, phase shifter 910-a may output a phase shifted signal to antenna element 905-a, and phase shifter 910-b may output a phase shifted signal to antenna element 905-b.

Fig. 10 illustrates an example of a signal processing chain 1000 in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. In some examples, the signal processing chain 1000 may implement aspects of fig. 2 and 3. For example, the signal processing chain 1000 is an example of the signal processing chain 215 described with reference to fig. 2. Additionally, butler matrix network 310-h may be an example of butler matrix network 310 as described with reference to fig. 3. Signal processing chain 1000 may be capable of processing and retransmitting transmissions received at a second antenna array (e.g., antenna elements 1075) or a set of antenna arrays (e.g., in the case where each duplexer 1025 is coupled to an antenna array other than the butler matrix network 310-h) simultaneously with processing and retransmitting transmissions received at a first antenna array (e.g., an array including antenna elements 1005). In some cases, a single or multiple duplexer paths may be selected at a time. As such, the signal processing chain 800 may be used for SFDD or FDD operation.

The signal processing chain 1000 may include a Tx beam switch 1055 and an Rx beam switch 1065. The Tx beam switch 1055 and the Rx beam switch 1065 may be coupled with one or more duplexers 1025 (e.g., duplexers 1025-b, 1025-c, 1025-d, and 1025-e). The Tx beam switch 1055 and the Rx beam switch 1065 may be controlled by a Tx beam controller 1060 and an Rx beam controller 1070, respectively. Alternatively, both the Tx beam switch 1055 and the Rx beam switch 1065 may be controlled by the same beam controller. In some cases, Tx and Rx beam controllers 1060 and 1070 and Rx beam switches 945-b may selectively close and open Tx beam switch 1055 and Rx beam switch 1065 so that the same duplexer may be coupled with signal aggregator/divider 1045 and signal aggregator/divider 1050. For example, in this example, Tx beam switch 1055-a and Rx beam switch 1065-a, and Tx beam switches 1055-c and 1065-c may be closed. There may also be situations where the Tx beam switch 1055 associated with the duplexer 925 is closed and the Rx beam switch 1065 associated with the duplexer 925 is open, or vice versa.

In one example, an antenna array comprising antenna elements 1005-a and 1005-b may receive a transmission (e.g., a unicast transmission) from a base station 105 or a UE 115. The antenna array may pass the signal at each antenna to a phase shifter 1010. For example, antenna element 1005-a may pass a first signal to phase shifter 1010-a, and antenna element 1005-b may pass a second signal to phase shifter 1010-b. The amount by which the phase shifter 1010 shifts the phase of the signal passing therethrough may be controlled by the unicast beam controller 1015 and may correspond to the intended direction from which the transmission is received. Upon experiencing the phase shift, the phase shifted signal may be aggregated by a signal aggregator/divider 1020 (e.g., a wilkinson combiner/divider).

The aggregated signal may be passed through duplexer 1025-a to LNA 1030-a. LNA 1030-a may pass the aggregated signal to PA driver 1035-a, which may pass the aggregated signal to PA 1040-a. LNA 1030-a, PA driver 1035-a, and PA 1040-a may amplify the aggregate signal. The amplified aggregated signal may be fed to a signal aggregator/divider 1045, which signal aggregator/divider 1045 may divide the signal in frequency and pass the signal to one or more Tx beam switches 1055. In this example, the divided signal may pass through Tx beam switches 1055-a and 1055-c and be fed into butler matrix network 310-h.

Butler matrix network 310-h may perform operations on the amplified aggregate signals (e.g., via the processing described in fig. 3) and may output a set of output signals that are fed into antenna elements 1075. The number of terminals to which butler matrix network 310-h may output may be equal to the number of Tx beam switches 1055 and/or the number of Rx beam switches 1065 (e.g., if there are four Tx beam switches 1055 and/or four Rx beam switches 1065, there may be four output terminals). In one example, the first, second, third, and fourth output signals may be fed into antenna elements 1075-a, 1075-b, 1075-c, and 1075-d, respectively, which may output a unicast transmission. The transmission transmitted from antenna element 1075 may correspond to a beamforming direction associated with the selected Tx beam switch 1055. For example, in this example, the first beam along which transmissions are transmitted may correspond to Tx beam switch 1055-a, while the second beam along which transmissions are transmitted may correspond to Tx beam switch 1055-c. A first UE115 or base station 105 may receive transmissions from a first beam, while a second UE115 or base station 105 may receive transmissions from a second beam. In some cases, the butler matrix network 310-h may be omitted and the duplexers 1025 associated with each Tx beam switch 1055 may be coupled with an antenna array.

Additionally or alternatively, the first UE115 or base station 105 and the second UE115 or base station 105 may transmit a transmission in first and second beam directions. An antenna array including antenna elements 1075 (e.g., antenna elements 1075-a, 1075-b, 1075-c, and 1075-d) may receive the transmission. The antenna array may pass signals from each antenna element 1075 to the butler matrix network 310-h. The butler matrix network 310-h may output signals to the duplexer 1025 associated with the Rx beam switch 1065. In this example, a signal approximating a transmission from a first UE115 or base station 105 may be output to the duplexer 1025-b, while a signal approximating a transmission from a second UE115 or base station 105 may be output to the duplexer 1025-d. Alternatively, the butler matrix network 310-h may be omitted and each duplexer 1025 associated with the Rx beam switch 1065 may be coupled with an antenna array. In such a case, the antenna array associated with the duplexer 1025-b may receive a transmission from the first UE115 or base station 105 and may pass the transmission to the duplexer 1025-b, while the antenna array associated with the duplexer 1025-d may receive a transmission from the second UE115 or base station 105 and may pass the transmission to the duplexer 1025-d. In this example, the Rx beam switch 1065-b may be open. As such, transmissions from the beam direction associated with the duplexer 1025-c may not be received. The signal passing through the duplexer 1025-b and the signal passing through the duplexer 1025-d may be passed to a signal aggregator/divider 1050.

Signal aggregator/divider 1050 may output an aggregated signal and may output the aggregated signal to LNA 1030-b. LNA 1030-b may pass the aggregated signal to PA driver 1035-b, which may pass the aggregated signal to PA 1040-b. LNA 1030-b, PA driver 1035-b, and PA 1040-b may amplify the aggregate signal. The amplified aggregated signal may be passed through a duplexer 1025-a to a signal aggregator/divider 1020.

Signal aggregator/divider 1020 may divide the amplified aggregated signal and may pass the divided portions to phase shifter 1010. Each phase shifter 1010 may output a phase-shifted signal to an antenna element 1005. For example, phase shifter 1010-a may output a phase-shifted signal to antenna element 1005-a, and phase shifter 1010-b may output a phase-shifted signal to antenna element 1005-b.

Fig. 11 illustrates an example of a process flow 1100 in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. In some examples, the process flow 1100 may implement aspects of fig. 1 and 2. For example, process flow 1100 may include base station 105-a (which may be an example of base station 105 as described with reference to fig. 1) and may include a wireless relay (which may be an example of wireless relay 205 as described with reference to fig. 2). It should be noted that the base station 105-a may be replaced by a UE115 and/or a set of UEs 115 may be replaced by various base stations 105 without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.

At 1105, the base station 105-a may transmit a unicast transmission. The wireless repeater 205-a may receive a unicast transmission at the first antenna array.

At 1110, the wireless relay 205-a may map the unicast transmission to a set of beamforming directions. For example, the wireless relay 205-a may route signals received via unicast transmissions to at least two signal paths within the wireless relay 205-a. The first signal path may be associated with a first beamforming direction of a set of beamforming directions and the second signal path may be associated with a second signal path of the set of beamforming directions. Additionally, the wireless repeater 205-a may feed signals into a beamforming network based on a butler matrix and coupled with at least two signal paths. Signals from the first signal path may be routed to the first quadrature coupler and signals from the second path may be routed to the second or first quadrature coupler.

At 1115, the wireless relay 205-a may transmit the multicast transmission to the set of UEs 115 using at least a second antenna array. The multicast transmission may be based on a unicast transmission and a plurality of beamforming directions. For example, transmitting the multicast transmission may involve retransmitting a signal received via the unicast transmission in each beamforming direction in the set of beamforming directions. Each UE115 in the set of UEs 115 may receive the multicast transmission. For example, the multicast transmission may be transmitted through separate antenna arrays (e.g., a first antenna array corresponding to the first signal path and a second antenna array corresponding to the second signal path). Alternatively, the multicast transmission may be transmitted by a single antenna array coupled to a butler matrix network.

At 1120, the wireless relay 205-a may switch from the downlink configuration to the uplink configuration. For example, the wireless repeater 205-a may switch the signal path within the wireless repeater 205-a from a downlink configuration to an uplink configuration.

At 1125, at least a subset of the set of UEs 115 may transmit a transmission. For example, a first UE115 in the set of UEs 115 may transmit a first transmission in a first beam direction, while a second UE115 in the set of UEs 115 may transmit a second transmission in a second beam direction. The wireless relay 205-a may receive a transmission from a set of UEs 115.

At 1130, the wireless repeater 205-a may aggregate the first signal received via the first transmission and the second signal received via the second transmission to form an aggregated signal. The first signal may be received from a second antenna array of the wireless repeater 205-a and the second signal may be received from a third antenna array of the wireless repeater 205-a. Alternatively, the first and second signals may be received by routing the signals from a single antenna array into a butler matrix network. The output of the butler matrix network may include a first signal and a second signal.

At 1135, the wireless relay 205-a may transmit a unicast transmission based on the aggregated signal using the first antenna array of the wireless relay 205-a. The unicast transmission may be received by base station 105-a. In some implementations, any combination of the transmissions 1105, 1115, 1125, and 1135 may be any of SHF, EHF, and/or mmW transmissions.

Fig. 12 shows a block diagram 1200 of an apparatus 1205 that supports a beamforming multicast repeater in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. The device 1205 may be an example of aspects of a UE115 as described herein. The device 1205 may include a receiver 1210, a communication manager 1215, and a transmitter 1220. The device 1205 may also include a processor. Each of these components may be in communication with each other (e.g., via one or more buses).

Receiver 1210 can receive information such as packets, user data, or control information associated with various information channels (e.g., control channels, data channels, and information related to beamformed multicast repeaters, etc.). Information may be passed to other components of the device 1205. Receiver 1210 can utilize a single antenna or a set of antennas.

The communication manager 1215 may receive a unicast transmission via directional beamforming at a first antenna array of a wireless relay, map the unicast transmission to a set of beamforming directions for transmission by the wireless relay, and transmit a multicast transmission to a set of UEs in the set of beamforming directions using at least a second antenna array of the wireless relay, the multicast transmission based on the unicast transmission. The communication manager 1215 may also receive a first transmission from a first UE in a first beamforming direction and a second transmission from a second UE in a second beamforming direction using at least a second antenna array of the wireless relay, aggregate a first signal received via the first transmission and a second signal received via the second transmission to form an aggregated signal, and transmit a unicast transmission based on the aggregated signal using the first antenna array of the wireless relay.

The communication manager 1215, or subcomponents thereof, may be implemented in hardware, code executed by a processor (e.g., software or firmware), or any combination thereof. If implemented in code executed by a processor, the functions of the communication manager 1215, or subcomponents thereof, may be performed by a general purpose processor, a Digital Signal Processor (DSP), an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof designed to perform the functions described in this disclosure.

The communication manager 1215, or subcomponents thereof, may be physically located at various locations, including being distributed such that portions of the functionality are implemented by one or more physical components at different physical locations. In some examples, the communication manager 1215, or subcomponents thereof, may be separate and distinct components in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure. In some examples, the communication manager 1215, or subcomponents thereof, may be combined with one or more other hardware components, including but not limited to an input/output (I/O) component, a transceiver, a network server, another computing device, one or more other components described in this disclosure, or a combination thereof, in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure.

Transmitter 1220 may transmit signals generated by other components of device 1205. In some examples, the transmitter 1220 may be co-located with the receiver 1210 in a transceiver module. Transmitter 1220 may utilize a single antenna or a set of antennas.

Fig. 13 illustrates a block diagram 1300 of a device 1305 supporting a beamformed multicast repeater, according to aspects of the present disclosure. The device 1305 may be an example of aspects of a device 1205 or UE115 as described herein. Device 1305 may include a receiver 1310, a communication manager 1315, and a transmitter 1350. The device 1305 may also include a processor. Each of these components may be in communication with each other (e.g., via one or more buses).

Receiver 1310 can receive information such as packets, user data, or control information associated with various information channels (e.g., control channels, data channels, and information related to beamformed multicast repeaters, etc.). Information may be communicated to other components of the device 1305. Receiver 1310 may utilize a single antenna or a set of antennas.

The communication manager 1315 may be an example of aspects of the communication manager 1215 as described herein. Communications manager 1315 may include a unicast transmission receiver 1320, a unicast transmission mapper 1325, a multicast transmission transmitter 1330, a UE transmission receiver 1335, a signal aggregator 1340, and a unicast transmission transmitter 1345.

The unicast transmission receiver 1320 may receive the unicast transmission via directional beamforming at the first antenna array of the wireless relay.

A unicast transmission mapper 1325 may map the unicast transmission to a set of beamforming directions for transmission by the wireless relay.

The multicast transmission transmitter 1330 may transmit a multicast transmission to the set of UEs over the set of beamforming directions using at least a second antenna array of the wireless relay, the multicast transmission based on the unicast transmission.

UE transmit receiver 1335 may receive a first transmission from a first UE in a first beamforming direction and a second transmission from a second UE in a second beamforming direction using at least a second antenna array of the wireless relay.

Signal aggregator 1340 may aggregate a first signal received via the first transmission and a second signal received via the second transmission to form an aggregated signal.

The unicast transmission transmitter 1345 may transmit an aggregate signal based unicast transmission using a first antenna array of the wireless repeater.

A transmitter 1350 may transmit signals generated by other components of the device 1305. In some examples, the transmitter 1350 may be co-located with the receiver 1310 in a transceiver module. The transmitter 1350 may utilize a single antenna or a set of antennas.

Fig. 14 shows a block diagram 1400 of a communication manager 1405 supporting a beamformed multicast repeater, according to aspects of the present disclosure. The communication manager 1405 may be an example of aspects of the communication manager 1215 or the communication manager 1315. Communication manager 1405 may include unicast transmission receiver 1410, unicast transmission mapper 1415, multicast transmission transmitter 1420, UE transmission receiver 1425, signal aggregator 1430, unicast transmission transmitter 1435, signal path switching component 1440, signal processing component 1445, and butler matrix component 1450. Each of these modules may communicate with each other directly or indirectly (e.g., via one or more buses).

The unicast transmission receiver 1410 may receive a unicast transmission via directional beamforming at a first antenna array of a wireless relay. In some examples, unicast transmission receiver 1410 may receive additional unicast transmissions including control information at a wireless relay less frequently than unicast transmissions. In some examples, the unicast transmission receiver 1410 may receive a second unicast transmission via directional beamforming at the first antenna array of the wireless relay.

A unicast transmission mapper 1415 may map the unicast transmission to a set of beamforming directions for transmission by the wireless relay. In some examples, the unicast transmission mapper 1415 may route signals received via unicast transmissions to at least two signal paths within the wireless relay. In some examples, the unicast transmission mapper 1415 may feed signals into a beamforming network based on a butler matrix and coupled with at least two signal paths. In some examples, unicast transmission mapper 1415 may route signals from the first signal path to the first orthogonal coupler. In some examples, the unicast transmission mapper 1415 may route the signal from the second signal path to the first orthogonal coupler. In some examples, unicast transmission mapper 1415 may route signals from the second signal path to the second orthogonal coupler. In some examples, the unicast transmission mapper 1415 may route signals received via unicast transmissions through a first beamforming network within the wireless relay. In some examples, the unicast transmission mapper 1415 may route the first signal and the second signal through a second beamforming network within the wireless repeater, wherein both the first beamforming network and the second beamforming network are based on butler matrices. In some examples, the unicast transmission mapper 1415 may route the first signal through a first duplexer within the wireless relay. In some examples, the unicast transmission mapper 1415 may route the second signal through a second duplexer within the wireless repeater. In some examples, unicast transmission mapper 1415 may map the second unicast transmission to a set of beamforming directions including the first beamforming direction and the second beamforming direction for transmission by the wireless relay.

The multicast transmission transmitter 1420 may transmit a multicast transmission to the set of UEs over the set of beamforming directions using at least a second antenna array of the wireless relay, the multicast transmission based on the unicast transmission. In some examples, multicast transmission transmitter 1420 may retransmit signals received via unicast transmission in each beamforming direction in the set of beamforming directions. In some examples, the multicast transmission transmitter 1420 may transmit the multicast transmission in the set of beamforming directions based on an output of the first orthogonal coupler. In some examples, the multicast transmission transmitter 1420 may transmit the multicast transmission in the set of beamforming directions based on routing the signal from the second signal path to the first orthogonal coupler. In some examples, the multicast transmission transmitter 1420 may transmit the multicast transmission in the set of beamforming directions based on the second output of the first orthogonal coupler. In some examples, the multicast transmission transmitter 1420 may transmit the multicast transmission in the set of beamforming directions based on an output of the second orthogonal coupler. In some examples, the multicast transmission transmitter 1420 may transmit the multicast transmission in the set of beamforming directions based on the second output of the first orthogonal coupler and the second output of the second orthogonal coupler. In some examples, the multicast transmission transmitter 1420 may transmit a first portion of the multicast transmission in a first beamforming direction of the set of beamforming directions using a second antenna array of the wireless repeater. In some examples, the multicast transmission transmitter 1420 may transmit a second portion of the multicast transmission in a second beamforming direction of the set of beamforming directions using a third antenna array of the wireless repeater. In some examples, multicast transmission transmitter 1420 may transmit the multicast transmission based on the control information. In some examples, the multicast transmission transmitter 1420 may transmit a multicast transmission to a set of UEs including the first UE and the second UE using at least a second antenna array of the wireless relay, the multicast transmission based on the second unicast transmission and on the set of beamforming directions. In some cases, a first time period between receiving the unicast transmission and transmitting the multicast transmission at least partially overlaps a second time period between receiving the first transmission and transmitting the second unicast transmission. In some cases, the second antenna array has the same number of antennas as the first antenna array, and outputs the multicast transmission in each beamforming direction in the set of beamforming directions.

The UE transmit receiver 1425 may receive a first transmission from a first UE in a first beamforming direction and a second transmission from a second UE in a second beamforming direction using at least a second antenna array of the wireless relay. In some examples, the UE transmission receiver 1425 may receive a first transmission from a first UE of the set of UEs in a first beamforming direction of the set at a second antenna array of the wireless relay. In some examples, the UE transmission receiver 1425 may receive a second transmission from a second UE of the set of UEs at a second antenna array of the wireless relay along a second beamforming direction of the set. In some cases, the first transmission from the first UE and the first transmission from the second UE are received at a second antenna array of the wireless relay. In some cases, the transmission from the first UE is received at a second antenna array of the wireless relay and the transmission from the second UE is received at a third antenna array of the wireless relay.

Signal aggregator 1430 may aggregate a first signal received via the first transmission and a second signal received via the second transmission to form an aggregated signal. In some examples, signal aggregator 1430 may aggregate a first signal received via a first transmission and a second signal received via a second transmission to form an aggregated signal. In some examples, signal aggregator 1430 may aggregate the first signal and the second signal based on routing the first signal to the first signal path and routing the second signal to the second signal path.

The unicast transmission transmitter 1435 may transmit an aggregate signal based unicast transmission using the first antenna array of the wireless relay. In some examples, the unicast transmission transmitter 1435 may transmit a second unicast transmission based on the aggregated signal using the first antenna array of the wireless relay. In some examples, the unicast transmission transmitter 1435 may transmit the unicast transmission in a single beamforming direction.

The signal path switching component 1440 may switch a signal path within the wireless relay from a downlink configuration to an uplink configuration, where switching the signal path occurs after transmitting the multicast transmission and before receiving the transmission from the first UE and the transmission from the second UE.

Signal processing component 1445 may process the aggregate signal and the signal received via the unicast transmission using at least one of the same LNA, the same PA, or the same PA driver. In some examples, signal processing component 1445 may process signals received via unicast transmission based on the first set of LNA, PA, and PA drivers. In some examples, signal processing component 1445 may process the aggregated signal based on the second set of LNAs, PAs, and PA drivers.

The butler matrix component 1450 may generate the first signal and the second signal using a beamforming network based on the butler matrix and coupled with the second antenna array. In some examples, the butler matrix component 1450 may route signals from a first antenna of the second antenna array to the first quadrature coupler. In some examples, butler matrix component 1450 may obtain a first signal associated with the first UE based on an output of the first quadrature coupler. In some examples, the butler matrix component 1450 may route signals from a second antenna of the second antenna array to the first quadrature coupler. In some examples, butler matrix component 1450 may obtain a first signal associated with the first UE based on routing the signal from the second antenna to the first orthogonal coupler. In some examples, butler matrix component 1450 may obtain a second signal associated with a second UE based on a second output from the first quadrature coupler. In some examples, the butler matrix component 1450 may route signals from a second antenna of the second antenna array to the second quadrature coupler. In some examples, butler matrix component 1450 may obtain a second signal associated with a second UE based on an output of the second quadrature coupler. In some examples, butler matrix component 1450 may obtain a first signal associated with the first UE based on an output from the second quadrature coupler. In some examples, butler matrix component 1450 may route a first signal associated with the first UE to a first signal path within the wireless relay. In some examples, butler matrix component 1450 may route a second signal associated with a second UE to a second signal path within the wireless relay.

Fig. 15 shows a flow diagram of a method 1500 of supporting a beamformed multicast repeater, according to aspects of the present disclosure. The operations of the method 1500 may be implemented by the wireless repeater 205 or components thereof as described herein. For example, the operations of method 1500 may be performed by beam controller 210, signal processing chain 215, antenna array 225, antenna array 230, or a combination thereof as described with reference to fig. 2. Additionally or alternatively, the operations of method 1500 may be performed by a communication manager as described with reference to fig. 12-14. In some examples, the wireless repeater 205 may execute a set of instructions for controlling the functional elements of the wireless repeater 205 to perform the functions described below. Additionally or alternatively, the wireless repeater 205 may use dedicated hardware to perform aspects of the functions described below.

At 1505, the wireless relay 205 may receive a unicast transmission via directional beamforming at a first antenna array of the wireless relay. 1505 may be performed in accordance with the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operation of 1505 may be performed by a unicast transmission receiver as described with reference to fig. 12-14 or by an antenna array 225 as described with reference to fig. 2. Additionally or alternatively, the means for performing 1505 may include, for example, the receiver 1210, the communication manager 1215, the transmitter 1220, the receiver 1310, the communication manager 1315, the transmitter 1350, or a combination thereof.

At 1510, the wireless relay 205 may map the unicast transmission to a set of beamforming directions for transmission by the wireless relay. 1510 may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 1510 may be performed by a unicast transmission mapper as described with reference to fig. 12-14 or by the beam controller 210 and/or the signal processing chain 215 as described with reference to fig. 2. Additionally or alternatively, the means for performing 1510 may include, for example, the receiver 1210, the communication manager 1215, the transmitter 1220, the receiver 1310, the communication manager 1315, the transmitter 1350, or a combination thereof.

At 1515, the wireless relay 205 may transmit a multicast transmission to the set of UEs over the set of beamforming directions using at least a second antenna array of the wireless relay, the multicast transmission based on the unicast transmission. 1515 the operations may be performed in accordance with the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operation of 1515 may be performed by a multicast transmission transmitter as described with reference to fig. 12-14 or by the antenna array 230 as described with reference to fig. 2. Additionally or alternatively, the means for performing 1515 may include, for example, the receiver 1210, the communication manager 1215, the transmitter 1220, the receiver 1310, the communication manager 1315, the transmitter 1350, or a combination thereof.

Fig. 16 shows a flow diagram of a method 1600 of supporting a beamformed multicast repeater, according to aspects of the present disclosure. The operations of the method 1600 may be implemented by the wireless repeater 205 or components thereof as described herein. For example, the operations of method 1600 may be performed by beam controller 210, signal processing chain 215, antenna array 225, antenna array 230, or a combination thereof as described with reference to fig. 2. Additionally or alternatively, the operations of method 1600 may be performed by a communication manager as described with reference to fig. 12-14. In some examples, the wireless repeater 205 may execute a set of instructions for controlling the functional elements of the wireless repeater 205 to perform the functions described below. Additionally or alternatively, the wireless repeater 205 may use dedicated hardware to perform aspects of the functions described below.

At 1605, the wireless relay 205 may receive a unicast transmission via directional beamforming at a first antenna array of the wireless relay. 1605 may be performed in accordance with the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operation of 1605 may be performed by a unicast transmission receiver as described with reference to fig. 12-14 or by an antenna array 225 as described with reference to fig. 2. Additionally or alternatively, the means for performing 1605 may include, for example, the receiver 1210, the communication manager 1215, the transmitter 1220, the receiver 1310, the communication manager 1315, the transmitter 1350, or a combination thereof.

At 1610, the wireless relay 205 may map the unicast transmission to a set of beamforming directions for transmission by the wireless relay. 1610 may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 1610 may be performed by a unicast transmission mapper as described with reference to fig. 12-14 or by the beam controller 210 and/or the signal processing chain 215 as described with reference to fig. 2. Additionally or alternatively, the means for performing 1610 may include, for example, the receiver 1210, the communication manager 1215, the transmitter 1220, the receiver 1310, the communication manager 1315, the transmitter 1350, or a combination thereof.

At 1615, the wireless relay 205 may retransmit the signal received via the unicast transmission in each beamforming direction in the set of beamforming directions. 1615 may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operation of 1615 may be performed by a multicast transmission transmitter as described with reference to fig. 12-14 or by an antenna array 230 as described with reference to fig. 2. Additionally or alternatively, the means for performing 1615 may include, for example, the receiver 1210, the communication manager 1215, the transmitter 1220, the receiver 1310, the communication manager 1315, the transmitter 1350, or a combination thereof.

Fig. 17 shows a flow diagram of a method 1700 of supporting a beamformed multicast repeater, according to aspects of the present disclosure. The operations of the method 1700 may be implemented by the wireless repeater 205 or components thereof as described herein. For example, the operations of method 1700 may be performed by beam controller 210, signal processing chain 215, antenna array 225, antenna array 230, or a combination thereof as described with reference to fig. 2. Additionally or alternatively, the operations of method 1700 may be performed by a communication manager as described with reference to fig. 12 through 14. In some examples, the wireless repeater 205 may execute a set of instructions for controlling the functional elements of the wireless repeater 205 to perform the functions described below. Additionally or alternatively, the wireless repeater 205 may use dedicated hardware to perform aspects of the functions described below.

At 1705, the wireless relay 205 may receive a unicast transmission via directional beamforming at a first antenna array of the wireless relay. 1705 may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operation of 1705 may be performed by a unicast transmission receiver as described with reference to fig. 12-14 or by an antenna array 225 as described with reference to fig. 2. Additionally or alternatively, the means for performing 1705 may include, for example, a receiver 1210, a communication manager 1215, a transmitter 1220, a receiver 1310, a communication manager 1315, a transmitter 1350, or a combination thereof.

At 1710, the wireless relay 205 may map the unicast transmission to a set of beamforming directions for transmission by the wireless relay. The operations of 1710 may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 1710 may be performed by unicast transmission mappers as described with reference to fig. 12-14 or by the beam controller 210 and/or the signal processing chain 215 as described with reference to fig. 2. Additionally or alternatively, the means for performing 1710 may include, for example, the receiver 1210, the communication manager 1215, the transmitter 1220, the receiver 1310, the communication manager 1315, the transmitter 1350, or a combination thereof.

At 1715, the wireless relay 205 may route signals received via the unicast transmission to at least two signal paths within the wireless relay. A first signal path of the at least two signal paths may be associated with a first beamforming direction of the plurality of beamforming directions and a second signal path of the at least two signal paths may be associated with a second beamforming direction of the plurality of beamforming directions. 1715 may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 1715 may be performed by the unicast transmission mapper as described with reference to fig. 12-14 or by the signal processing chain 215 and/or the beam controller 210 as described with reference to fig. 2. Additionally or alternatively, the means for performing 1715 may include, for example, the receiver 1210, the communication manager 1215, the transmitter 1220, the receiver 1310, the communication manager 1315, the transmitter 1350, or a combination thereof.

At 1720, the wireless relay 205 may transmit a multicast transmission to the set of UEs over the set of beamforming directions using at least a second antenna array of the wireless relay, the multicast transmission being based on a unicast transmission. Operations of 1720 may be performed according to methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operation of 1720 may be performed by a multicast transmission transmitter as described with reference to fig. 12-14 or by an antenna array 230 as described with reference to fig. 2. Additionally or alternatively, the means for performing 1720 may include, for example, the receiver 1210, the communication manager 1215, the transmitter 1220, the receiver 1310, the communication manager 1315, the transmitter 1350, or a combination thereof.

Fig. 18 shows a flow diagram of a method 1800 of supporting a beamformed multicast relay according to aspects of the present disclosure. The operations of method 1800 may be implemented by the wireless repeater 205 or components thereof as described herein. For example, the operations of method 1800 may be performed by beam controller 210, signal processing chain 215, antenna array 225, antenna array 230, or a combination thereof as described with reference to fig. 2. Additionally or alternatively, the operations of method 1800 may be performed by a communications manager as described with reference to fig. 12-14. In some examples, the wireless repeater 205 may execute a set of instructions for controlling the functional elements of the wireless repeater 205 to perform the functions described below. Additionally or alternatively, the wireless repeater 205 may use dedicated hardware to perform aspects of the functions described below.

At 1805, the wireless relay 205 may receive a unicast transmission via directional beamforming at a first antenna array of the wireless relay. 1805 may be performed in accordance with the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 1805 may be performed by a unicast transmission receiver as described with reference to fig. 12-14 or by an antenna array 225 as described with reference to fig. 2. Additionally or alternatively, the means for performing 1805 may include, for example, the receiver 1210, the communication manager 1215, the transmitter 1220, the receiver 1310, the communication manager 1315, the transmitter 1350, or a combination thereof.

At 1810, the wireless relay 205 may map the unicast transmission to a set of beamforming directions for transmission by the wireless relay. 1810 may be performed in accordance with the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 1810 may be performed by a unicast transmission mapper as described with reference to fig. 12-14 or by the beam controller 210 and/or the signal processing chain 215 as described with reference to fig. 2. Additionally or alternatively, means for performing 1810 may include, for example, the receiver 1210, the communication manager 1215, the transmitter 1220, the receiver 1310, the communication manager 1315, the transmitter 1350, or a combination thereof.

At 1815, the wireless relay 205 may transmit a first portion of the multicast transmission in a first beamforming direction of the set of beamforming directions using a second antenna array of the wireless relay 205. 1815 may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 1815 may be performed by a multicast transmission transmitter as described with reference to fig. 12-14 or by an antenna array associated with the first signal path as described with reference to fig. 2. Additionally or alternatively, means for performing 1815 may include, for example, receiver 1210, communication manager 1215, transmitter 1220, receiver 1310, communication manager 1315, transmitter 1350, or a combination thereof.

At 1820, the wireless repeater 205 may transmit a second portion of the multicast transmission in a second beamforming direction of the set of beamforming directions using a third antenna array of the wireless repeater. 1820 the operations may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 1820 may be performed by a multicast transmission transmitter as described with reference to fig. 12-14 or by an antenna array associated with the second signal path as described with reference to fig. 2. Additionally or alternatively, the means for performing 1820 may include, for example, the receiver 1210, the communication manager 1215, the transmitter 1220, the receiver 1310, the communication manager 1315, the transmitter 1350, or a combination thereof.

Fig. 19 shows a flow diagram of a method 1900 of supporting a beamformed multicast relay according to aspects of the present disclosure. The operations of the method 1900 may be implemented by the wireless repeater 205 or components thereof as described herein. For example, the operations of method 1900 may be performed by beam controller 210, signal processing chain 215, antenna array 225, antenna array 230, or a combination thereof as described with reference to fig. 2. Additionally or alternatively, the operations of method 1900 may be performed by a communication manager as described with reference to fig. 12-14. In some examples, the wireless repeater 205 may execute a set of instructions for controlling the functional elements of the wireless repeater 205 to perform the functions described below. Additionally or alternatively, the wireless repeater 205 may use dedicated hardware to perform aspects of the functions described below.

At 1905, the wireless relay 205 may receive a unicast transmission via directional beamforming at a first antenna array of the wireless relay. 1905 may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operation of 1905 may be performed by a unicast transmission receiver as described with reference to fig. 12-14 or an antenna array 225 as described with reference to fig. 2. Additionally or alternatively, the means for performing 1905 may include, for example, the receiver 1210, the communication manager 1215, the transmitter 1220, the receiver 1310, the communication manager 1315, the transmitter 1350, or a combination thereof.

At 1910, the wireless relay 205 can map the unicast transmission to a set of beamforming directions for transmission by the wireless relay. 1910 may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 1910 may be performed by a unicast transmission mapper as described with reference to fig. 12-14 or by beam controller 210 and/or signal processing chain 215 as described with reference to fig. 2. Additionally or alternatively, the means for performing 1910 may include, for example, the receiver 1210, the communication manager 1215, the transmitter 1220, the receiver 1310, the communication manager 1315, the transmitter 1350, or a combination thereof.

At 1915, the wireless relay 205 may transmit a multicast transmission to the set of UEs over the set of beamforming directions using at least a second antenna array of the wireless relay, the multicast transmission based on the unicast transmission. 1915 may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 1915 may be performed by a multicast transmission transmitter as described with reference to fig. 12-14 or by the antenna array 230 as described with reference to fig. 2. Additionally or alternatively, the means for performing 1915 may include, for example, the receiver 1210, the communication manager 1215, the transmitter 1220, the receiver 1310, the communication manager 1315, the transmitter 1350, or a combination thereof.

At 1920, the wireless relay 205 may receive a first transmission from a first UE of the set of UEs in a first beamforming direction of the set at a second antenna array of the wireless relay. The operations of 1920 may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 1920 may be performed by the UE transmit receiver as described with reference to fig. 12-14 or by the antenna array 230 as described with reference to fig. 2. Additionally or alternatively, the means for performing 1920 may include, for example, the receiver 1210, the communication manager 1215, the transmitter 1220, the receiver 1310, the communication manager 1315, the transmitter 1350, or a combination thereof.

At 1925, the wireless relay 205 may receive a second transmission from a second UE of the set of UEs in a second beamforming direction of the set at a second antenna array of the wireless relay. 1925 the operations may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operation of 1925 may be performed by the UE transmit receiver as described with reference to fig. 12-14 or by the antenna array 230 as described with reference to fig. 2. Additionally or alternatively, the means for performing 1925 may include, for example, the receiver 1210, the communication manager 1215, the transmitter 1220, the receiver 1310, the communication manager 1315, the transmitter 1350, or a combination thereof.

At 1930, the wireless repeater 205 can aggregate the first signal received via the first transmission and the second signal received via the second transmission to form an aggregated signal. 1930 operations may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operation of 1930 may be performed by the signal aggregator as described with reference to fig. 12-14 or by the signal processing chain 215 and/or beam controller 210 as described with reference to fig. 2. Additionally or alternatively, the means for performing 1930 may include, for example, the receiver 1210, the communication manager 1215, the transmitter 1220, the receiver 1310, the communication manager 1315, the transmitter 1350, or a combination thereof.

At 1935, the wireless relay 205 may transmit a second unicast transmission based on the aggregated signal using the first antenna array of the wireless relay. 1935 the operations may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operation of 1935 may be performed by a unicast transmission transmitter as described with reference to fig. 12-14 or by an antenna array 225 as described with reference to fig. 2. Additionally or alternatively, the means for performing 1935 may include, for example, the receiver 1210, the communication manager 1215, the transmitter 1220, the receiver 1310, the communication manager 1315, the transmitter 1350, or a combination thereof.

Fig. 20 shows a flow diagram of a method 2000 of supporting a beamformed multicast repeater, according to aspects of the present disclosure. The operations of the method 2000 may be implemented by the wireless repeater 205 or components thereof as described herein. For example, the operations of method 2000 may be performed by beam controller 210, signal processing chain 215, antenna array 225, antenna array 230, or a combination thereof as described with reference to fig. 2. Additionally or alternatively, the operations of method 2000 may be performed by a communication manager as described with reference to fig. 12 to 14. In some examples, the wireless repeater 205 may execute a set of instructions for controlling the functional elements of the wireless repeater 205 to perform the functions described below. Additionally or alternatively, the wireless repeater 205 may use dedicated hardware to perform aspects of the functions described below.

At 2005, the wireless relay 205 may receive a unicast transmission via directional beamforming at a first antenna array of the wireless relay. 2005 may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operation of 2005 may be performed by a unicast transmission receiver as described with reference to fig. 12-14 or by an antenna array 225 as described with reference to fig. 2. Additionally or alternatively, the means for performing 2005 can include, for example, the receiver 1210, the communication manager 1215, the transmitter 1220, the receiver 1310, the communication manager 1315, the transmitter 1350, or a combination thereof.

At 2010, the wireless relay 205 may map the unicast transmission to a set of beamforming directions for transmission by the wireless relay. The operations of 2010 may be performed in accordance with the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 2010 may be performed by a unicast transmission mapper as described with reference to fig. 12-14 or by beam controller 210 and/or signal processing chain 215 as described with reference to fig. 2. Additionally or alternatively, the means for performing 2010 may include, for example, the receiver 1210, the communication manager 1215, the transmitter 1220, the receiver 1310, the communication manager 1315, the transmitter 1350, or a combination thereof.

At 2015, the wireless relay 205 may receive additional unicast transmissions including control information at the wireless relay at a lower frequency than the unicast transmissions. The operations of 2015 may be performed according to methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 2015 may be performed by a unicast transmission receiver as described with reference to fig. 12-14 or by RF component 245 as described with reference to fig. 2. Additionally or alternatively, the means for performing 2015 may include, for example, the receiver 1210, the communication manager 1215, the transmitter 1220, the receiver 1310, the communication manager 1315, the transmitter 1350, or a combination thereof.

At 2020, the wireless relay 205 may transmit a multicast transmission to the set of UEs over the set of beamforming directions using at least a second antenna array of the wireless relay, the multicast transmission being based on a unicast transmission. The operations of 2020 may be performed in accordance with the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 2020 may be performed by a multicast transmission transmitter as described with reference to fig. 12-14 or by an antenna array 230 as described with reference to fig. 2. Additionally or alternatively, the means for performing 2025 may include, for example, the receiver 1210, the communication manager 1215, the transmitter 1220, the receiver 1310, the communication manager 1315, the transmitter 1350, or a combination thereof.

Fig. 21 shows a flow diagram of a method 2100 of supporting a beamformed multicast repeater, according to aspects of the present disclosure. The operations of the method 2100 may be implemented by the wireless repeater 205 or components thereof as described herein. For example, the operations of method 2100 may be performed by beam controller 210, signal processing chain 215, antenna array 225, antenna array 230, or a combination thereof as described with reference to fig. 2. Additionally or alternatively, the operations of method 2100 may be performed by a communication manager as described with reference to fig. 12-14. In some examples, the wireless repeater 205 may execute a set of instructions for controlling the functional elements of the wireless repeater 205 to perform the functions described below. Additionally or alternatively, the wireless repeater 205 may use dedicated hardware to perform aspects of the functions described below.

At 2105, the wireless relay 205 may receive a first transmission from the first UE in the first beamforming direction and a second transmission from the second UE in the second beamforming direction using at least a second antenna array of the wireless relay. 2105 operations may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 2105 may be performed by a UE transmit receiver as described with reference to fig. 12-14 or by an antenna array 230 as described with reference to fig. 2. Additionally or alternatively, the means for performing 2105 may include, for example, the receiver 1210, the communication manager 1215, the transmitter 1220, the receiver 1310, the communication manager 1315, the transmitter 1350, or a combination thereof.

At 2110, the wireless repeater 205 may aggregate the first signal received via the first transmission and the second signal received via the second transmission to form an aggregated signal. 2110 operations may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 2110 may be performed by the signal aggregator as described with reference to fig. 12-14 or by the beam controller 210 and/or the signal processing chain 215 as described with reference to fig. 2. Alternatively, aspects of the operation of 2110 may be performed by a first antenna array associated with the first signal and a second antenna array associated with the second signal. Additionally or alternatively, the means for performing 2110 may include, for example, the receiver 1210, the communication manager 1215, the transmitter 1220, the receiver 1310, the communication manager 1315, the transmitter 1350, or a combination thereof.

At 2115, the wireless relay 205 may transmit a unicast transmission based on the aggregated signal using a first antenna array of the wireless relay. 2115 may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 2115 may be performed by a unicast transmission transmitter as described with reference to fig. 12-14 or an antenna array 225 as described with reference to fig. 2. Additionally or alternatively, the means for performing 2115 may include, for example, the receiver 1210, the communication manager 1215, the transmitter 1220, the receiver 1310, the communication manager 1315, the transmitter 1350, or a combination thereof.

It should be noted that the methods described herein describe possible implementations, and that the operations and steps may be rearranged or otherwise modified and that other implementations are possible. For example, some or all of the operations and steps described herein (including but not limited to with respect to fig. 11 and 15-21) may in some cases be performed in a different order or at least partially concurrently (e.g., in parallel or otherwise during at least partially overlapping time periods). Further, aspects from two or more methods may be combined.

As used herein, a metamaterial may refer to any material having a tunable (configurable, adjustable) dielectric constant or magnetic permeability. For example, the metamaterial may be artificial (not found in nature), possibly using nano-fabrication or similar fabrication techniques. In some cases, metamaterials may alternatively be referred to as left-handed materials, electrically single negative (ENG) materials, doubly negative materials, negative index materials, or chiral materials. In some cases, one or more components described herein may be formed using (e.g., may include) one or more metamaterials (including, but not limited to, antennas, waveguides/transmission lines, switches, phase shifters, couplers, or duplexers (circulators), etc.). In some examples, one or more components of the butler matrix with reference to fig. 3 may include devices fabricated using metamaterials (e.g., waveguides/transmission lines, couplers (including quadrature couplers), phase shifters, and/or antenna elements). In one particular example, at very high frequencies (e.g., at or above 50GHz), some components of the butler matrix and/or other components of the wireless repeater (e.g., refer to wireless repeater 205 of fig. 2) may be fabricated using these materials due to the superior high frequency performance of the metamaterial.

The techniques described herein may be used for various wireless communication systems such as Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA), Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA), Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA), single carrier frequency division multiple access (SC-FDMA), and others. A CDMA system may implement a radio technology such as CDMA2000, Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (UTRA), etc. CDMA2000 covers IS-2000, IS-95 and IS-856 standards. The IS-2000 version may be generally referred to as CDMA 20001X, 1X, etc. IS-856(TIA-856) IS commonly referred to as CDMA 20001 xEV-DO, High Rate Packet Data (HRPD), etc. UTRA includes wideband CDMA (wcdma) and other variants of CDMA. TDMA systems may implement radio technologies such as global system for mobile communications (GSM).

The OFDMA system may implement radio technologies such as Ultra Mobile Broadband (UMB), evolved UTRA (E-UTRA), Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE)802.11(Wi-Fi), IEEE 802.16(WiMAX), IEEE 802.20, Flash-OFDM, etc. UTRA and E-UTRA are part of the Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS). LTE, LTE-A and LTE-A Pro are versions of UMTS that use E-UTRA. UTRA, E-UTRA, UMTS, LTE-A, LTE-A Pro, NR, and GSM are described in literature from an organization named "third Generation partnership project" (3 GPP). CDMA2000 and UMB are described in documents from an organization named "third generation partnership project 2" (3GPP 2). The techniques described herein may be used for both the systems and radio technologies mentioned herein and for other systems and radio technologies. Although aspects of the LTE, LTE-A, LTE-A Pro or NR system may be described for exemplary purposes and LTE, LTE-A, LTE-A Pro or NR terminology may be used in much of the description, the techniques described herein may also be applied to applications other than LTE, LTE-A, LTE-A Pro or NR applications.

A macro cell generally covers a relatively large geographic area (e.g., several kilometers in radius) and may allow unrestricted access by UEs with service subscriptions with the network provider. A small cell may be associated with a lower power base station (as compared to a macro cell), and the small cell may operate in the same or a different (e.g., licensed, unlicensed, etc.) frequency band than the macro cell. According to various examples, a small cell may include a picocell, a femtocell, and a microcell. A picocell, for example, may cover a small geographic area and may allow unrestricted access by UEs with service subscriptions with the network provider. A femtocell may also cover a smaller geographic area (e.g., a residence) and may provide restricted access by UEs associated with the femtocell (e.g., UEs in a Closed Subscriber Group (CSG), UEs of users in the residence, etc.). The eNB for a macro cell may be referred to as a macro eNB. An eNB for a small cell may be referred to as a small cell eNB, pico eNB, femto eNB, or home eNB. An eNB may support one or more (e.g., two, three, four, etc.) cells and may also support communication using one or more component carriers.

The wireless communication systems described herein may support synchronous or asynchronous operation. For synchronous operation, each base station may have similar frame timing, and transmissions from different base stations may be approximately aligned in time. For asynchronous operation, each base station may have different frame timing, and transmissions from different base stations may not be aligned in time. The techniques described herein may be used for synchronous or asynchronous operations.

Information and signals described herein may be represented using any of a variety of different technologies and techniques. For example, data, instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, symbols, and chips that may be referenced throughout the description may be represented by voltages, currents, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or particles, optical fields or particles, or any combination thereof.

The various illustrative blocks and modules described in connection with the disclosure herein may be implemented or performed with a general purpose processor, a DSP, an ASIC, an FPGA or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof designed to perform the functions described herein. A general purpose processor may be a microprocessor, but in the alternative, the processor may be any conventional processor, controller, microcontroller, or state machine. A processor may also be implemented as a combination of computing devices (e.g., a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, a plurality of microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in conjunction with a DSP core, or any other such configuration).

Where appropriate, the functions described herein may be implemented in hardware, software executed by a processor, firmware, or any combination thereof. If implemented in software executed by a processor, the functions may be stored on or transmitted over as one or more instructions or code on a computer-readable medium. Other examples and implementations are within the scope of the disclosure and the following claims. For example, due to the nature of software, the functions described herein may be implemented using software executed by a processor, hardware, firmware, hard-wired, or any combination thereof. Features that implement functions may also be physically located at various locations, including being distributed such that portions of functions are implemented at different physical locations. However, it should be understood that some aspects, such as the analog and/or RF blocks (components or groups of components), may not be implemented in software and may instead be implemented in hardware.

Computer-readable media includes both non-transitory computer storage media and communication media, including any medium that facilitates transfer of a computer program from one place to another. Non-transitory storage media may be any available media that can be accessed by a general purpose or special purpose computer. By way of example, and not limitation, a non-transitory computer-readable medium may include Random Access Memory (RAM), Read Only Memory (ROM), electrically erasable programmable ROM (eeprom), flash memory, Compact Disc (CD) ROM or other optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other non-transitory medium that can be used to carry or store desired program code means in the form of instructions or data structures and that can be accessed by a general-purpose or special-purpose computer, or a general-purpose or special-purpose processor. Any connection is properly termed a computer-readable medium. For example, if the software is transmitted from a website, server, or other remote source using a coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, Digital Subscriber Line (DSL), or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwave, then the coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, DSL, or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwave are included in the definition of medium. Disk (disk) and disc (disc), as used herein, includes CD, laser disc, optical disc, Digital Versatile Disc (DVD), floppy disk and blu-ray disc where disks usually reproduce data magnetically, while discs reproduce data optically with lasers. Combinations of the above are also included within the scope of computer-readable media.

As used herein, including in the claims, "or" as used in a list of items (e.g., a list of items accompanied by a phrase such as "at least one of" or "one or more of") indicates an inclusive list, such that, for example, a list of at least one of A, B or C means a or B or C or AB or AC or BC or ABC (i.e., a and B and C). Also, as used herein, the phrase "based on" should not be read as referring to a closed condition set. For example, an exemplary step described as "based on condition a" may be based on both condition a and condition B without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. In other words, the phrase "based on," as used herein, should be interpreted in the same manner as the phrase "based, at least in part, on.

In the drawings, similar components or features may have the same reference numerals. Further, various components of the same type may be distinguished by following the reference label by a dash and a second label that distinguishes among the similar components. If only the first reference label is used in the specification, the description may apply to any one of the similar components having the same first reference label irrespective of the second reference label, or other subsequent reference label.

The illustrations set forth herein in connection with the figures describe example configurations and are not intended to represent all examples that may be implemented or fall within the scope of the claims. The term "exemplary" as used herein means "serving as an example, instance, or illustration," and does not mean "preferred" or "advantageous over other examples. The detailed description includes specific details to provide an understanding of the described technology. However, the techniques may be practiced without these specific details. In some instances, well-known structures and devices are shown in block diagram form in order to avoid obscuring the concepts of the described examples.

The description herein is provided to enable any person skilled in the art to make or use the present disclosure. Various modifications to the disclosure will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the generic principles defined herein may be applied to other variations without departing from the scope of the disclosure. Thus, the disclosure is not intended to be limited to the examples and designs described herein but is to be accorded the widest scope consistent with the principles and novel features disclosed herein.