5G NR DL and UL Physical channels:
Below is the definition of 5G NR DL and UL Physical channels, and a comparison between 4G and 5G.
-DL Physical channels
5G downlink physical channel corresponds to a set of resource elements carrying information originating from higher layers. This is a key component in understanding the 5G NR DL and UL Physical channels structure.
Downlink Physical channels in 5G:
-Physical downlink control channel (PDCCH): that carries DCI for downlink control information (DCI)
-Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH): that carries the user data and System information for user
-Physical broadcast channel (PBCH) which carries the necessary system information to enable a UE to access the 5G network.
Comparison between DL Channels in 4G and 5G
| PDSCH (5G) | PDSCH (LTE) | PDCCH (5G) | PDCCH (LTE) | |
| Purpose | Transmit DL Data | Transmit DL Data | L1/L2 Control
channel |
L1/L2 Control
channel |
| Waveform | OFDM | OFDM | OFDM | OFDM |
| Bandwidth | Numerology
dependent |
1.4/3/5/10/15/20
MHz |
Localized in
BWP |
Spread out in the entire bandwidth |
| Reference signals | Only UE specific signals (DMRS) | Cell specific or UE specific (Rel. 10) | UE specific (DMRS) | Cell specific (CRS) |
| Modulation | Up to 256QAM | Up to 256 QAM | QPSK | QPSK |
| Coding scheme | LDPC | Turbo | Polar | TBCC |
5G Uplink Physical channels
An uplink physical channel corresponds to a set of resource elements carrying information originating from higher layers. In fact, understanding uplink and downlink details is essential for grasping how 5G NR DL and UL Physical channels operate.
Uplink Physical channels are:
-Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH): Used for uplink control information, which includes: HARQ feedback acknowledgments, scheduling request, and downlink channel-state information for link adaptation.
-Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH): Used for uplink data transmission (by a UE).
-Physical Random Access Channel (PRACH): Used by a UE to request connection setup referred to as random access.
Comparison between UL Channels in 4G and 5G:
| PUSCH (5G) | PUSCH ( LTE) | PUCCH (5G) | PUCCH (LTE) | |
| Purpose | Transmit UL Data | Transmit UL Data | L1/L2 Control information | L1/L2 Control information |
| Waveform | OFDM or
SC-FDMA |
SC-FDMA | Filtered OFDM or
SC-FDMA |
SC-FDMA |
| Bandwidth | Depend on numerology | 1.4/3/5/10/15/20 | Many flexible formats in time/freq. | 1 RB in freq.
14 symbols time |
| Modulation | Up to 256 QAM | Up to 256 QAM | QPSK | QPSK |
| Coding scheme | LDPC | Turbo | RM/Polar | RM/TBCC |
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