Initial Physical Cell ID Detection Time Using NR Synchronization Signals Based on System-Level Simulation

This paper presents the initial physical-layer cell identity (PCID) detection time or initial cell search time that satisfies the required PCID detection probability using the synchronization signal block (SSB) of the New Radio (NR) interface based on system-level simulations. We assume heterogeneous networks (HetNets) that comprise 19 macrocell sites consisting of 3 cells each with the carrier frequency of 4 GHz and 3 small cells within each macrocell using the carrier frequency of 30 GHz. We investigate the effects of the base station (BS) transmitter power, the number of antenna elements of a macro BS, and cell range extension on the initial PCID detection time. System-level simulation results show that an initial PCID detection time of shorter than 200 ms is achieved at the PCID detection probability of 95% in HetNets using 8 and 64 transmission beams at macrocell and small cell sites, respectively, for a set of user equipment employing 2-antenna receiver diversity.