All about PDCCH and CCE allocation

PDCCH ( Physical downlink Control Channel

) :- This channel carries the control information about the data being transmitted on
the current subframe and the information about the resources which UE need to use for
the uplink data. That means it is mandatory for the UE to decode it successfully if it
wants to send some data or receive something.

After knowing PDCCH, I personally feel that it is the heart of LTE . So we should try to
understand it completely that:-

What information it carries?

Where it carries the information?
And for whom it carries the information?

PDCCH carries a message called DCI ( Downlink Control Information ) which includes
resource assignments for a UE or group of UE's. EnodeB can transmit many DCI's or
PDCCH's in a subframe. Actually enodeB need to send a lot of parameters to the UE for
its operation but there may be the cases that some information is not required for a
particular UE.

For Example:- Some UE does not support MIMO ( Multiple Input Multiple Output ), so
for that UE there is no need to send the MIMO related parameters because they will
increase the signalling overhead.

There comes in the picture the different formats for sending the information which are
called DCI formats. Even we would not like to have so many formats because they will
increase the complexity. So to cover the most useful cases we have following DCI
formats:-

DCI format 0 is used for uplink allocation, all other formats are used for allocating the
resources in downlink.

 Format 0 for transmission of resources to UE for sending their uplink data

 Format 1 for downlink allocation of resources for Single Input Multiple Output
(SIMO)case
 Format 1A for downlink allocation of resources for SIMO operation or allocating a
dedicated preample signature to a UE for random access
 Format 1B for transmission control information of Multiple Input Multiple Output
(MIMO) rank 1 based compact resource assignment
 Format 1C for very compact transmission of PDSCH assignment
 Format 1D same as format1B with additional information of power offset
 Format 2 and Format2A for transmission of DL-SCH allocation for closed and open loop
MIMO operation, respectively
 Format 3 and format3A for transmission of TPC command for an uplink channel
We will explain the structure of each format later with their sizes and thorough
explanation of their specific use.

Allocation of resources happens in terms of CCE ( Control Channel Elements ).

 1 CCE = 9 continuous REG's ( Resource element Group )
1 REG = 4 RE ( Resource Element )

CCE allocation for PDCCH :-

PDCCH uses the resources present in first n OFDM symbols where
n - Value present in PCFICH ( Number of OFDM symbols )

So the number of CCE's present to transmit the control information will be variable
depending on the

 PCFICH value
 Bandwidth of the system from 1.4 Mhz to 20 Mhz.
 Number of antenna ports present which in turn will effect the reference signals present.

Lets take an example for the number of CCE available calculation:-

Step -1 :- We need to find the total number of RE's available in first n OFDM symbols
where n is coming from the value of PCFICH.
Suppose n = 3

Total RE's = n * x * y

n - PCFICH value
x - number of subcarriers in 1 RB
y - total number of RB's considering 10 Mhz bandwidth

Total RE's = 3 * 12 * 50 = 1800 RE's

RE's for PDCCH = Total RE's -

Number of RE's used for reference signals -
Number of RE's used in PHICH -
Number of RE's used in PCFICH

CCE's available for PDCCH = RE's for PDCCH /36

as 1 CCE = 36 RE's.

eNodeB uses the PDCCH for sending the control information for a particular UE or a
group of UE's. It means eNodeB uses the PDCCH for some broadcast information also
which is common for all the UE's. So to make that process easier eNodeB divided its
CCE's into two parts which we call them as search space:

1. Common search space :- It consists of CCE's which are used for sending the control
information which is common for all the UE's .Maximum number of CCE present in
common search space is 16. For Example:- Common search space CCE's are used by
eNodeB for sending the control information of SIB's which is common for all UE's.
2. UE specific search space :- CCE's belonging to UE specific space are used for sending
the control information for a particular UE only. That means information present on UE
specific CCE's can only be decoded by a specific UE.
 eNodeB can also send the control information for a specific UE on the common search
space.

Lets suppose there are total 100 CCE's eNodeB has for sending the control information
combining both common space and UE specific search space.

Suppose enodeB has used 85th CCE number for a UE named ravan for sending his
control information.

Now how the Ravan will come to know which CCE he needs to decode for getting his
information. Either he needs to scan all 100 CCE's one by one and try to find the
information. This procedure will consume a lot of battery power for the UE. So to
simplify this process,

eNodeB has fixed some indexes for a particulat UE based on the rnti and the subframe,
so now ravan needs to find his control information only on those specific CCE indexes.

How eNodeB calculate those CCE indexes for

a UE:-
First we should be familiar with some terms used in this procedure:-

 Aggregation Level :- It is defined as number of CCE's used for sending a control

information. Its values can be 1,2,4 and 8. Suppose for UE named ravan eNodeB is
using some DCI format whose size comes out to be 90 bits after applying the code rate.
 Code rate:- It is mainly a physical layer funda for sending the information in a
redundant way such that chances of UE successfully decoding it gets increased.
As we know that :-

1 CCE = 36 RE's
1 RE = 2 bits ( For QPSK modulation)
4 bits( For 16 QAM )
6 bits ( For 64 QAM)

And eNodeB uses QPSK modulation technique for PDCCH ,

Number of bits in 1 CCE = 36 * 2 = 72 bits.

In the example for UE ravan eNodeb needs to send 90 bits , so it need to use
atleast 2 CCE's for the control information on PDCCH. It means it will send the control
information with aggregation level 2.

It is also possible that enodeB uses a higher aggregation level( more number of
CCE's) even if the bits transmitted on PDCCH are less. This happens when channel
conditions are bad , so to provide more redundant information to UE such that it can
decode the PDCCH.
 PDCCH candidates :- Number of CCE indexes serached by a UE in a subframe for a
particular search space. These values are fixed by spec 36213 as mentioned in table :-
 Search space Number of
Aggregation PDCCH
Type Size [in CCEs]
level candidates
1 6 6
UE- 2 12 6
specific 4 8 2
8 16 2
4 16 4
Common
8 16 2

 PDCCH Format :- There are four PDCCH formats available as shown below

The set of indexes searched by a UE depends on a formula given by spec as:-

where Yk is defined as

L - Aggregation level

A PDCCH consisting of n consecutive CCE's may only start on a CCE index fulfilling
i mod n = 0
where i = CCE number

For Example:-
eNodeB wants to allocate PDCCH for some UE or group of UE's on aggregation level 4 (
Means 4 CCE's are required), Then it can only allocate CCE's starting with indexes
which satisfies

(CCE index) mod 4 = 0

How to find CCE indexes on common search

space:-
As shown in table eNodeB uses only aggregation level 4 and 8 for the allocation in
common search space.

Maximum number of CCE's present in common search space is fixed as 16. If the total
number of CCE's available in the system are less than 16 for any bandwidth then all the
CCE's will be present in common search space.

The position of Common search space CCE's is always fixed starting from the first CCE
index.

For example:-
We have 100 CCE's belonging to PDCCH as shown above from CCE index 0 to 99.

As we know that starting CCE's are common search space CCE's , so in the diagram
green color CCE's are common search space CCE's from index 0 to 15.

Suppose eNodeB wants to allocate CCE's for SIB on common search space for
aggregation level 4
And we know that it should satisfy the formula
1. (CCE Index ) mod 4 = 0,

2. And from the table above , the number of PDCCH candidates ( starting CCE indexes)
for aggregation level 4 in common space can be 4.

By meeting the above two conditions 4 indexes will be supported by aggregation level 4
in common space as

CCE index 0 - will contain consecutive CCE's from 0 to 3

CCE index 4 - will contain consecutive CCE's from 4 to 7
CCE index 8 - will contain consecutive CCE's from 8 - 11
CCE index 12 - will contain consecutive CCE's from 12 -15

Similarly if eNodeB wants to allocate with aggregation level 8, then possible indexes
meeting the two conditions will be

CCE index 0 - will contain consecutive CCE's from 0 to 7

CCE index 8 - will contain consecutive CCE's from 8 to 15

As we know that UE does the blind PDCCH decoding , means it does not have any idea
about the aggregation level or DCI format used by the eNodeB. So a UE in common
space needs to make

(4 try in aggregation level 4 + 2 try in aggregation level 8 ) * DCI format supported for
common space

only small sizes DCI formats are supported in common search space as 0/1A/3/3A/ and
1C

so if enodeB supports 1A and 1C DCI formats, so UE needs to do 12 tries maximum to

decode its PDCCH information.

How to find the CCE indexes in UE specific

search space in a subframe:-
According to the formulas in spec 36213 as:-
The set of indexes searched by a UE in a subframe is:-
where Yk is defined as

if k =0 , Y-1 = RNTI value for that UE ( As given in spec 36213 sec 9.1.1 )

A = 39827
D = 65537

Lets take an example:-

Subframe number = 0
Aggregation level = 1

We know from the table above that for aggregation level 1, number of PDCCH
canditates ( CCE indexes) can be 6.

Yk = (A * Yk-1 ) mod D
k = subframe number
As k = 0
Yk-1 = RNTI value for that UE, lets suppose its 100.
Yk = (39827 * 100) mod 65537
= 50480

CCE index =

L = aggregation level
i = 0 to (Aggregation Level - 1)
Ncce = Number of CCE's available for PDCCH ( suppose 100)
m' = 0 to ( Number of PDCCH canditates -1 )
CCE index = 1 { (50480 + 0 ) mod (100/1)} + 0
= 80

So first CCE index for aggregation level 1 for this UE in subframe 0 will be 80.

Lets calculate next CCE index for the same UE in the same subframe.

Yk value changes with the subframe only so withion the subframe same value will be
used.

CCE index = 1 { ( 50480 + 1 ) mod ( 100 /1 )} + 0

= 81

Similarly you can calculate the remaining CCE indices for this UE in the current
subframe

Lets try to find the CCE indices for subframe 1 now with aggregation level 2:-

As we know that Yk value changes with subframe

Yk = (A * Yk-1) mod D
= (39827 * 50480) mod 65537
 = 53948
Yk-1 will be the value calculated for subframe 0
For aggregation level two also
m' will be 0 to 5 as number of PDCCH candidates are 6 for aggregation level 2
CCE index = 2 {(53948 + 0) mod (100/2)} + 0
=96
As in Aggregation level 2, two CCE's will be allocated for the same PDCCh candidate

Second CCE will be = 2{(53948 +0)mod (100/2)} + 1

= 97
So first CCE index for this UE in subframe 1 for aggregation level 2 will be 96. This
PDCCH candidate will contain 2 CCE's with indexes 96 and 97.

In similar ways UE can find the CCE indexes available in all subframes for the different
aggregation levels.

CCE Allocation Examples:-

 If terminal A is using the CCE's 16 to 23 then terminal B cannot be addressed on

Aggregation level 4 as the CCE's are already blocked by terminal A.
 We can also notice that, CCE's 24- 31 belongs to both of the UE's PDCCH candidate set
for aggregation level 8. That means overlap can also happen but eNodeB can actually
use it for one terminal either A or B.
 For point 1 like case, common search space CCE's can be used to resolve the
contention. This is also another inportant use of common search space.
 It is also clear that first 16 CCE's are used for common search space in both
aggregation level 4 and 8.

How EnodeB decides which DCI Format to

use:-
It is decided by enodeB on the basis of transmission mode and the RNTI type used for
that particular PDCCH.

RNTI types:-

 SI- RNTI :- Used for transmission of system information messages.

 RA-RNTI :- Used for PRACH responses.
 P-RNTI :- Used for the paging messages
 C-RNTI :- Used for the transmission to a specific UE after RACH.
 T-CRNTI :- Mainly used during Rach.
There are tables present in spec 36213 in sec 7.1 which describes which format to use.

I am consolidating that information from spec in a easy way to understand.

 Usually all the common information gets scheduled in common search space with the
CRC scrambled with all RNTI's except CRNTI. We use DCI format 1A or 1C irrespective
of Transmission mode.

Please find the table for the mapping :-

 PDCCH order is also transmitted with DCI format 1A.

How EnodeB decides the Aggregation Level to
use :-
It is decided on the basis of size of DCI and the CQI (channel quality indicator ) value
received in uplink. The size of different DCI formats is defined in spec. After selecting
the DCI format we know the number of bits needs to send on PDCCH after applying the
code rate.
As we know that in 1 CCE 72 bits can be transmitted as QPSK modulation is used in
PDCCH. After considering the DCI size and the CQI value, eNodeB decides the
aggregation level to use or the number of CCE's required for the control information for
this particulat DCI.

Blind Decoding of PDCCH by UE :-

UE does the blind decoding because:-

 UE does not have idea about the CCE's used by PDCCH

 UE does not know the aggregation level used by eNodeB
 UE do not have idea about the DCI format used by eNodeB
Steps followed by UE for the blind decoding of PDCCH:-

After each blind detection UE checks the CRC with the corresponding RNTI. If CRC is
decoded successfully with that RNTI, UE can find the DCI format from the payload size
and the RNTI in that PDCCH .

Important points about PDCCH :-

 ULSCH PDCCH or DCI format 0 which is used for uplink grant is scrambled with Antenna
selection mask. It is done to intimidate the UE about the antenna port it needs to use
for its transmission.
 PDCCH shall be transmitted on the same set of antenna ports as PBCH.
 PDCCH is transmitted in starting OFDM symbols to save battery at UE.
 In one subframe or 1 ms, multiple DCI's needs to be send by eNodeB for sending the
data to different UE's.
 For 1 UE, eNodeB can send multiple DCI's if it needs to send data and give uplink grant
in the same tick.
 UE needs to keep on decoding CCE's if it is expecting more than one DCI's.
LTE PDCCH-Physical Downlink Control
Channel
This page describes LTE PDCCH channel or Physical Downlink Control
Channel with respect to LTE system. It is used to carry DCI (Downlink Control
Information). We get the information about number of OFDMA symbols used by
PDCCH after decoding PCFICH. The symbols are always at the start of each
subframe.
The REs(Resource Elements) allocated to PDCCH are grouped into group of 4
REs referred as quadruplets. RE quadruplets are grouped into CCE ( Control
Channel Elements). There are 9 quadruplets in one CCE. Hence 36 REs per
CCE. PDCCH uses QPSK which provides CCE capacity of about 72 bits.

There are total 4 PDCCH formats as described in document 3GPP TS 36.211.

The same is mentioned in table-1 below.
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https://nehakatyal

Table-1 LTE PDCCH channel formats

The PDCCH format is used as per required size of DCI. The DCI bits have 16 bit
CRC attached prior to rate-1/3 channel coding & rate matching modules. The
table-2 below mentions coding rate for each DCI and PDCCH format. coding rate
= number of DCI bits after CRC attachment/Capacity of PDCCH.

'

Coding Rate
DCI PDCCH PDCCH PDCCH
Format Channel Bandwidth DCI Bits after CRC Format 0 Format 1 Format 2

5 41 0.57 0.28 0.14

10 43 0.60 0.30 0.15

DCI-0,1A,3,3A 20 44 0.61 0.31 0.15

5 43 0.60 0.30 0.15

10 47 0.65 0.33 0.16

DCI-1 20 55 0.76 0.38 0.19

5 43 0.60 0.30 0.15

10 44 0.61 0.31 0.15

DCI-1B 20 46 0.64 0.32 0.16

5 28 0.39 0.19 0.10

10 29 0.40 0.20 0.10

DCI-1C 20 31 0.43 0.22 0.11

 5 43 0.60 0.30 0.15

10 44 0.61 0.31 0.15

DCI-1D 20 46 0.64 0.32 0.16

5 55 0.76 0.38 0.19

10 59 0.82 0.41 0.20

DCI-2 20 67 0.93 0.47 0.23

5 52 0.72 0.36 0.18

10 57 0.79 0.40 0.20

DCI-2A 20 64 0.89 0.44 0.22

Table-2: Coding rates for each DCI and LTE PDCCH format(BW-5,10,15MHz)

The number of CCE depends on channel BW and number of OFDMA symbols

allocated for PDCCH. The table represents the same assuming no quadruplets
have been allocated to PHICH and 4x4 MIMO is not used.

Channel BW
 OFDMA symbolsfor PDCCH 1.4 MHz 3 MHz 5 MHz 10 MHz 15 MHz

1 - 2 5 10 16

2 2 7 13 27 41

3 4 12 21 44 66

4 6 - - - -

Table-3 Maximum no. of CCE (Assuming 1 or 2 transmit antenna ports)

In Summary:
• This channel is used to inform the UE about the resource allocation of PCH
and DL-SCH

• indicating the modulation, coding and hybrid-ARQ information related to DL-

SCH

• Generally, a maximum of three or four OFDM symbols can be used for

PDCCH

• The information carried on PDCCH is referred to as downlink control

information (DCI)

• Uses QPSK modulation

 5G PDCCH
PDCCH Part-I
- January 07, 2019

What is PDCCH and what information does it carry?

Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) is a physical channel that contains control
information for the downlink data (DCI) to be sent to UE in the current subframe and UL grants
for the UEs that want to send uplink data.

In simple terms, PDCCH carries the Downlink Control Information (DCI) message which
indicates resource assignment for single or multiple UEs.

Where is PDCCH located in a subframe?

PDCCH occupies the first n (n = the value of PCFICH) OFDM symbols of a subframe (except if
1.4MHz bandwidth are supported; then PDCCH occupies 4 OFDM symbols). The exact number
of OFDM symbols occupied by PDCCH is given in PCFICH channel which occupies the first
symbol of a subframe.

One advantage of allocating PDCCH at the start of a subframe is that if a UE does not get
schedule in any subframe that time UE can switch off its receiver circuitry for that subframe.

Is it mandatory to read PDCCH for a UE to Upload and

Download data?

Yes, UE needs to decode PDCCH successfully if UE wants to upload/download some data.

How does eNodeB identify any information (regarding
downlink or uplink) to transmit to single UE or Multiple
UE?

During Attach process UE transmits UE capability info, using which eNodeB can transmit
supported DCI for single as well as multiple UEs.

Example: If UE A supports TM7 and UE B supports TM3/TM4/TM2 then EnodeB doesn’t

transmit supported parameter of B to A as that will increase the signaling overhead for UE A.

What is a CCE?

To carry a PDCCH, multiple consecutive CCEs (Control Channel Elements) are allocated
(allocation of resource happens in terms of CCE, it would vary with different conditions for
Downlink or Uplink in good or poor coverage, and the bandwidth available with the eNodeB).

One CCE = 9 consecutive REGs.

One REG (Resource Element Group) = 4 REs

So 1 CCE = 36 REs.

What are the factors on which the number of CCEs

required to transmit the control information depend?

 PCFICH value
 Bandwidth of the system (1.4 MHz - 20 MHz)
  Number of antenna ports which in turn will affect the reference signals present as well
as network condition.

How is the number of CCEs in a PDCCH transmission

calculated?

The number of CCEs in a PDCCH transmission depends on the PDCCH format which is a term
that represents the number of bits to be transmitted.

PDCCH format No. of CCEs No. of bits

0 1 72
1 2 144
2 4 288
3 8 576

How the number of bits to be transmitted is calculated

from PDCCH format?

No. of bits = No. of CCEs * no. of REG in a CCE * No. of RE in a REG * No. of bits in a RE.

Example:
1) No. of bits = 1*9*4*2 (eNodeB uses QPSK modulation) = 72 bits.

2) If No. of CCEs = 8 and QPST modulation (=2 bits) used

No. of bits = 8*9*4*2 = 576

Similarly, number of bits can be found for other formats.

 PDCCH
Physical Downlink Control Channel contains control information for
the downlink data to be sent to UE in the current subframe and UL
grants for the UE’s that want to send uplink data.

PDCCH occupies first 1, 2 or 3 symbols of a subframe(except in case

of 1.4MHz bandwidth supported when PDCCH can occupy 4 OFDM
symbols). Here 1,2 or 3 the exact number is given in PCFICH channel
which occupies first symbol of a subframe. 1 advantage of allocating
PDCCH at the start of a subframe is that if a UE does not get
scheduled it can switch off it’s receiver circuitry for some time of the
subframe.

PDCCH carries DCI(Downlink control information) message. Now,

how these DCI messages are coded and mapped to REs at eNB side
is a complex procedure. Similarly how the messages are decoded at
UE side needs to be understood. First, I’ll explain the flow followed at
each side and then we’ll understand the details of the flow.

At eNb(sender side):-

1. Find the total number of RE’s available for PDCCH allocation

2. From RE’s find total number of CCEs available
3. For a particular UE, generate a DCI message to be mapped onto
PDCCH
4. Find number of CCEs that can be allocated to this UE
5. Decide CCE index
6. Code this message to form coded DCI bits

At UE(receiver) side:-

1. Process first symbol of first subframe. This is PCFICH channel.

2. From 1. find how many symbols are used for PDCCH.
3. Calculate CCE index for PDCCH.
4. Decode PDCCH and find DCI.
5. From DCI, find location of PDSCH and decode it.

Now, lets get into details. Before explaining the steps I’ll first explain
the basic terms that will be used. First let us understand what is
a CCE. To carry a PDCCH, multiple consecutive CCE’s (Control
Channel Elements)are allocated.

A CCE = 9 consecutive REG’s(Resource Element Group).

A REG = 4 RE’s.

The number of CCE’s in a PDCCH transmission depends on

the PDCCH format. PDCCH format is a term that represents the
number of bits to be transmitted.

PDCCH format No. of CCE’s No. of bits

0 1 72

1 2 144

2 4 288

3 8 576

Table 1.

Let us see how no. of bits are calculated from PDCCH format.

For PDCCH format = 0,

no. of bits = No. of CCE * no. of REG in a CCE * No. of RE in a REG *
no. of bits in a RE = 1*9*4*2( Since eNodeB uses QPSK modulation)
= 72 bits. Similarly, we can find for other formats.

eNB cab also use PDCCH to send control information to all UEs i.e.
for broadcasting purpose. To simplify the procedure of decoding
PDCCH, CCEs are divided into 2 types of search spaces:-

1. Common search space– It is used for control information that is to

be sent to all UEs. Max number of CCE’s available in common search
space is 16.

2. UE specific search space– It contains CCE’s that are used to

send information to a particular UE.

Aggregation Level defines the number of consecutive CCEs used

for PDCCH allocation to a UE.

Search space
Number of PDCCH
candidates
Type Aggregation level Size [in CCEs]

1 6 6

UE-specific 2 12 6

4 8 2
 8 16 2

4 16 4

Common

8 16 2

Table 2.

A term PDDCH candidate is used in the table. A PDCCH candidates

are the number of CCE indices searched by a UE in a subframe for a
particular search space. Now you can map AL, PDCCH candidates
and CCEs. For ex, if AL is 8 in UE specific search space, 2 PDCCH
candidates are used, this implies 2 groups of CCEs is used each
containing 8 consecutive CCEs, hence, total CCE’s = 8*2 = 16.

Now let us move to explaining the details of steps.

At eNb:-

1. Find the total number of RE’s available for PDCCH allocation:-

No. of RE’s for PDCCH = Total RE’s – (No. of RE’s for PHICH + No.
of RE’s for PCFICH+ No. of RE’s for reference signals). Now, lets see
how the total RE’s are calculated. Total RE’s here refers to all RE’s in
first ‘n’ OFDM symbols, where n is the value in PCFICH. Total RE’s in
first ‘n’ OFDM symbols = n* total number of RB’s *number of
subcarrires in 1 RB.

2. From RE’s find total number of CCE’s available:-

 As discussed, number of CCE = RE’s/36. These are total CCE’s for all
the UE’s.

3. For a particular UE, generate a DCI message to be mapped

onto PDCCH:-

eNb can send many PDCCH/DCI in a subframe. Depending on the

purpose of control message( which can be different for different UE’s,
for ex, a UE may support SISO mode whereas other may support
MIMO mode), different DCI formats are supported. A DCI message
will contain all the information necessary to identify the resources
required to decode PDSCH and decode it. DCI formats:-

 Format 0 for transmission of Uplink Shared Channel (UL-SCH)

allocation. i.e. for providing ul grants.
 Format 1 for transmission of DL-SCH allocation for Single Input
Multiple Output (SIMO) operation
 Format 1A for compact transmission of DL-SCH allocation for SIMO
operation or allocating a dedicated preamble signature to a UE for
random access
 Format 1B for transmission control information of Multiple Input
Multiple Output (MIMO) rank 1 based compact resource assignment
 Format 1C for very compact transmission of PDSCH assignment
 Format 1D same as format1B with additional information of power
offset
 Format 2 and Format2A for transmission of DL-SCH allocation for
closed and open loop MIMO operation, respectively
 Format 3 and Format 3A for transmission of TPC command for an
uplink channel.

How eNB decides which DCI format to use for this UE is governed by
RNTI type and transmission mode. Following table contains this
information.
 According
to the DCI format, a DCI message is generated that contains all the
information mentioned earlier.

4. Find number of CCEs that can be allocated to this UE:-

For each DCI, number of bits that can be sent in that DCI is fixed.
According to the number of bits, number of CCEs and the
corresponding PDCCH format is decided as given in table 1. For ex, if
size of a DCI format is 80 then according to the table, 2 CCEs will be
used. Generally this mapping is available at the init time. It is also
possible that eNB allocates more number of CCEs than required by
the DCI format. This is done dynamically later when we get
information from UE. Like if channel conditions are reported bad, mac
will provide redundant bits to UE in the PDCCH to decode information
by soft combining or on receiving RI(Rank indicator) from UE, eNB
can decide number of CCE for that UE.

Rank Indicator is an indicator telling how well multiple antennas work

i.e. an indicator of how much interference is there between the
antennas.

5. Decide CCE index:-

eNodeB has fixed some indices for a particular UE based on the rnti
and the subframe. In Common Search Space- A PDCCH consisting
of n consecutive CCE’s may only start on a CCE index fulfilling
i mod n = 0 where i = CCE number

For Example:- eNodeB wants to allocate PDCCH for some UE or

group of UE’s on aggregation level 4, then it can only allocate CCE’s
starting with indexes which satisfies (CCE index) mod 4 = 0 Also from
table 2, number of PDCCH candidates for AL 4 are 4, hence, 4 indices
will be supported in common space as

CCE index 0 – will contain consecutive CCE’s from 0 to 3

CCE index 4 – will contain consecutive CCE’s from 4 to 7

CCE index 8 – will contain consecutive CCE’s from 8 to 11

CCE index 12 – will contain consecutive CCE’s from 12 to15

Similarly if eNodeB wants to allocate with aggregation level 8, then

possible indices will be

CCE index 0 – will contain consecutive CCE’s from 0 to 7

CCE index 8 – will contain consecutive CCE’s from 8 to 15

In UE specific Search Space– As per the specifications following

formula is used to determine the CCE indices for a UE:-

L = aggregation level i = 0 to
(Aggregation Level – 1)

Ncce = Number of CCE’s available for PDCCH ( suppose 100)

m = 0 to ( Number of PDCCH canditates -1 )

Yk = (A * Yk-1 ) mod D

k = subframe number

A = 39827

D = 65537

As k = 0 Yk-1 = RNTI value for that UE, lets suppose its 100.

Ex, Yk = (39827 * 100) mod 65537 = 50480

Let AL= 1.

CCE index = 1 { (50480 + 0 ) mod (100/1)} + 0 = 80

So first CCE index for aggregation level 1 for this UE in subframe 0

will be 80. To find next index only value of m i.e. PDCCH candidate
changes to 1. Similarly, eNB can find all CCE indices for a UE in it’s
AL.

It can happen that candidate set of indices for 2 or more UE’s can
coincide. But in that case, eNB can use it for only 1 UE.

6. Code this message to form coded DCI bits:-

A 16 bit CRC is added to the DCI message formed. The CRC is then
masked with an RNTI according to the owner or usage of PDCCH. If
the PDCCH is for a specific UE, the CRC will be masked with a UE
unique identifier, for example a Cell-RNTI (C-RNTI). If the PDCCH
contains paging information, the CRC will be masked with a paging
indication identifier i.e. Paging-RNTI (P-RNTI). If the PDCCH contains
 system information, a system information identifier i.e. a system
information-RNTI (SI-RNTI) will be used to mask the CRC.

At UE side:-

UE does blind decoding of PDCCH because:-

 UE does not have idea about the CCE’s used by PDCCH

 UE does not know the aggregation level used by eNodeB
 UE have no information about the DCI format used by eNodeB

i.e. the UE is not informed about the location of its PDCCH. It finds its
PDCCH by monitoring a set of PDCCH candidates in every subframe.
This is referred to as blind decoding.

1. Process first symbol of first subframe:

This is PCFICH channel. By decoding this UE comes to know the

number of symbols used for PDCCH.

2. Find the number of RE’s used for PDCCH:- This is calculated

using the same formula as used at eNB. No. of RE’s for PDCCH =
Total RE’s – (No. of RE’s for PHICH + No. of RE’s for PCFICH+ No. of
RE’s for reference signals). From RE’s total CCE’s can be
calculated.

3. Calculate CCE index for PDCCH:-

UE follows the same procedure as used at eNB. As discussed earlier-

For AL 4,
(CCE index) mod 4 = 0 Also from table 2, number of PDCCH
candidates for AL 4 are 4, hence, 4 indices will be supported in
common space as

CCE index 0 – will contain consecutive CCEs from 0 to 3

CCE index 4 – will contain consecutive CCEs from 4 to 7

CCE index 8 – will contain consecutive CCEs from 8 to 11

CCE index 12 – will contain consecutive CCEs from 12 to15

For AL 8, possible indices will be

CCE index 0 – will contain consecutive CCEs from 0 to 7

CCE index 8 – will contain consecutive CCEs from 8 to 15

As UE does not have any idea about the aggregation level or DCI
format used by the eNodeB. So a UE in common space needs to
make (4 try in aggregation level 4 + 2 try in aggregation level 8 ) *
DCI format supported for common space. To find CCE indices in UE
specific search space, UE applies the same formula as applied at
eNB.

4. Decode PDCCH and find DCI:-

Now, if after decoding the PDCCH candidates, UE finds no CRC error,

UE can decode the DCI.

5. From DCI, find location of PDSCH and decode it.