This article is dedicated to DCI formats that are used in LTE downlink.

DCI stands for

downlink control information and there are various DCI formats used in LTE in PDCCH. The
DCI format is nothing but a predefined format in which the downlink control information is
packed/formed and transmitted in PDCCH. Below are more details on DCI formats,

Why are these DCI formats required?

Simple, it tells the UE how to get its data which is transmitted on PDSCH in the same
subframe. So DCI format transmitted in PDCCH, is like a map for a UE to find and decode
PDSCH from the resource grid.
The DCI format gives the UE, details such as number of resource blocks, resource
allocation type, modulation scheme, transport block, redundancy version, coding rate etc.
Each DCI format, when encoding is attached with a CRC that is scrambled with the a UERNTI to which the PDSCH is intended to. So only that UE can decode the DCI format and
hence the corresponding PDSCH. The packed DCI information is the payload to the
PDCCH encoding chain.
The DCI formats are further classified into downlink DCI formats and uplink DCI formats.
The different DCI formats are as below,

Downlink DCI Formats

Format 1 Used for scheduling a PDSCH codeword. Only a single
transport block can be scheduled here using resource allocation type0/type-1
Format 1A Used for scheduling a PDSCH codeword. Only a single
transport block can be scheduled here using resource allocation type2
(localized or distribtued)
Format 1B Used for scheduling a PDSCH codeword with Rank-1
assignment
Format 1C Very compact scheduling of a PDSCH codeword. A
single transport block can be scheduled using resource allocation type2
distributed always
Format 1D Used for scheduling Multi-user MIMO cases
Format 2 Used for scheduling of PDSCH in closed loop spatial
multiplexing
Format 2A Used for scheduling of PDSCH in open loop spatial
multiplexing
Uplink DCI Formats
Format 0 Used for scheduling of PUSCH (uplink grant)
Format 3 Uplink transmit power control with 2 bit power
adjustment

Format 3A Uplink transmit power control with 1 bit power

adjustment

The DCI formats are coupled with different transmission modes and resource allocation
types in downlink.

DCI is the format in which a UE in DL is sent the control info and this is scrambled with
proper RNTI to engage a proper UE for which the data is going to be sent in PDSCH.
Only the targeted UE (Who knows its Temporary Identity RNTI can decode this DCI frame
on PDCCH) can decode it and find out info related to its packet data on PDSCH.