Research on Energy Efficiency Optimization of Visible Light Communication Based on Non-Orthogonal Multiple Access

Abstract

As a contender in the competitive landscape of next-generation wireless communication technologies, visible light communication (VLC) stands out due to its potential for enhancing transmission rates and spectrum resource utilization. VLC offers various advantages, including license-free operation, high confidentiality, and cost-effectiveness. However, practical implementation faces challenges stemming from the limited modulation bandwidth of light-emitting diodes (LEDs), constraining system capacity and VLC communication rates. To address this limitation, non-orthogonal multiple access (NOMA) emerges as a novel multiple access strategy, particularly suitable for enhancing the capacity and communication rates of downlink VLC systems through power multiplexing. This paper delves into the energy-efficient design of joint LED association and power allocation (LA–PA) for downlink NOMA-based VLC systems. Through an analysis of channel capacity, we transform the non-convex energy-efficient optimization model, accounting for signal non-negativity, per-LED optical power constraints, and user rate constraints, into a convex form. Subsequently, we propose an iterative power allocation algorithm to attain solutions for the optimization problem with pre-established LED associations. Furthermore, we derive a feasibility condition for an LED association, considering signal non-negativity, per-LED optical power constraints, power constraints for successive interference cancellation (SIC), and channel gain between transceiver signals. This condition identifies feasible LEDs capable of maximizing energy efficiency (EE) when combined with the aforementioned power allocation algorithm. Finally, we illustrate the superiority of the joint LA–PA scheme in terms of the EE, transmission reliability, and transmission capacity performance gain over NOMA in the context of VLC.