Enhancing NOMA's Spectrum Efficiency in a 5G Network through Cooperative Spectrum Sharing

Non-orthogonal multiple access (NOMA) is one of the most effective techniques for meeting the spectrum efficiency (SE) requirements of 5G and beyond networks. This paper presents two novel methods for improving the SE of the downlink (DL) NOMA power domain (PD) integrated with a cooperative cognitive radio network (CCRN) in a 5G network using single-input and single-output (SISO), multiple-input and multiple-output (MIMO), and massive MIMO (M-MIMO) in the same network and in a single cell. In the first method, NOMA users compete for free channels in a competing channel (C-CH) on the CCRN. The second method provides NOMA users with a dedicated channel (D-CH) with high priority. The proposed methods are evaluated using the Matlab software program using the three scenarios with different distances, power location coefficients, and transmitting power. Four users are assumed to operate on 80 MHz bandwidths (BWs) and use the quadrature phase shift keying (QPSK) modulation technique in all three scenarios. Successive interference cancellation (SIC) and unstable channel conditions are also considered when evaluating the performance of the proposed system under the assumption of frequency selective Rayleigh fading. The best four-user SE performance obtained by user U4 was 3.9 bps/Hz/cell for SISO DL NOMA, 5.1 bps/Hz/cell for SISO DL NOMA with CCRN with C-CH, and 7.2 bps/Hz/cell for SISO DL NOMA with CCRN with D-CH at 40 dBm transmit power. While 64 x 64 MIMO DL NOMA improved SE performance of the best-use U4 by 51%, 64 x 64 MIMO DL NOMA with C-CH CCRN enhanced SE performance by 64%, and 64 x 64 MIMO DL NOMA with D-CH CCRN boosted performance by 65% SE compared to SISO DL NOMA at 40 dB transmit power. While 128 x 128 M-MIMO DL NOMA improved SE performance for the best U4 user by 79%, 128 x 128 M-MIMO DL NOMA with C-CH CCRN boosted SE performance by 85%, and 128 x 128 M-MIMO DL NOMA with D-CH CCRN enhanced SE performance by 86% when compared to SISO DL NOMA SE performance at 40 dB transmit power. We discovered that the second proposed method, when using D-CH with CCR-NOMA, produced the best SE performance for users. On the other hand, the spectral efficiency is significantly increased when applying MIMO and M-MIMO techniques.