Non-orthogonal Multiple Access in a Downlink Multiuser Beamforming System

In this paper, we propose a non-orthogonal multiple access-based multiuser beamforming (NOMA-BF) system designed to enhance the sum capacity. In the proposed NOMA-BF system, a single BF vector is shared by two users, so that the number of supportable users can be increased. However, sharing a BF vector leads to interference from other beams as well as from the other user sharing the BF vector. Therefore, to reduce interference and improve the sum capacity, we additionally propose a clustering and power allocation algorithm. This clustering algorithm, which selects two users with high correlation and a large gain-difference between their channels, can reduce the interference from other beams and from the other user as well. Furthermore, power allocation ensures that each user´s transmit power is allocated so as to maximize the sum capacity. Numerical results verify that the proposed NOMA-BF system improves the sum capacity, compared to the conventional multiuser BF system.