Particle swarm optimization of the spectral and energy efficiency of an SCMA-based heterogeneous cellular network

Abstract

Background The effect of stochastic small base station (SBS) deployment on the energy efficiency (EE) and spectral efficiency (SE) of sparse code multiple access (SCMA)-based heterogeneous cellular networks (HCNs) is still mostly unknown.

Aim This research study seeks to provide insight into the interaction between SE and EE in SBS sleep-mode enabled SCMA-based HCNs.

Methodology A model that characterizes the energy-spectral-efficiency (ESE) of a two-tier SBS sleep-mode enabled SCMA-based HCN was derived. A multiobjective optimization problem was formulated to maximize the SE and EE of the SCMA-based HCN simultaneously. The multiobjective optimization problem was solved using a proposed weighted sum modified particle swarm optimization algorithm (PSO). A comparison was made between the performance of the proposed weighted sum modified PSO algorithm and the genetic algorithm (GA) and the case where the SCMA-based HCN is unoptimized.

Results The Pareto-optimal front generated showed a simultaneous maximization of the SE and EE of the SCMA-based HCN at high traffic levels and a convex front that allows network operators to select the SE-EE tradeoff at low traffic levels flexibly. The proposed PSO algorithm offers a higher SBS density, and a higher SBS transmit power at high traffic levels than at low traffic levels. The unoptimized SCMA-based HCN achieves an 80% lower SE and a 51% lower EE than the proposed PSO optimized SCMA-based HCN. The optimum SE and EE achieved by the SCMA-based HCN using the proposed PSO algorithm or the GA are comparable, but the proposed PSO uses a 51.85% lower SBS density and a 35.96% lower SBS transmit power to achieve the optimal SE and EE at moderate traffic levels.

Conclusion In sleep-mode enabled SCMA-based HCNs, network engineers have to decide the balance of SBS density and SBS transmit power that helps achieve the desired SE and EE.