Intelligent Reflecting Surfaces for Enhanced NOMA-based Visible Light Communications

TL;DR

This paper explores how intelligent reflecting surfaces can improve the reliability of visible light communication systems using NOMA, especially under challenging conditions like blockage and device orientation, by jointly optimizing system parameters.

Contribution

It introduces the first framework for joint optimization of IRS and NOMA in VLC, demonstrating significant reliability improvements in challenging scenarios.

Findings

Enhanced link reliability with IRS in VLC-NOMA systems

Significant gains under blockage and random orientation

Joint optimization outperforms separate approaches

Abstract

The emerging intelligent reflecting surface (IRS) technology introduces the potential of controlled light propagation in visible light communication (VLC) systems. This concept opens the door for new applications in which the channel itself can be altered to achieve specific key performance indicators. In this paper, for the first time in the open literature, we investigate the role that IRSs can play in enhancing the link reliability in VLC systems employing non-orthogonal multiple access (NOMA). We propose a framework for the joint optimisation of the NOMA and IRS parameters and show that it provides significant enhancements in link reliability. The enhancement is even more pronounced when the VLC channel is subject to blockage and random device orientation.