Abstract
Sparse code multiple access (SCMA) is a promising multiuser communication technique for the enabling of future massive machine-type networks. Unlike existing codebook design schemes assuming uniform power allocation, we present a novel class of SCMA codebooks which display power imbalance among different users for downlink transmission. Based on the Star-QAM mother constellation structure and with the aid of genetic algorithm, we optimize the minimum Euclidean distance (MED) and the minimum product distance (MPD) of the proposed codebooks. Numerical simulation results show that our proposed codebooks lead to significantly improved error rate performances over Gaussian channels and Rayleigh fading channels.