Delay-Doppler Domain Spectral Shaping Multiple Access (SSMA) for Satellite Communications: A Unified Multi-Branch Framework

Non-orthogonal multiple access (NOMA) with successive detection receivers, e.g., successive interference cancellation (SIC), is a potential technology for satellite multi-user communication due to its lower complexity. However, within a spot beam, multi-user interference (MUI) is complicated by channel-induced time-frequency offset, while the path loss differences that the receiver relies on for MUI suppression almost disappear. To overcome the above obstacle, this paper exploits the delay-Doppler (D-D) domain circular shifting property under time-frequency offsets and proposes a D-D domain spectral shaping multiple access (SSMA) technique. By analyzing the influence of D-D domain spectrum on channel capacity, we identify that an enlarged inter-user power gap can be derived at the receiver by constructing a non-uniform D-D domain spectrum. Inspired by this, a D-D domain multi-branch structure-based shaping framework is proposed to flexibly construct the user-consistent power envelope. Meanwhile, two additional signal designs are introduced to ensure that the D-D domain information density and constellation fit to the constructed power envelope. First, by adjusting the transmission rate of the signal on each branch, we optimize the information density with a non-uniform pattern. Second, by introducing a branch-wise phase rotation and deploying an iterative variational approximation method, the shape of the composite constellation is reconstructed. In addition, we also design a branch-bundling-based successive detection receiver using an alternating direction method of multipliers. This receiver can flexibly combine detectable branch signals while maintaining the complexity close to the traditional SIC receiver. Analysis and simulation results reveal that the proposed D-D domain SSMA has a higher achievable rate and can provide $1\sim 4.5$ dB bit error rate performance gain compared to the typical D-D domain NOMA.