On the performance of perfect and imperfect SIC in downlink non orthogonal multiple access (NOMA)

Non orthogonal multiple access (NOMA) is a new radio access technique considered to be a possible candidate for 5G and beyond. Recent studies confirm that it provides better performance gains as compared to the orthogonal multiple access (OAM) techniques currently in use. This paper investigates the performance of downlink NOMA using the ideal and non-ideal successive interference cancellation (SIC) conditions. The ideal and non-ideal SIC conditions are referred as perfect and imperfect SIC respectively in this study. The purpose of this study is to provide a more realistic analysis of SIC in downlink NOMA rather than considering the perfect SIC conditions. Simulation results are provided at the end of the paper in terms of bit error rate (BER) at the receiver end using both perfect and imperfect SIC.