Energy efficiency optimization for 6G multi-IRS multi-cell NOMA vehicle-to-infrastructure communication networks

Intelligent Reflecting Surfaces (IRS), software-controlled metasurfaces, have emerged as an upcoming sixth-generation (6G) wireless communication technology. IRS intelligently manipulates and optimizes signal propagation using a large-scale array of intelligent elements, enhancing signal coverage, increasing capacity, mitigating path loss, and combating multipath fading This work provides a new energy-efficiency model for multi-IRS-assisted multi-cell non-orthogonal multiple access (NOMA) vehicular to infrastructure communication networks. The objective is the joint optimization of the total power budget at the roadside unit (RSU), NOMA power allocation for the user equipment, and designing phase shifts for IRS in each cell to maximize the achievable energy efficiency of the system. Due to non-convexity, the original non-convex problem is first decoupled and transformed using block coordinate descent and successive convex approximation methods. Then, an efficient solution is achieved using Gradient-based and interior-point methods. We also consider two benchmark schemes: (1) NOMA power optimization at RSU with random phase shift design at IRS and (2) orthogonal multiple access power allocation with optimal phase shift design at IRS. Numerical results show the superiority of the proposed solution compared to the benchmark schemes. The proposed solution outperforms the benchmarks, demonstrating a 59.57% and 151.21% improvement over the NOMA and orthogonal schemes, respectively, at $p_{ct}=2$ dBm. Additionally, it shows up to a 10.43% better performance than OMA at 10 IRS elements.