Unequal Error Protection SCMA Codebooks

This paper investigates the design of unequal error protection (UEP) codebooks for sparse code multiple access (SCMA) systems. We propose a joint low-density parity check (LDPC) code and SCMA codebook design approach by incorporating cloud partitioning of codewords in the design of SCMA codebooks with different protection levels. The protection levels of the SCMA codebooks could be optimized based on the existing error correction code. Simulation results show that significant gains could be obtained using code-aware UEP SCMA codebooks, compared to codebooks designed independently of the channel code.