Combining cooperative relaying with spectrum sensing in cognitive radio networks

Abstract

In a network with dynamic spectrum access, secondary users equipped with frequency-agile cognitive radios communicate with one another via spectrum that is not being used by the primary, licensed users of the spectrum. We consider a scenario in which a secondary transmitter can communicate with a secondary receiver via a direct communication link or a relay channel, depending on the state of a primary transmitter. We develop a cooperative communications strategy that exploits the presence of spectrum holes both in time and in space by combining cooperative relaying with joint spatial-temporal spectrum sensing. A strategy based on pure temporal sensing alone uses the direct link when the primary transmitter is off, whereas a scheme based on spatial sensing alone uses the relay channel. Our numerical results show that the proposed scheme significantly reduces the average symbol error probability compared to schemes based on pure temporal or spatial sensing.