Analysis and Optimization of Sensing Reliability for Relay-Based Dual-Stage Collaborative Spectrum Sensing in Cognitive Radio Networks

Aiming at multiuser cognitive radio networks in a harsh electromagnetic environment, cooperative spectrum sensing with single cooperation can hardly achieve to the desired detection performance. In this paper, a relay-based dual-stage collaborative spectrum sensing model (DCSS) that combines the distributed method with the centralized method is proposed. Furthermore, the optimality of the detection performance of DCSS is investigated in an efficient and feasible way. The optimal voting rule value and the optimal energy detection threshold are also derived by minimizing the detection error rate of the entire network. Finally, an efficient fast sensing algorithm for a large-scale cognitive radio network is deduced, which requires the minimal number, and not all, of cognitive radio users for DCSS while satisfying the target detection error rate bound. The simulated results indicate that when compared to the normal single cooperation method, the optimized DCSS method can reduce the number of cognitive radio user by 65 % while still meeting the detection error rate requirement of less than 1 %.