Optimal Detection Thresholds in Spectrum Sensing with Receiver Diversity

We investigate the performance of receiver diversity techniques by considering energy detector based optimal spectrum sensing in cognitive radio networks over Rayleigh fading channel for both non-cooperative and cooperative communication systems. The analysis is first focused on the non-cooperative spectrum sensing part, including the analyses of selection combining (SC), equal gain combining (EGC), and maximal ratio combining (MRC) receiver diversity systems. We derive exact closed-form expressions for the optimal detection thresholds for each diversity scheme. By using these expressions, we present their detection performance compared to the no-diversity case. Then in the second part of this paper, the performance analysis of the proposed system is investigated for amplify-and-forward relaying spectrum sensing with SC, EGC, and MRC diversity techniques in Rayleigh fading channels. Particularly, average detection probability of end-to-end signal-to-noise ratio for SC and EGC schemes and the exact closed-form expressions of the optimal detection threshold for SC, EGC, and MRC schemes are derived. We also present detection performance for the cooperative system compared to the non-cooperative one. The analyses are validated by simulated receiver operating characteristic curves.