Interference Protection in Cognitive Radio Networks

Protection of interference on the primary system is the key requirement for deployment of a cognitive radio system. Typically, spectrum sensing is interleaved in the transmission process of a secondary user to detect the return of primary user for quick evacuation, resulting in frequent stopping of transmission. In this paper, we introduce a novel method of agile spectrum evacuation that ensures continuous transmission by the secondary user until the primary user actually returns. The sensing process goes on simultaneously by a dedicated set of users working in a cooperative manner. The proposed method is evaluated under fading and shadowing conditions and better interference protection and improved utilization of RF spectrum is obtained.