On the Connectivity and Multihop Delay of Ad Hoc Cognitive Radio Networks

We analyze the multihop delay of ad hoc cognitive radio networks, where the transmission delay of each hop consists of the propagation delay and the waiting time for the availability of the communication channel (i.e., the occurrence of a spectrum opportunity at that hop). Using theories and techniques from continuum percolation and ergodicity, we establish the scaling law of the minimum multihop delay with respect to the source-destination distance. We show the starkly different scaling behavior of the multihop delay in instantaneously connected networks as compared to networks that are only intermittently connected due to the scarcity of spectrum opportunities.