Unified approach to performance analysis of energy detection in generalised fading channels

Formulated in the complex-domain, an exponential integral expression is presented for the generalised Marcum Q-function. Specifically, the generalised Marcum Q-function is represented as a finite-range single integral whose integrand is exponential in both parameters of the generalised Marcum Q-function. Consequently, this exponential representation leads to a unified moment-generating function (MGF)-based approach to performance analysis of energy detection in general fading channels. The MGF approach is generally applicable for energy detection with or without diversity in arbitrarily (maybe correlated) fading channels, provided that the MGF of the received signal-to-noise ratio is available.