New enhanced clear channel assessment method for IEEE 802.15.4 network

This paper proposed new enhanced Clear Channel Assessment(CCA) for IEEE 802.15.4 networks. IEEE 802.15.4 performs CCA which checks the channel status to avoid a packet collision. However, the CCA which is performed at the end of acknowledgement packet assesses the channel busy even though there is a chance to transmit a packet. The proposed method divides 8 symbols CCA into 4 symbols to avoid unnecessary decision of the busy channel. Through this proposed method, the throughput performance of IEEE 802.15.4 network is improved. To confirm the feasibility and usability of the proposed method, computer simulation has been performed. Simulation results show the proposed method is improving maximum 7% of throughput and decreasing maximum 1.78 of the average number of total CCA than original IEEE 802.15.4 CCA method.