Evaluation of spectrum usage based on peak excursion, using an off the shelf spectrum analyzer

In cognitive radio networks, spectrum sensing plays a crucial role in the discovery of spectrum opportunities for secondary systems (or unlicensed systems). The performance of spectrum sensing is characterized by both accuracy and efficiency, and more importantly the time taken to make a decision and also the complexity involved in doing so. In this work we propose a simple detection technique based on a peak excursion threshold. To go around developing this method, a reference spectrum is formulated which is void of missed detections using an improved energy detection method, and use it to compare decisions made by the proposed model. The model is modeled for false alarms making certain assumptions about missed detections. Later, the equations developed are verified for accuracy and efficiency over large data sets.