Adaptive threshold to guarantee both detection and false alarm probabilities in multi-taper based spectrum sensing

Abstract

The multi-taper spectrum (MTS) estimator enjoys a relatively low computational complexity and high estimation accuracy making it an attractive method for spectrum sensing in cognitive radio (CR) networks. However, it is difficult to guarantee both detection and false alarm probabilities when its design is based on fixed threshold, especially when the noise power fluctuates due to channel conditions. In this paper, a new adaptive threshold method to guarantee both detection and false alarm probabilities for MTS based spectrum sensing is proposed. By means of estimating noise power and signal power, the decision of adaptive threshold is able to adapt the noise fluctuation and achieve efficient trade-off between detection and false alarm probabilities. A closed form expression for the adaptive threshold is derived for both additive white Gaussian noise (AWGN) channel and multipath fading channel. Several metrics are employed to compare the performance of the proposed adaptive threshold method with that of the fixed threshold methods such as: error decision probability, detection probability, false alarm probability and throughput. The obtained results show that the proposed method achieves better spectrum efficiency and high throughput in comparison with the conventional fixed and adaptive threshold methods presented in the literature.