Zhao et al. / Front Inform Technol Electron Eng 2017 18(2):253-261
Joint throughput and transmission range optimization for
triple-hop networks with cognitive relay
*
Cheng ZHAO
†1
, Wan-liang WANG
†‡1
, Xin-wei YAO
1
, Shuang-hua YANG
2
(
1
College of Computer Science & Technology, Zhejiang University of Technology, Hangzhou 310023, China)
(
2
Department of Computer Science, Loughborough University, Loughborough LE11 3TU, UK)
†
E-mail: zhaoc@zjut.edu.cn; wwl@zjut.edu.cn
Received July 14, 2016; Revision accepted Nov. 10, 2016; Crosschecked Jan. 3, 2017
Abstract: The optimization of the network throughput and transmission range is one of the most important issues in cognitive
relay networks (CRNs). Existing research has focused on the dual-hop network, which cannot be extended to a triple-hop network
due to its shortcomings, including the limited transmission range and one-way communication. In this paper, a novel, triple-hop
relay scheme is proposed to implement time-division duplex (TDD) transmission among secondary users (SUs) in a three-phase
transmission. Moreover, a superposition coding (SC) method is adopted for handling two-receiver cases in triple-hop networks
with a cognitive relay. We studied a joint optimization of time and power allocation in all three phases, which is formulated as a
nonlinear and concave problem. Both analytical and numerical results show that the proposed scheme is able to improve the
throughput of SUs, and enlarge the transmission range of primary users (PUs) without increasing the number of hops.
Key words: Decode-and-forward (DF); Triple-hop; Cognitive relay networks (CRNs); Time and power allocation; Superposition
coding
http://dx.doi.org/10.1631/FITEE.1601414 CLC number: TN925
1 Introduction
The frequency spectrum is critical for wireless
communications. The Federal Communications
Commission (FCC) reports in its survey that the li-
censed spectrum is not fully used, with its utilization
ranging from 15% to 85% (Spectrum Efficiency
Working Group, 2002). Cognitive radio (CR) is con-
sidered a promising technology to improve spectrum
utilization. The technique allows secondary users
(SUs) to use the spectrum licensed to primary users
(PUs) when that spectrum is not fully used (He et al.,
2012; Guimarães et al., 2014; Jo et al., 2014; Liu and
Tan, 2014).
Cognitive relay networks (CRNs) were intro-
duced with the purpose of guaranteeing the quality of
service (QoS) and overcoming interference (Lee et al.,
2011; Zhang et al., 2016). SUs can transmit their own
data, and meanwhile guarantee the data transmission
of PUs. Amplify-and-forward (AF) and decode-
and-forward (DF) are the two main protocols of relay
systems. CRN systems can feasibly promote these
relay protocols by improving the spectral efficiency
and extending the transmission range. To implement
these benefits in a CRN communication system, the
efficiency of wireless resource allocation is important.
Moreover, the formulation for the optimization
problem may differ significantly in relaying protocols
(DF or AF), power constraints (total or individual
power constraint), and system architectures (dual-hop
or multi-hop). Several works have been devoted to
Frontiers of Information Technology & Electronic Engineering
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ISSN 2095-9184 (print); ISSN 2095-9230 (online)
E-mail: jzus@zju.edu.cn
‡
Corresponding author
*
Project supported by the Zhejiang Provincial National Natural Sci-
ence Foundation (No. LQ14F020005), the National Natural Science
Foundation of China (Nos. 61379123 and 61402414), and the Re-
search Program of the Educational Commission of Zhejiang Province,
China (No. Y201431815)
ORCID: Wan-liang WANG, http://orcid.org/0000-0001-6127-
4222
© Zhejiang University and Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2017