Joint Channel Assignment and Adaptive Mode Selection in MIMO-Based Cognitive Radio Networks.

In this paper, we develop a joint channel assignment and adaptive Multi-Input–Multi-Output (MIMO) mode selection protocol for MIMO-based multi-channel cognitive radio networks. The proposed protocol utilizes the dynamic access capabilities of cognitive radio devices along with the multiplexing and/or diversity gains offered by MIMO systems in order to improve network throughput and communication reliability. The proposed protocol attempts at enhancing system performance by selecting the best MIMO operating modes (multiplexing, diversity, or hybrid multiplexing-diversity mode) for each idle channel according to the surrounding RF environment, and then selects the channel that provides the highest throughput. The network performance of our protocol (the overall network throughput and MIMO efficiency) is investigated under various traffic and network conditions through simulations. Compared to diversity-mode channel assignment, multiplexing-mode channel assignment, and adaptive mode selection with random channel selection protocols, our proposed protocol reveals significant performance improvement in network throughput under different traffic and network conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]