Wavelet-based spectrum sensing with improved thresholding for enhanced detection in cognitive radio networks

Abstract

Cognitive radio (CR) technology is an adaptive, intelligent radio and network technology that can automatically detect available channels in a wireless spectrum. Spectrum sensing is the most important component in CR due to its ability to sense and recognize parameters related to the radio channel characteristics. However, there are some spectrums that are not used known as spectrum holes. It is challenging to accurately identify these spectrum holes, especially when employing traditional energy detection techniques, which suffer from incorrect threshold selection at low signal-to noise ratio (SNR) levels. This work suggests a wavelet-based spectrum sensing technique in conjunction with an enhanced thresholding method to improve detection accuracy and decrease noise to overcome this constraint. MATLAB simulations are used for evaluating three threshold functions: hard, soft, and improved. The results indicate that the improved threshold achieves superior denoising performance and a higher detection probability compared to the traditional energy detection method. In this study, the energy detection technique was also implemented for comparison with the wavelet-based approach. The findings reveal that wavelet-based sensing consistently provides a higher detection probability (𝑃𝐷𝐸𝑇), demonstrating its effectiveness and reliability for cognitive radio (CR) application.