Cognitive Bidirectional Buffer-Aided DF Relay Networks: Protocol design and Power Allocation

In this paper, we consider bidirectional decode-and-forward buffer-aided relay selection and transmission power allocation schemes for underlay cognitive radio relay networks. First, a low complexity delay-constrained bidirectional relaying protocol is proposed. The proposed protocol maximizes the single-hop normalized sum of the primary network (PN) and secondary network (SN) rates and controls the maximum packet delay caused by physical layer buffering at relays. Second, optimal transmission power expressions that maximize the single-hop normalized sum rate are derived for each possible transmission mode. Simulation results are provided to evaluate the performance of the proposed relaying protocol and transmission power allocation scheme and compare their performance with that of the optimal scenario. Additionally, the impacts of several system parameters including maximum buffer size, interference threshold, maximum packet delay and number of relays on the network performance are also investigated. The results reveal that the proposed bidirectional relaying protocol and antenna transmission power allocation schemes introduce a satisfactory performance with much lower complexity compared to the optimal relay selection and power allocation schemes and provide an application dependent delay-controlling mechanism. It is also found that the network performance degrades as the delay constraint is more restricted until it matches the performance of conventional unbuffered relaying with delay constraints of three. Additionally, findings show that using buffer-aided relaying significantly enhances the SN performance while slightly weakens the performance of the PN.