Distributed Autocorrelation-Based Sequential Detection of OFDM Signals in Cognitive Radios

This paper addresses the problem of collaborative spectrum sensing using sequential detection (SD) in cognitive radios. The goal of sequential processing is to reduce the delay and amount of data needed in identifying underutilized spectrum. Each secondary user (SU) employs a simple and computationally efficient autocorrelation-based detector for orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) signals of the primary user (PU). The decision statistics from individual detectors are combined in a fusion center that may be a separate node or one of the secondary users. The statistical properties of the decision statistics are established. The performance of the scheme is studied by theory and simulations. A comparison of the SD scheme with the Neyman-Pearson fixed sample size (FSS) test for the same false alarm and missed detection probabilities is also carried out.