Resource Allocation Techniques in Cooperative Cognitive Radio Networks

In the past decade, cognitive radio and cooperative communication techniques have been proposed in the literature for efficiently utilizing the radio resources. Cognitive radio is an emerging technology intended to enhance the utilization of the radio frequency spectrum. The cooperative communication system, with the same total power and bandwidth of legacy wireless communication systems, can increase the data rate of the future wireless communication system. A combination of cognitive radio with cooperative communication can further improve the future wireless network performance. Efficient resource allocation in cooperative cognitive radio network (CRN) is essential in order to meet the challenges of future wireless networks. In this article, a survey of resource allocation in cooperative CRN is presented. We discuss the taxonomy of objectives and protocols used in the literature for resource allocation in cooperative CRN. This paper also highlights the use of power control, cooperation types, network configurations and decision types used in cooperative CRN. Finally, directions for future research are outlined.