On the Ergodic Capacity of Underlay Cognitive Dual-Hop AF Relayed Systems under Non-Identical Generalized-K Fading Channels

Abstract

The ergodic capacity of underlay cognitive (secondary) dual-hop relaying systems is analytically investigated. Specifically, the amplify-and-forward transmission protocol is considered, while the received signals undergo multipath fading and shadowing with non-identical statistics. To efficiently describe this composite type of fading, the well-known generalized-$K$ fading model is used. New analytical expressions and quite accurate closed-form approximations regarding the ergodic capacity of the end-to-end communication are obtained, in terms of finite sum series of the Meijer's-$G$ function. The analytical results are verified with the aid of computer simulations, while useful insights are revealed.