On the Performance of the Primary and Secondary Links in a 3-D Underlay Cognitive Molecular Communication

Abstract: Molecular communication often involves coexisting links where certain links may have priority over others. In this work, we consider a system in three-dimensional (3-D) space with two coexisting communication links, each between a point transmitter and fully-absorbing spherical receiver (FAR), where the one link (termed primary) has priority over the second link (termed secondary). The system implements the underlay cognitive-communication strategy for the co-existence of both links, which use the same type of molecules for information transfer. Mutual influence of FARs existing in the same communication medium results in competition for capturing the information-carrying molecules. In this work, first, we derive an approximate hitting probability equation for a diffusion-limited molecular communication system with two spherical FARs of different sizes considering the effect of molecular degradation. The derived equation is then used for the performance analysis of primary and secondary links in a cognitive molecular communication scenario. We show that the simple transmit control strategy at the secondary transmitter can improve the performance of the overall system. We study the influence of molecular degradation and decision threshold on the system performance. We also show that the systems parameters need to be carefully set to improve the performance of the system.