Lifetime Maximization for Amplify-and-Forward Cooperative Networks

Power allocation strategies are devised to maximize the network lifetime of amplify-and-forward (AF) cooperative networks. The paper considers the scenario where one source and multiple partners cooperate to transmit messages to the destination. The powers emitted by the users are subject to the SNR requirement at the destination. First, the power allocation strategy that demands the minimum instantaneous aggregate transmit power of all cooperating partners is described and analyzed. The optimal solution results in a form of selective relaying; namely, the user with the best channel condition is selected to help in relaying the message. However, this instantaneous power minimization strategy does not necessarily maximize the lifetime of battery-limited systems. Then, three AF cooperative schemes were proposed to exploit the channel state information (CSI), the residual battery energy and the QoS requirement. It is shown that the network lifetime can be extended considerably by taking all these three factors into account.