Reconfigurable RF receiver front-end for cognitive radio

A cognitive-radio (CR) radio-frequency (RF) receiver front-end architecture is proposed that allows for aggregation of spectral whites spaces. The architecture is able to exploit white spaces that are possibly spread over a wide bandwidth. Key components of the front-end are identified, having considerable impact on the performance of a CR system. Example implementations of those are discussed, including a dual-polarised dual-band antenna, a broadband low-noise amplifier (LNA), and a tuneable pre-selection filter.