  In traditional cognitive radio networks, secondary users (SUs) typically
access the spectrum of primary users (PUs) by a two-stage "listen-before-talk"
(LBT) protocol, i.e., SUs sense the spectrum holes in the first stage before
transmitting in the second. However, there exist two major problems: 1)
transmission time reduction due to sensing, and 2) sensing accuracy impairment
due to data transmission. In this paper, we propose a "listen-and-talk" (LAT)
protocol with the help of full-duplex (FD) technique that allows SUs to
simultaneously sense and access the vacant spectrum. Spectrum utilization
performance is carefully analyzed, with the closed-form spectrum waste ratio
and collision ratio with the PU provided. Also, regarding the secondary
throughput, we report the existence of a tradeoff between the secondary
transmit power and throughput. Based on the power-throughput tradeoff, we
derive the analytical local optimal transmit power for SUs to achieve both high
throughput and satisfying sensing accuracy. Numerical results are given to
verify the proposed protocol and the theoretical results.
