This paper presents a promising solution to address the scarcity of spectrum resources and enhance spectrum efficiency in the context of cognitive radio (CR)-based soft-switching free-space optical (FSO)/terahertz (THz) radio frequency (RF) dual-hop amplify-and-forward (AF)–non-orthogonal multiple access (ROMANO) links. The impact of maximum tolerable interference power in the primary network, transmit power in the secondary transmitter, and maximum relay transmission power on the link are thoroughly studied. The numerical results ultimately validate the effectiveness of this link in improving performance, and a comparative analysis is conducted with the without-CR scheme, highlighting the distinctive characteristics of the proposed link.
