Nanoscale Communication Research Articles

Adaptive Control of Angular Sensitivity for VHF-Band Nano-Antenna Using CNT Mechanical Resonator

An adaptive control method of angular sensitivity for a VHF-band nano-antenna is presented. This antenna is composed of a single carbon nanotube cantilever immersed in a DC electric field. The behavior of the antenna is analytically described using a singly clamped metallic sphere model and the image charge method. We derive design guidelines for the direction and shape of angular sensitivity; the amplitude of the DC electric field is a key parameter for controlling the sensitivity. The analysis reveals that the most sensitive direction is tunable in the range of ${-\pi }$ /2 to ${\pi }$ /2. The shape of sensitivity can be manipulated to be omnidirectional or to correspond to a Hertzian-dipole-like antenna. This investigation is useful for adaptive control to suppress interference signals in nanoscale communication systems.

Capacity and Delay Spread in Multilayer Diffusion-Based Molecular Communication (DBMC) Channel.

In nanoscale communication, diffusion-based molecular communication (DBMC) in which information is encoded into molecule patterns by a transmitter nanomachine, has emerged as a promising communication system, particularly for biomedical and healthcare applications. Although, numerous studies have been conducted to evaluate and analyze DBMC systems, investigation on DBMC system through a multilayer channel has received less attention. The aims of this paper are to formulate channel characteristics and to evaluate the performance of multilayer DBMC channel in terms of delay spread and capacity. In this paper, the propagation of molecules over an n- layer channel is assumed to follow the Brownian motion and subjected to Fick's law of diffusion. Fourier transform is used to convert time to frequency domain functions. Besides, the multilayer channel is considered as a linear and deterministic channel. For the performance evaluation, the air-water-blood plasma medium representing the simplified multilayer diffusion model in the respiratory system was chosen. It was found that a high channel capacity can be achieved with wide transmission bandwidth, short transmission distance, and high averaged transmitted power. In addition, the findings showed that channel delay spread increases as both the transmission distance, and the pulse duration increased. By setting the symbol duration greater than the pulse duration or delay spread, an inter-symbol interference problem due to previous molecules transmission can be mitigated. These findings can be used as a guide in the development and fabrication of future artificial nanocommunication and nanonetworks systems involving multilayer transmission medium.

"Catch the Pendulum": The Problem of Asymmetric Data Delivery in Electromagnetic Nanonetworks.

The network of novel nano-material based nanodevices, known as nanoscale communication networks or nanonetworks has ushered a new communication paradigm in the terahertz band (0.1-10 THz). In this work, first we envisage an architecture of nanonetworks-based Coronary Heart Disease (CHD) monitoring, consisting of nano-macro interface (NM) and nanodevice-embedded Drug Eluting Stents (DESs), termed as nanoDESs. Next, we study the problem of asymmetric data delivery in such nanonetworks-based systems and propose a simple distance-aware power allocation algorithm, named catch-the-pendulum, which optimizes the energy consumption of nanoDESs for communicating data from the underlying nanonetworks to radio frequency (RF) based macro-scale communication networks. The algorithm exploits the periodic change in mean distance between a nanoDES, inserted inside the affected coronary artery, and the NM, fitted in the intercostal space of the rib cage of a patient suffering from a CHD. Extensive simulations confirm superior performance of the proposed algorithm with respect to energy consumption, packet delivery, and shutdown phase.

Characterization and performance analysis of a chiral-metamaterial channel with Giant Optical Activity for terahertz communications

Technology in the THz frequency band has progressed rapidly in the last few years. The THz frequency band offers greater communication bandwidth than microwaves frequencies, and is becoming a standard for nanoscale communications. Traditional channel models for lower frequencies do not take into consideration specific properties as the very high molecular absorption or the very high reflection loss. In addition, in a propagation medium exhibiting a Giant Optical Activity, it is also important to derive the characteristics of the channel affected by chirality effects. This phenomenon occurs in particular material known as chiral-metamaterials in the (4–10) THz band.The main contribution of this paper consists in the analysis of specific parameters of a chiral-metamaterial, such as the relative electrical permittivity, magnetic permeability and chirality coefficients. These parameters are considered for the channel model derivation both in Line-of-Sight and No Line-of-Sight propagation.The chiral effect affects the channel through the presence of spectral windows, due to peaks of resonance of chiral parameter. Performance analysis of the chirality-affected channel is assessed in terms of (i) channel capacity, (ii) propagation delay, (iii) coherence bandwidth, and (iv) symbol rates, for different distances and propagation modes.

Characterizing Nanoscale Transient Communication.

We consider the novel paradigm of nanoscale transient communication (NTC), where certain components of the small-scale communication link are physically transient. As such, the transmitter and the receiver may change their properties over a prescribed lifespan due to their time-varying structures. The NTC systems may find important applications in the biomedical, environmental, and military fields, where system degradability allows for benign integration into life and environment. In this paper, we analyze the NTC systems from the channel-modeling and capacity-analysis perspectives and focus on the stochastically meaningful slow transience scenario, where the coherence time of degeneration Td is much longer than the coding delay Tc. We first develop novel and parsimonious models to characterize the NTC channels, where three types of physical layers are considered: electromagnetism-based terahertz (THz) communication, diffusion-based molecular communication (DMC), and nanobots-assisted touchable communication (TouchCom). We then revisit the classical performance measure of ϵ-outage channel capacity and take a fresh look at its formulations in the NTC context. Next, we present the notion of capacity degeneration profile (CDP), which describes the reduction of channel capacity with respect to the degeneration time. Finally, we provide numerical examples to demonstrate the features of CDP. To the best of our knowledge, the current work represents a first attempt to systematically evaluate the quality of nanoscale communication systems deteriorating with time.

Guest Editorial Special Issue on the Internet of Nano Things

The six papers in this special section focus on the Internet of nanotechnology things. While researchers are currently investigating these challenges to develop fully functional nano communication systems, a question remains as to whether they can represent an extended communication network that is part of the broader Internet. These papers address new solutions for the Internet of Nano Things. The Internet of Things paradigm has transformed the way we operate our personal and professional lives, it is driving our economy and will continue to enable many new opportunities in broad research areas. As this pervasive and ubiquitous interconnection of our everyday life appliances continues into the future, new types of devices enabled by nano and biotechnology promise to push engineering to previously unexplored application domains, where the exchange of information and access from/to the broader Internet for their monitoring and control are even more essential. The research on nanoscale communication and networks aims to develop systems for interconnecting these novel devices at the nanoscale, i.e., the Internet of Nano Things.

An Analytical Model for Molecular Propagation in Nanocommunication via Filaments Using Relay-Enabled Nodes.

Molecular communication is a nanoscale communication method in which information is encoded in molecules. Molecular communication using microtubules in free space is one of the realistic scenarios proposed for this type of nanocommunication. Based on this technique, molecular communication via filaments using nano-relays is proposed in this paper to improve the performance of the system in terms of delay and bit error probability. An analytical model using jump diffusion processes is proposed for molecular propagation in this scenario. It is shown that the proposed mathematical model is capable of tracking molecular propagation in molecular communication via filaments using nano-relays. Also, the model is used to investigate effects of different parameters on delay and bit error probability.

A Molecular Communications Model for Drug Delivery.

This paper considers the scenario of a targeted drug delivery system, which consists of deploying a number of biological nanomachines close to a biological target (e.g., a tumor), able to deliver drug molecules in the diseased area. Suitably located transmitters are designed to release a continuous flow of drug molecules in the surrounding environment, where they diffuse and reach the target. These molecules are received when they chemically react with compliant receptors deployed on the receiver surface. In these conditions, if the release rate is relatively high and the drug absorption time is significant, congestion may happen, essentially at the receiver site. This phenomenon limits the drug absorption rate and makes the signal transmission ineffective, with an undesired diffusion of drug molecules elsewhere in the body. The original contribution of this paper consists of a theoretical analysis of the causes of congestion in diffusion-based molecular communications. For this purpose, it is proposed a reception model consisting of a set of pure loss queuing systems. The proposed model exhibits an excellent agreement with the results of a simulation campaign made by using the Biological and Nano-Scale communication simulator version 2 (BiNS2), a well-known simulator for molecular communications, whose reliability has been assessed through in vitro experiments. The obtained results can be used in rate control algorithms to optimally determine the optimal release rate of molecules in drug delivery applications.

A queueing-theoretical delay analysis for intra-body nervous nanonetwork

Nanonetworks is an emerging field of study where nanomachines communicate to work beyond their individual limited processing capabilities and perform complicated tasks. The human body is an example of a very large nanoscale communication network, where individual constituents communicate by means of molecular nanonetworks. Amongst the various intra-body networks, the nervous system forms the largest and the most complex network. In this paper, we introduce a queueing theory based delay analysis model for neuro-spike communication between two neurons. Using standard queueing model blocks such as servers, queues and fork-join networks, impulse reception and processing through the nervous system is modeled as arrival and service processes in queues. Simulations show that the response time characteristics of the model are comparable to those of the biological neurons.

Reliability bounds for two dimensional consecutive systems

In this paper we consider consecutive systems due to their potential for novel nano-architectures in general, where schemes able to significantly enhance reliability at low redundancy costs are expected to make a difference. Additionally, nanoscale communications are also expected to rely on structures and methods allowing to achieve better/lower transmission bit error rates. In particular, certain nano-technologies, like, e.g., nano-magnetic ones (but also nano-fluidic, molecular and even FinFETs), could be mapped onto consecutive systems, a well-established redundancy scheme. That is why this paper will start by briefly mentioning previous results for one dimensional linear consecutive-k-out-of-n: F systems with statistically independent components having the same failure probability q (i.i.d. components), before focusing on 2-dimensional consecutive systems. We shall introduce 2-dimensional consecutive systems and mention some variations, before going over a few upper and lower bounds for estimating their reliability. Afterwards, we shall present simulation results for particular 2-dimensional cases. These will show that some of the lower and upper bounds are able to perfectly match the exact reliability of 2-dimensional consecutive systems for the particular cases considered here. Conclusions and future directions of research are ending the paper.

Genetically Engineered Bacteria-Based BioTransceivers for Molecular Communication

Molecular Communication (MC) is a nano-scale communication paradigm where the information is carried by molecular signals. To establish information transmission using molecules, biological nanomachines can be utilized as transmitters and receivers. A bacteria can be programmed as a biotransceiver by modifying their genetic code to implement biological circuits. In this paper, genetically engineered bacteria-based biotransceivers are investigated for MC, where bacteria can generate and respond to the molecular signals. A biochemical model of biological circuits is presented, and both analog and digital signaling are studied. The challenges in connecting basic biological circuits to build these blocks are revealed. A biotransceiver architecture is introduced that combines sensing, transmitting, receiving and processing blocks. Furthermore, biological circuit design framework is proposed for transmission of signals with M-ary pulse amplitude modulation. The biological circuits designed for biotransceiver are elaborated via numerical results based on biochemical parameters of the genetically engineered bacteria. The provided results show that using biological circuits, bacteria can function as a transmitter and receiver node for MC. Our work stands as a basis for future biotransceiver design for MC.

Defining Communication at the Bottom

Nanoscale communication is expected to offer unprecedented benefits. However, lack of a precise definition and general framework for nanoscale communication has resulted in limited impact and dissipated effort. The IEEE P1906.1/Draft 1.0 Recommended Practice for Nanoscale and Molecular Communication Framework provides the precise, common definition of nanoscale communication and a standard, general framework. The definition of nanoscale communication must carefully depict the field so that it captures the unique aspects of small-scale physics with respect to communication. Both the definition and framework must be broad enough to cover the scope of cross-disciplinary technologies that may be utilized while simultaneously be precise enough to allow for interoperable and reusable components.The implication for the field is significant. The IEEE P1906.1/ Draft 1.0 Recommended Practice for Nanoscale and Molecular Communication Framework will enable diverse disciplines to have a common language and reference for making lasting contributions. A lasting impact will be possible because others can now build upon these results through rational design and synthesis.

Editorial: Inaugural Issue of the IEEE Transactions on Molecular, Biological, and Multi-Scale Communications

E are very pleased to present the inaugural issue of the IEEE Transactions on Molecular, Biological, and Multi-scale Communications (TMBMC). The Transactions on Molecular, Biological, and Multi-scale Communications is a peer-reviewed, hybrid publication devoted to the principles, design and analysis of communication systems that use physics beyond classical electromagnetism. The frontier of communications research is communications beyond conventional electromagnetism. At this frontier, researchers find solutions to difficult communication problems: for example, molecular communication, in which messages are conveyed in patterns of molecules, is a solution to the notoriously difficult nanoscale networking problem. Moreover, this direction of research gives insight into important scientific problems: for example, information theory has been shown to describe the foraging behaviour of motile bacteria. These, and related, topics of research have attracted a rapid increase in attention over the past few years, as communications researchers look for new problems and find new applications, particularly as they relate to biological and nanoscale (or multiscale) communication problems. Nanomachines that enable in vitro drug delivery are being demonstrated, biological circuits that provide the building blocks for filters and equalizers have been developed, organisms are being engineered for custom actions, and both lab and process on-chip techniques have emerged. We are now poised to examine these systems either as potential communication devices or use communications and systems theory more broadly as lens through which we can examine such biological systems. In fact, the distinction between communications, control and sensing is blurred in biological and natural systems. What is clear is that novel signaling modalities are becoming a reality via chemistry, biology, physics, electrical systems at vastly different scales, and other principles not previously examined. To address these frontier problems of communication, we are pleased to introduce this, the inaugural issue of the IEEE Transactions on Molecular, Biological, and MultiScale Communications. As both editors and researchers, our

Fluorescent molecules as transceiver nanoantennas: the first practical and high-rate information transfer over a nanoscale communication channel based on FRET.

Nanocommunications via Förster Resonance Energy Transfer (FRET) is a promising means of realising collaboration between photoactive nanomachines to implement advanced nanotechnology applications. The method is based on exchange of energy levels between fluorescent molecules by the FRET phenomenon which intrinsically provides a virtual nanocommunication link. In this work, further to the extensive theoretical studies, we demonstrate the first information transfer through a FRET-based nanocommunication channel. We implement a digital communication system combining macroscale transceiver instruments and a bulk solution of fluorophore nanoantennas. The performance of the FRET-based Multiple-Input and Multiple-Output (MIMO) nanocommunication channel between closely located mobile nanoantennas in the sample solution is evaluated in terms of Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR) and Bit Error Rate (BER) obtained for the transmission rates of 50 kbps, 150 kbps and 250 kbps. The results of the performance evaluation are very promising for the development of high-rate and reliable molecular communication networks at nanoscale.

A Phase Locked Loop for Molecular Communications and Computations

Molecular communication has been considered an emerging technology for both scientific and engineering interests, due to molecular biology and the need for nano-scale communication and computation systems. Molecular communication systems are widely analogue to electrical communication systems involving emitting molecules, diffused propagation of molecules, and reception of molecules, under stochastic characteristics of relatively slow propagation speed and short transmission range. To facilitate large-scale molecular information systems for the purpose of communication and computation, state-of-the-art explorations are generally assumed perfect alignment of timing among molecular devices and sub-systems. To reach synchronous condition in electronics, phase locked loop (PLL) is known to align timing or phase of waveforms. We extend PLL into molecular PLL (MPLL) consisting of basic elements such as molecular phase detector, molecular loop filter, and molecular voltage controlled oscillator. Due to stochastic nature of molecular diffusion, we further analyze MPLL in terms of the diffusion jitter, displacement, and the (particle or molecular) counting noise. Simulations verify the MPLL concept model, tracking performance, and robustness in operation.

Stochastic Resonance in Graphene Bilayer Optical Nanoreceivers

Graphene, a 2-D sheet of carbon atoms, is believed to have diverse application areas ranging from medicine to communications. A novel application is using graphene as a photodetector in optical communications due to its superior optical and electrical properties such as wide and tunable absorption frequency range and high electron mobility. Noise, which is especially significant in nanoscale communications, is mostly seen as an adversary. Stochastic resonance (SR) is the performance enhancement of a system due to incorporation of noise. It is shown that the excess noise in nanocommunications can be used to improve the performance of a graphene bilayer photodetector system with hard threshold decoder, when received signals are subthreshold. SR arises due to the nonlinear nature of the hard decoder. First, the SR effect due to the background ambient noise and intentional light noise is analyzed. An approximate inverse signal-to-noise ratio expression is derived, which maximizes the mutual information. The effect of frequency on the mutual information is also investigated, and it is shown that the higher frequencies are more preferable for noise limited regimes. Later, the case with the intentional noise added to the top gate is investigated. It is shown that significant mutual information improvements are achieved for subthreshold signals, due to the multiplicative stochastic terms arising from the nonlinear graphene bilayer characteristics, i.e., the exponential dependence of photocurrent on the gate voltages. All the analytical results are verified with extensive simulations.

A Theoretical Modeling and Analysis of Communication via Heat Flow at Nanoscale

Nanonetworks constructed by interconnecting nanodevices using wireless communication allow the nanodevices to perform more complex functions by means of cooperation between them. For the first time in the literature, a novel and physically realizable nanoscale communication technique is introduced: Nanoscale Heat Communication (NHC) in which the heat transfer is used for communication at the nanoscale. The transmitted information is encoded in temperature signals using Magneto-Caloric Effect (MCE) which is the change in temperature of a magnetic material exposed to a varying magnetic field. Thermal energy emitted or absorbed by a transmitter nanodevice is subject to the laws of thermal diffusion which changes the temperature of the communication medium. The transmitted information is decoded by a receiver nanodevice that senses the temperature variations. Using information theoretical analysis, a closed-form expression for the channel capacity is obtained. According to the performance evaluation of the channel capacity, NHC provides a significantly higher capacity communication compared with the existing molecular communication techniques. Therefore, NHC stands as a promising solution to nanoscale communication between nanomachines based on its channel capacity performance, advantages, and possible applications for the emerging field of nanonetworks.

TeraNets: ultra-broadband communication networks in the terahertz band

Terahertz Band communication is envisioned as a key technology to satisfy the data rate requirements of future wireless communication networks, and enable new applications both in classical networking domains as well as in novel nanoscale communication paradigms. Major recent advancements in THz Band technologies are helping to finally close the so called THz Gap and bring practical THz Band communication networks one step closer. This paper surveys the state of the art in THz Band device technologies, and highlights the challenges and potential solutions from the communication and networking perspective as well as in terms of experimental testbeds. Ultimately, a roadmap is defined for the development of THz Band systems as the new frontier in wireless communications.

FRET-based nanoscale point-to-point and broadcast communications with multi-exciton transmission and channel routing.

Nanoscale communication based on Förster Resonance Energy Transfer (FRET) enables nanoscale single molecular devices to communicate with each other utilizing excitons generated on fluorescent molecules as information carriers. Based on the point-to-point single-exciton FRET-based nanocommunication model, we investigate the multiple-exciton case for point-to-point and broadcast communications following an information theoretical approach and conducting simulations through Monte Carlo approach. We demonstrate that the multi-exciton transmission significantly improves the channel reliability and the range of the communication up to tens of nanometers for immobile nanonodes providing high data transmission rates. Furthermore, our analyses indicate that multi-exciton transmission enables broadcasting of information from a transmitter nanonode to many receiver nanonodes pointing out the potential of FRET-based communication to extend over nanonetworks. In this study, we also propose electrically and chemically controllable routing mechanisms exploiting the strong dependence of FRET rate on spectral and spatial characteristics of fluorescent molecules. We show that the proposed routing mechanisms enable the remote control of information flow in FRET-based nanonetworks. The high transmission rates obtained by multi-exciton scheme for point-to-point and broadcast communications, as well as the routing opportunities make FRET-based communication promising for future molecular computers.

Terahertz band: Next frontier for wireless communications

This paper provides an in-depth view of Terahertz Band (0.1–10 THz) communication, which is envisioned as a key technology to satisfy the increasing demand for higher speed wireless communication. THz Band communication will alleviate the spectrum scarcity and capacity limitations of current wireless systems, and enable new applications both in classical networking domains as well as in novel nanoscale communication paradigms. In this paper, the device design and development challenges for THz Band are surveyed first. The limitations and possible solutions for high-speed transceiver architectures are highlighted. The challenges for the development of new ultra-broadband antennas and very large antenna arrays are explained. When the devices are finally developed, then they need to communicate in the THz band. There exist many novel communication challenges such as propagation modeling, capacity analysis, modulation schemes, and other physical and link layer solutions, in the THz band which can be seen as a new frontier in the communication research. These challenges are treated in depth in this paper explaining the existing plethora of work and what still needs to be tackled.