Simultaneous wireless information and power transfer for AF relaying nanonetworks in the Terahertz Band

Publication date: Available online 24 August 2017 Source:Nano Communication Networks Author(s): Zhichao Rong, Mark S. Leeson, Matthew D. Higgins, Yi Lu A nanonetwork is comprised of nanoscale sensors and communicating devices facilitating communication at the nanoscale, which is a promising technology for application in health applications such as intra-body health monitoring and drug delivery. However, the communication performance within a nanonetwork is substantially limited by the energy loss as the Electromagnetic (EM) wave propagates along the channel. Energy harvesting for nanosensor networks can provide a way to overcome the energy bottleneck without considering the lifetime of batteries. Moreover, relaying protocols for nanoscale communications have been proposed to improve the communication performance and extend the transmission distances among nanosensors within nanonetworks. The combination of energy harvesting and a relaying protocol provides an emerging solution not only to overcome the aforementioned energy issues but also enhance the system performance. Therefore, in this paper, simultaneous wireless information and power transfer nanonetworks in the Terahertz (THz) Band (0.1-10 THz) is proposed. An amplify and forward (AF) relaying nanonetwork in this band is investigated, where the relay harvests energy from the received THz signal which is then consumed to forward the information to the destination. Performance based on both time-switching and power-...

Source: Nano Communication Networks - August 25, 2017 Category: Nanotechnology Source Type: research