Energy harvesting in nanonetworks

Abstract

The goal of this chapter is to review the process, issues, and challenges of energy harvesting in nanonetworks, composed of nanonodes that are nano to micrometers in size.Ananonode consisting of nan-memory, a nano-processor, nanoharvesters, ultra nano-capacitor, and a nano-transceiver harvests the energy required for its operations, such as processing and communication. The energy harvesting process in nanonetworks differs from traditional networks (e.g. wireless sensor networks, RFID) due to their unique characteristics such as nanoscale, communication model, and molecular operating environment. After reviewing the energy harvesting process and sources, we introduce the communication model, which is the main source of energy consumption for nanonodes. This is followed by a discussion on the models for joint energy harvesting and consumption processes. Finally, we describe approaches for optimizing the energy consumption process, which includes optimum data packet design, optimal energy utilization, energy consumption scheduling, and energy-harvesting-aware protocols.