Submitted By : Ms. Yojana

M.E.(I.T.) - sem II

Introduction

Overview of nano-machines

Nano-machine Architecture

Nanonetwork applications

Traditional communication networks

versus Nanonetworks

Communication among nano-machines

Research challenges

Conclusion

The concepts in nanotechnology was first

pointed out by the 1965 nobel laureate physicist

Richard Feynman.

“Nanotechnology mainly consists of the

processing of, separation, consolidation, and

deformation of materials by one atom or by one

molecule”

Nanotechnology enables the miniaturization and

fabrication of devices in a scale ranging from 1 to

100 nanometers.

Nano-machines can be interconnected to

execute collaborative tasks in a distributed

manner.

Communication between nano-machines can be

realized through nanomechanical, acoustic,

electromagnetic and chemical or molecular

communication.

‘‘Nanonetworks” refers to electronic components

and their interconnection within a single chip on

a nano-scale, is also known as Network on Chip

(NoC).

A nano-machine is defined as ‘‘an artificial

eutactic mechanical device that relies on

nanometer-scale components”. Also the term

‘‘molecular machine” is defined as ‘‘a mechanical

device that performs a useful function using

components of nanometer-scale and defined

molecular structure; includes both artificial nano-

machines and naturally occurring devices found

in biological systems”.

There are 3 different approches for the

development of nano-machines.

Top-down approach :• Focused on the development of nano-scale

objects by downscaling current existing micro-

scale level device components.

• nano-machines are developed by means of

downscaling current microelectronic and micro-

electro-mechanical technologies without atomic

level control.

• Using for only simple mechanical structures, such

as nano-gears.

Bottom-up approach :• Nano-machines are developed using individual

molecules as the building blocks.

• Nano-machines are developed by means of

downscaling current microelectronic and micro-

electro- mechanical technologies without atomic

level control.

• Using for current developments such as molecular

switches and molecular shuttles.

Bio-hybrid approach :• Biological nano-machines in cell include: nano-

biosensors, nanoactuators, biological data storing components, tools and control units.

• Proposes the use of these biological nano-machines as models to develop new nano-machines or to use them as building blocks integrating them into more complex systems such as nano-robots.

• Using for use of bacteria as controlled propulsion mechanisms for the transport of micro-scale objects

Expected features of future nano-

machines• Self-contained : each nano-machine will contain a set

of instructions or code to realize the intended task

• Self-assembled : several disordered elements form an

organized structure without external intervention

• Self-replication : a device makes a copy of itself using

external elements

• Locomotion : ability to move from one place to another

• Communication : realize more complex tasks in a

cooperative manner

could consist of one or more components,

resulting in different levels of complexity, which

could be from simple molecular switches to

nano-robots

The most complete nano-machines will include

the following architecture components:

1) Control Unit : It is aimed at executing the instructions

to perform the intended tasks & include a storage unit,

in which the information of the nano-machine is saved.

2) Communication unit : It consists of a transceiver able to transmit and receive messages at nano-level, e.g., molecules.

3) Reproduction unit : The function of this unit is to fabricate each component of the nano-machine using external elements, and then assemble them to replicate the nano-machine.

4) Power unit : This unit is aimed at powering all the components of the nano-machine.

5) Sensor and actuators : These components act as an interface between the environment and the nano-machine.

Biomedical Applications

• Immune system support

• Bio-hybrid implants

• Drug delivery systems

• Health monitoring

• Genetic engineering

Industrial and consumer goods applications

• Functionalized materials and fabrics

• Food and water quality control

Military applications

• Nuclear, biological and chemical (NBC) defenses

• Nano-functionalized equipments

Environmental applications

• Biodegradation

• Animals and biodiversity control

• Air pollution control

Nano-machines communication can include the

two following bidirectional scenarios:

(1) Communication between a nano-machine and a larger

system such as electronic micro-devices, and

(2) Communication between two or more nano-machines.

Different communication technologies, such as

electromagnetic, acoustic, nano-mechanical or

molecular.

Communication based on electromagnetic

waves is the most common technique to

interconnect microelectronic devices. These

waves can propagate with minimal losses along

wires or through air.

Acoustic communication is mainly based on the

transmission of ultrasonic waves, implies the

integration of ultrasonic transducers in the nano-

machines.

Nanomechanical communication, the information

is transmitted through hard junctions between

linked devices at nano-level. The main drawback

of this type of communication is that a physical

contact between the transmitter and the receiver

is required.

Molecular communication is defined as the

transmission and reception of information

encoded in molecules, a new and

interdisciplinary field that spans nano, bio and

communication technologies.

Communication Traditional Molecular

Communication carrier Electromagnetic waves Molecules

Signal type Electronic & optical Chemical

Propagation speed Light Extremely slow

Medium conditions Wired : Almost immune

Wireless : Affect

communication

Affect communication

Noise Electromagnetic fields

and signals

Particles and molecules

in medium

Encoded information Voice, text and video Phenomena, chemical

states or processes

Other features High energy

consumption

Low energy consumption

Biological nanonetworks are used for intra-cell,

inter-cell and intra-specie communication. Intra-

cell and inter-cell communication are referred as

short-range techniques due to the size of living

cells and their internal components.

Intra-cell communications are based on

molecular motors, use as information shuttles or

communication carriers for nano-machines within

a short-range has been widely proposed

Inter-cells, molecular motors are aimed at

transporting essential particles among organelles

during different stages of the cell life cycle.

Communication features :

• Molecular communication enabled by molecular

motors takes place in aqueous medium, the

communication process includes one transmitter and

only one receiver.

Communication process using molecular motors

:

• used to carry vesicles containing information

molecules that are transmitted from the transmitter to

the receiver includes tasks :

Encoding : involves the generation of the information

molecules

Transmission : establish the process to attach the

information packet to carrier molecules in an accurate way

Propagation : refers to the movement of information

molecules through the medium

Reception : molecular motors containing information

molecules arrive at the receiver nano-machine

Decoding : receiver nano-machine invokes the desired

reaction according to the received information molecule

Inter-cell communication based on calcium signaling is one of the most well-known molecular communication techniques. It is responsible for many coordinated cellular tasks such as fertilization, contraction or secretion.

Calcium signaling is used in two different deployment scenarios.• It can be used to exchange information among cells

physically located one next to each OR • among cells deployed separately without any physical

contact

The sequential propagation of the chemosignalsdriven by different messengers is known as the chemosignal pathway. One messenger transports the information until certain point of the pathway where the information is transferred to another messenger.

The information transfer from one messenger to another continues until the information reaches its destination. This multimessenger propagation scheme presents two advantages.• First, the signal can be amplified at different levels of

the chemosignal pathway• Second, we could use a set of messengers, i.e.,

chemical agents, to obtain different signal transduction and decoding results.

Communication features : propagation of the

information can be performed in two different

schemes depending on the deployment of the

nano-machines:

• Direct access : If nano-machines are physically

connected, Ca2+ signals travel from one nano-

machine to the next one through the gates

• Indirect access : If the nano-machines are not in direct

contact, the transmitter nano-machine should be able

to release the information molecules to the medium as

first messenger in the chemosignal pathway.

Communication process within calcium signaling

• In direct & indirect access, the communication process

based on calcium signaling includes the following

steps:

Encoding : generation of the information molecules

Transmission : involves the signaling initiation

Signal propagation : controlled varying the permeability of

the gates or gap junctions OR information can be

described by using diffusion or Brownian motion models

Reception : establishes gap junction OR detect different

information molecule

Decoding : multiple receivers can decode the same

message

Distance between transmitter and receiver nano-

machines ranges from millimeters up to

kilometers.

Pheromones can be defined as molecular

compounds containing information that can only

be decoded by specific receivers and can invoke

certain reactions in them.

Pheromonal communication is used to build

complex networks including micro and

macroscale mobile actors.

Communication features

• Communication is based on the release of molecules

that can be detected by a receiver.

• In long-range nanonetworks the channel cannot be

modeled as a deterministic neither a physical link

between transmitter and receiver.

• A key feature in long-range communication using

pheromones is the coding system.

Long-range pheromonal communication process

• The communication process includes five tasks :

Encoding : includes the selection of the specific

pheromones or appropriate molecules to transmit the

information and produce the reaction at the intended

receiver

Transmission: releasing the selected pheromones during

the encoding process to the medium.

Propagation : modeled using diffusion processes where

each molecule is subjected to Brownian motion

Reception : it can use receptor proteins to detach the

molecule from the carrier

Decoding : interpretation ofthe information transmitted or

the reaction invoked by the received message

The interest in nanotechnologies is growing

while more applications are being proposed.

The potential impact of these technologies

leverages the continuous development of new

tools, such as simulators, scanning probe

microscopes, or lithograph machines able to

pattern nano-metric structures.

Using nanonetworks, nano-machines can be

interconnected to realize more complex tasks in

a coordinated and complementary manner

Recently, two molecular communication

schemes have been proposed based on natural

models. These schemes are based on inter and

intra-cell molecular communication techniques.

The nanonetworks development roadmap

includes several stages, in which an

interdisciplinary scientific approach is needed to

address all the posted research challenges.

Development of nano-machines, testbeds and

simulation tools

• first phases in the nanonetworks roadmap is aimed at

developing nano-machines including molecular

transceivers

• Latest efforts on nanotechnologies enabled the

creation of functional nano-structures introduce

switching, memory, & light-emitting behaviors

• Despite the current existence of simulation tools for

molecular assembly, and biological and genetic

systems, there is none for nanonetworks up to now.

Theoretical approach: basis for a new communication paradigmA typical communication process includes the following phases:• The encoding phase in which the transmitter forms the

information molecule.

• The transmission or release of these molecules to the environment.

• The propagation of the information molecules trough the medium.

• The reception of the information molecules.

• The decoding of the received information molecules.

Knowledge transfer: architectures and protocols

• A medium access control (MAC) protocol is needed to

define and apply mechanisms to ensure a fair use of

transmission channel.

• In biological molecular communications, most of the

channel access schemes are based on code division.

• Medium access technique used by biological systems

is based on the modulation in frequency (FM) &

amplitude (AM) of the molecular signal.

• For more complex networks, an addressing scheme is

needed. The packet should include the information

about its origin and destination to allow bidirectional

and multihop communications.

The development of nanotechnologies will

continue & will have a great impact in almost

every field.

The use and control of these technologies will be

a major advantage in economics, homeland

security, sustainable growth and healthcare.

An interdisciplinary approach, information and

communication technologies (ICT) called to be a

key contributor for the evolution of the

nanonetworks.