EE 444—Nanoscale Communication Networks

Nanotechnology is providing a new set of tools to the engineering community to design and manufacture nanoscale components with unprecedented functionalities. The integration of several of these nano-components into a single device will enable the development of advanced nanomachines. Nanonetworks, i.e., networks of nanomachines, will enable a plethora of applications in the biomedical, environmental, industrial, and military fields. These applications range from intra-body wireless nanosensor networks for advanced health monitoring systems to terabit wireless network-on-chip for ultra-high-performance computer architectures. In this course, the fundamentals of nanoscale machine communication and networking will be presented, with a special emphasis on the two leading technologies, namely, nano-electromagnetic wireless communication and biologically-inspired molecular communication. Each of these alternatives will be described by following a bottom-up approach, i.e., first, an overview of its specific enabling device technology will be presented and, second, the state of the art in terms of communication channel modeling, physical layer techniques, and link layer solutions will be described. In addition to the theoretical lectures, students will be assigned independent group projects focused in the different core areas of the field. By the end of the semester, students will write a technical report based on their related literature search and orally present their work in class. This course will provide students with the necessary knowledge to work in a cutting-edge research field, at the intersection of nanotechnologies and information and communication technologies.