Metallic Plasmonic Nano-antenna for Wireless Optical Communication in Intra-body Nanonetworks

Nanonetworks consist of nano-sized communicating devices which are able to perform simple tasks at the nanoscale. Nanonetworks are the enabling technology for unique applications, including intra-body health-monitoring and drug delivery systems. In this paper, metallic plasmonic nanoantennas for wireless optical communication in intra-body nanonetworks are modeled and analyzed. More specifically, a unified mathematical framework is developed to investigate the performance in reception of gold-based nano-dipole antennas. This framework takes into account the metal properties, i.e., its dynamic complex conductivity and permittivity; the propagation properties of Surface Plasmon Polariton waves on the nano-antenna, i.e., their confinement factor and propagation length; the antenna geometry, i.e., length and radius, and the antenna fundamental resonance frequency, and it can be utilized to obtain the plasmonic currents on the nano-antenna generated by an incident EM filed. In addition to numerical results, the analytical models are validated by means of simulations with COMSOL Multiphysics. The developed framework will guide the design and development of novel nano-antennas suited for wireless optical communication in intra-body nanonetworks.