Graphene Bow-tie Nanoantenna for Wireless Communications in the Terahertz Band

The interconnection of nanoscale devices (i.e., nanonodes) within a nanonetwork with existing communication networks, as well as the Internet, defines a new networking paradigm, namely the Internet of Nano-Things. Within this context, the definition of a nanonode requires specific features, especially for what concerns novel nanomaterial and components. Graphene-enabled wireless communications is emerging as a novel paradigm, which has been proposed to implement wireless communications among nanosystems. Indeed, graphene-based plasmonic nanoantennas, namely graphennas, are just a few micrometers in size, and are accordingly tuned to radiate electromagnetic waves in the terahertz band. In this work, the important role of the graphene conductivity in the contest of the characteristics of graphene-based nanoantennas is analyzed. Basically, we propose a particular shape for a nanoantenna (i.e., a bow-tie nanoantenna), and we study its radiation performance both in transmission, and reception. The resonance frequency of this kind of antenna is achieved by full-wave simulation. Moreover, the influence of the geometrical parameters is also evaluated. Numerical results will prove useful for designers of future graphene-based antennas, which are estimated to enable wireless communications in nanosystems.