Centralized Energy Harvesting-Based TDMA Protocol for Terahertz NanoSensor Networks

Terahertz wireless nano-sensor networks (WNSNs) are novel networks interconnecting multiple nano-devices by means of wireless communication. In this paper, a centralized energy harvesting-based time division multiple access (TDMA) protocol, called CEH-TDMA is proposed. This protocol examines the data transmission process from a global perspective, where the nano-controller regulates the channel access and allocates time slots for all nano-nodes. First, each nano-node sends the remaining energy and the number of packets in its data buffer to the nano-controller, and then, the nano-controller constructs a Markov decision process (MDP) model according to the state information of all nano-nodes, where the energy consumption and the number of transmitted packets in the entire network are considered as impact factors in designing the award function in the MDP model. Finally, a globally optimal slot allocation strategy is obtained, which maximizes the amount of packet transmission in the perpetual WNSNs.