The nanomorphic cell[1] is a conception of an atomic-level, integrated, self-sustaining microsystem with five main functions: internal energy supply, sensing, actuation, computation and communication.
The nanomorphic cell abstraction allows one to analyze the fundamental limits of attainable performance for nanoscale systems in much the same way that the Turing Machine and the Carnot Engine support such limit studies for information processing and heat engines respectively.
The nanomorphic cell concept is inspired by the trend, synergistic with semiconductor device scaling; to use these core technologies for diverse integrated system applications.
This trend is called Functional Diversification and is characterized by the integration of non-CMOS devices such as sensors, actuators, energy sources etc.
The multifunctional microsystems becomes morphic (literally means in the shape of ) because its architecture are defined by the specific application and the fundamental limits on volumetric system parameters.