Rectenna session: Micro aspects

Two micro aspects of the rectenna design are addressed: evaluation of the degradation in net rectenna RF to DC conversion efficiency due to power density variations across the rectenna (power combining analysis) and design of Yagi-Uda receiving elements to reduce rectenna cost by decreasing the number of conversion circuits (directional receiving elements). The first of these micro aspects involves resolving a fundamental question of efficiency potential with a rectenna, while the second involves a design modification with a large potential cost saving

Solar power satellite rectenna design study: Directional receiving elements and parallel-series combining analysis

Rectenna conversion efficiencies (RF to dc) approximating 85 percent were demonstrated on a small scale, clearly indicating the feasibility and potential of efficiency of microwave power to dc. The overall cost estimates of the solar power satellite indicate that the baseline rectenna subsystem will be between 25 to 40 percent of the system cost. The directional receiving elements and element extensions were studied, along with power combining evaluation and evaluation extensions

Simultaneous fitting of X-ray and neutron diffuse scattering data

Conventional crystallographic refinement uses the Bragg-peak intensities and gives the single-site average crystal structure. Information about short-range order and local order is contained in the diffuse scattering that is distributed throughout reciprocal space. Models of the short-range order in materials can now be automatically refined. The complementarity of X-ray and neutron diffraction data, and the value of simultaneously refining a structural model against both types of data, has long been known. This paper presents the first refinement of a short-range-order model against comprehensive X-ray and neutron diffuse scattering data simultaneously. The sample is the organic molecular crystal benzil, C14H10O2 (for neutron work H is replaced by D). The technique gives new insights into local order in crystalline materials, including the dynamic correlation structure indicative of the dynamics of molecules in the crystalline state, and successfully overcomes limitations of using only the X-ray data set

Direct observation of the picosecond dynamics of I_2-Ar fragmentation

Picosecond real‐time observations of the dynamics of I_2–Ar fragmentation are reported. The state‐to‐state rates, k(ν^i,,ν^f,), are directly measured and related to the homogeneous broadening of the initial state, and to product state distributions in the exit channel. Comparisons with different theories of vibrational (and electronic) predissociation are made

A Quantum Adiabatic Evolution Algorithm Applied to Random Instances of an NP-Complete Problem

A quantum system will stay near its instantaneous ground state if the Hamiltonian that governs its evolution varies slowly enough. This quantum adiabatic behavior is the basis of a new class of algorithms for quantum computing. We test one such algorithm by applying it to randomly generated, hard, instances of an NP-complete problem. For the small examples that we can simulate, the quantum adiabatic algorithm works well, and provides evidence that quantum computers (if large ones can be built) may be able to outperform ordinary computers on hard sets of instances of NP-complete problems.Comment: 15 pages, 6 figures, email correspondence to [email protected] ; a shorter version of this article appeared in the April 20, 2001 issue of Science; see http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/292/5516/47