All The Claims

1. A flip-flop comprising:
a tri-state inverter configured to receive a flip-flop input, a clock input and an inverted clock input;
a master latch configured to receive an output of the tri-state inverter, the master latch comprising a common inverter;
a slave latch coupled to the master latch, wherein the common inverter is shared between the master latch and the slave latch; and
an output inverter coupled to the common inverter and configured to generate a flip-flop output.
2. The flip-flop of claim 1 further comprising a clock inverter configured to generate the inverted clock input in response to the clock input.
3. The flip-flop of claim 1 is at least one of a positive edge triggered flip-flop and a negative edge triggered flip-flop.
4. The flip-flop of claim 1, wherein the master latch comprises:
a first transmission gate configured to receive the output of the tri-state inverter, the clock input and the inverted clock input;
a master inverter configured to receive the output of the tri-state inverter; and
a second transmission gate coupled to the master inverter and configured to receive the clock input and the inverted clock input, wherein the common inverter is configured to receive an output of the second transmission gate.
5. The flip-flop of claim 1, wherein the slave latch comprises a slave tri-state inverter configured to receive an output of the first transmission gate and an output of the common inverter, wherein the common inverter is configured to receive an output of the slave tri-state inverter.
6. The flip-flop of claim 5, wherein the slave tri-state inverter is configured to receive the clock input and the inverted clock input.
7. The flip-flop of claim 5, wherein the output of the first transmission gate is equal to the output of the common inverter and the output of the second transmission gate is equal to the output of the slave tri-state inverter.
8. The flip-flop of claim 1, wherein the output inverter is configured to generate the flip-flop output in response to the output of the common inverter.
9. The flip-flop of claim 1, wherein the tri-state inverter comprises:
a first PMOS transistor and a first NMOS transistor, a gate terminal of the first PMOS transistor and a gate terminal of the first NMOS transistor configured to receive the flip-flop input;
a second PMOS transistor coupled to a drain terminal of the first PMOS transistor and configured to receive the clock input; and
a second NMOS transistor coupled to a drain terminal of the first NMOS transistor and configured to receive the inverted clock input, wherein a drain terminal of the second PMOS transistor is coupled to a drain terminal of the second NMOS transistor to generate the output of the tri-state inverter.
10. The flip-flop of claim 1, wherein the each of the first transmission gate and the second transmission gate comprises:
a PMOS transistor, a gate terminal of the PMOS transistor configured to receive the inverted clock input; and
an NMOS transistor, a gate terminal of the NMOS transistor configured to receive the clock input.
11. The flip-flop of claim 1, wherein the slave tri-state inverter comprises:
a third PMOS transistor and a third NMOS transistor, a gate terminal of the third PMOS transistor and a gate terminal of the third NMOS transistor configured to receive the output of the common inverter;
a fourth PMOS transistor coupled to a drain terminal of the third PMOS transistor and configured to receive the clock input; and
a fourth NMOS transistor coupled to a drain terminal of the third NMOS transistor and configured to receive the inverted clock input, wherein a drain terminal of the fourth PMOS transistor is coupled to a drain terminal of the fourth NMOS transistor to generate the output of the slave tri-state inverter.
12. The flip-flop of claim 1, wherein the common inverter comprises a fifth PMOS transistor and a fifth NMOS transistor, a gate terminal of each of the fifth PMOS transistor and the fifth NMOS transistor configured to receive the output of the second transmission gate, and a drain terminal of the fifth PMOS transistor is coupled to a drain terminal of the fifth NMOS transistor to generate the output of the common inverter.
13. The flip-flop of claim 1, wherein the output inverter comprises a sixth PMOS transistor and a sixth NMOS transistor, a gate terminal of each of the sixth PMOS transistor and the sixth NMOS transistor configured to receive the output of the common inverter, and a drain terminal of the sixth PMOS transistor is coupled to a drain terminal of the sixth NMOS transistor to generate the flip-flop output.
14. The flip-flop of claim 1, wherein a source terminal of each of the first PMOS transistor, the third PMOS transistor, the fifth PMOS transistor and the sixth PMOS transistor are coupled to a power terminal.
15. The flip-flop of claim 1, wherein a source terminal of each of the first NMOS transistor, the third NMOS transistor, the fifth NMOS transistor and the sixth NMOS transistor are coupled to a ground terminal.
16. The flip-flop of claim 1, wherein the master latch and the slave latch are configured to receive at least one of a clear signal and a preset signal.
17. The flip-flop of claim 1 further comprising a multiplexer coupled to the tri-state inverter, the multiplexer configured to receive the flip-flop input and a scan data input.
18. The flip-flop of claim 17, wherein the multiplexer is configured to receive a scan enable to select one of the flip-flop input and the scan data input, and the multiplexer is configured to provide one of the flip-flop input and the scan data input to the tri-state inverter.
19. An apparatus comprising:
a clock input;
a plurality of flip-flops configured to receive the clock input, wherein each of the flip-flop comprises:
a tri-state inverter configured to receive a flip-flop input, the clock input and an inverted clock input;
a master latch configured to receive an output of the tri-state inverter, the master latch comprising a common inverter;
a slave latch coupled to the master latch, wherein the common inverter is shared between the master latch and the slave latch; and
an output inverter coupled to the common inverter and configured to generate a flip-flop output.
20. A method comprising:
providing a tri-state inverter configured to receive a flip-flop input, a clock input and an inverted clock input;
providing a master latch configured to receive an output of the tri-state inverter, the master latch comprising a common inverter;
providing a slave latch coupled to the master latch, wherein the common inverter is shared between the master latch and the slave latch; and
providing an output inverter coupled to the common inverter and configured to generate a flip-flop output.

The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.

1. A method for fuel production comprising operating a solid oxide reversible cell in electrolysis mode at a thermo-neutral voltage of from between 1.0-1.3 V to generate a fuel mixture.
2. A method according to claim 1 wherein the generated fuel mixture comprises at least about 10% methane.
3. A method according to claim 1 wherein electrolysis mode is operated at an operating pressure of 5-100 atmospheres, and at an operating temperature of 700-850\xb0 C.
4. A method according to claim 3 wherein the operating pressure is 10-20 atmospheres.
5. A method according to claim 1 wherein electrolysis mode is operated at an operating pressure of 1-5 atmospheres, and at an operating temperature of 500-700\xb0 C.
6. A method according to claim 1 wherein electrolysis mode is operated at an operating pressure of 5-100 atmospheres, and at an operating temperature of 500-700\xb0 C.
7. A method according to claim 1 wherein the generated fuel is catalytically converted to another form selected from the group consisting of a hydrocarbon and an alcohol.
8. A method according to claim 7 wherein the generated fuel is catalytically converted to pure methane.
9. A method according to claim 1 wherein electrolysis mode is operated under conditions wherein the thermal-neutral voltage is approximately equal to the Nernst potential.
10. A method according to claim 2 further comprising providing the stored at least 10% methane-containing fuel mixture, and oxygen or air, to the solid oxide reversible cell, and operating the solid oxide reversible cell in a fuel cell mode using the provided fuel, and oxygen or air, to produce electricity.
11. A method according to claim 10 wherein fuel cell mode is operated at an operating pressure of 5-100 atmospheres, and at an operating temperature of 700-850\xb0 C.
12. A method according to claim 11 wherein the operating pressure is 10-20 atmospheres.
13. A method according to claim 10 wherein fuel cell mode is operated at an operating pressure of 1-5 atmospheres, and at an operating temperature of 500-700\xb0 C.
14. A method according to claim 10 wherein fuel cell mode is operated at an operating pressure of 5-100 atmospheres, and at an operating temperature of 500-700\xb0 C.
15. A method for electrical energy storage comprising:
a) operating a solid oxide reversible cell in electrolysis mode at a thermal-neutral voltage of from between 1.0-1.3 V, at a first operating temperature of 500-850\xb0 C., and a first operating pressure of 1-100 atmospheres to generate a fuel mixture comprising at least 10% methane;
b) providing the fuel mixture, and oxygen or air, to the solid oxide reversible cell; and
c) operating the solid oxide reversible cell in fuel cell mode using the provided fuel, and oxygen or air, at a second operating temperature of 500-850\xb0 C. and a second operating pressure of from between 1-100 atmospheres to produce electrical energy.
16. A method according to claim 15 wherein electrolysis mode is operated under conditions wherein the thermal-neutral voltage is approximately equal to the Nernst potential.
17. A method according to claim 15 wherein the first operating pressure and the second operating pressure are independently 5-100 atmospheres, and the first operating temperature and the second operating temperature are independently 700-850\xb0 C.
18. A method according to claim 17 wherein the first operating pressure and the second operating pressure are independently 10-20 atmospheres.
19. A method according to claim 15 wherein the first operating pressure and the second operating pressure are independently 1-5 atmospheres, and the first operating temperature and the second operating temperature are independently 500-700\xb0 C.
20. A method according to claim 15 wherein the first operating pressure and the second operating pressure are independently 5-100 atmospheres, and the first operating temperature and the second operating temperature are independently 500-700\xb0 C.
21. A reversible solid oxide cell energy storage system comprising:
a) a solid oxide fuel cell comprising an electrolyte, a fuel electrode and an oxygen electrode;
b) one or more storage tanks attached to the solid fuel cell to store liquid or gaseous reactants and products;
c) a thermally-integrated catalytic reactor; and
d) a heat exchanger, wherein
the thermally-integrated catalytic reactor and the heat changer are located between the one or more storage tanks and the solid oxide fuel cell.
22. A reversible solid oxide cell energy storage system of claim 21 wherein the one storage tank is used to store oxygen produced during an electrolysis mode.
23. A reversible solid oxide cell energy storage system of claim 21 wherein oxygen is not stored and ambient air is used in a fuel cell mode.
24. A reversible solid oxide cell energy storage system of claim 21 wherein the one storage tank is used to supply reactants to and receive products from the solid oxide cell such that the tank composition of at least one of the storage tanks changes during a storage cycle.
25. A reversible solid oxide cell energy storage system of claim 21 wherein at least one storage tank is used for reactants and at least one storage tank is used for products such that the compositions of the one or more storage tanks does not vary during a cycle.
26. A reversible solid oxide cell energy storage system of claim 25 wherein a first storage tank is used to store methane, a second storage tank is used to store water, and a third storage tank is used to store residual gases.

1. A laser processing method comprising:
irradiating an object which is fixed on a flexible sheet to be processed with laser light such that a light converging point of the laser light is located at a position located within the object and spaced from a surface of the object by a predetermined distance, along each of a plurality of first lines along which the object is intended to be cut and extends along a first direction, to form first modified regions at least within the object along the first line along which the object is intended to be cut serially, and irradiating the object with laser light such that a light converging point of the laser light is located at a position located within the object and spaced from a surface of the object by a predetermined distance along each of a plurality of second lines along which the object is intended to be cut and extend along a second direction crossing the first direction, to form second modified regions at least within the object along the second lines serially, each of the first and second modified regions having a maximum length in a thickness direction of the object, a length of each of the first modified regions in a direction along the first line along which the object is intended to be cut being larger than a length of the first modified region in a direction parallel to the surface of the object and perpendicular to the direction extending along the first line along which the object is intended to be cut, and a length of each of the second modified regions in a direction along the second line along which the object is intended to be cut being larger than a length of the second modified region in a direction parallel to the surface of the object and perpendicular to the direction extending along the second line along which the object is intended to be cut; and
applying a stress to the object through the flexible sheet to divide the object into a plurality of chips along the first and second lines by functioning the first and second modified regions as starting points for cutting the object.
2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the laser light is a pulsed laser and is irradiated under a condition with a peak power density of at least 1\xd7108(Wcm2) at the light-converging point.
3. A method of manufacturing a semiconductor device formed using a laser processing method, the manufacturing method comprising:
irradiating an object which is fixed on a flexible sheet to be processed with laser light such that a light converging point of the laser light is located at a position located within the object and spaced from surfaces of the object by a predetermined distance along each of a plurality of first lines along which the object is intended to be cut and extends along a first direction, to form first modified regions at least within the object along the first line along which the object is intended to be cut, and irradiating the object with laser light such that a light converging point of the laser light is located at a position located within the object and spaced from the surface of the object by a predetermined distance along each of a plurality of second lines along which the object is intended to be cut and extend along a second direction crossing the first direction, to form second modified regions at least within the object along the second lines, serially, each of the first and second modified regions having a maximum length in a thickness direction of the object, a length of each of the first modified regions in a direction along the first line along which the object is intended to be cut being larger than a length of the first modified region in a direction parallel to the surfaces of the object and perpendicular to the direction extending along the first line along which the object is intended to be cut, and a length of each of the second modified regions in a direction along the second line along which the object is intended to be cut being larger than a length of the second modified region in a direction parallel to the surfaces of the object and perpendicular to the direction extending along the second line along which the object is intended to be cut; and
applying a stress to the object through the flexible sheet to divide the object into a plurality of chips along the first and second lines by functioning the first and second modified regions as starting points for cutting the object, with such cutting thereby providing at least one manufactured semiconductor device.
4. The method according to claim 3, wherein the laser light is a pulsed laser and is irradiated under a condition with a peak power density of at least 1\xd7108(Wcm2) at the light-converging point.
5. A laser processing method comprising:
irradiating an object having a wafer like shape, in which a plurality of electric devices are formed on a front surface of the object, to be processed with laser light such that a light converging point of the laser light is located at a position located within the object and spaced from the front surface of the object by a predetermined distance and such that the laser light passes through an area which is located between the electronic devices, along each of a plurality of first lines along which the object is intended to be cut and extends along a first direction and passes through the areas between the electronic devices, to form first molten processed regions at least within the object along the first line along which the object is intended to be cut, serially, and irradiating the object with laser light such that a light converging point of the laser light is located at a position located within the object and spaced from the front surface of the object by a predetermined distance and such that the laser light passes through an area which is located between the electronic devices, along each of a plurality of second lines along which the object is intended to be cut and extend along a second direction crossing the first direction, to form second molten processed regions at least within the object along the second lines, serially, each of the first and second molten processed regions having a maximum length in a thickness direction of the object, a length of each of the first molten processed regions in a direction along the first line along which the object is intended to be cut being larger than a length of the first molten processed region in a direction parallel to the front surface of the object and perpendicular to the direction extending along the first line along which the object is intended to be cut, and a length of each of the second molten processed regions in a direction along the second line along which the object is intended to be cut being larger than a length of the second molten processed region in a direction parallel to the front surface of the object and perpendicular to the direction extending along the second line along which the object is intended to be cut; and
applying a stress to the object through a flexible sheet which is attached to a back surface of the object, to divide the object into a plurality of chips each of which has an electronic device, along the first and second lines by functioning the first and second molten processed regions as starting points for cutting the object.
6. The method according to claim 5, wherein the laser light is a pulsed laser and is irradiated under a condition with a peak power density of at least 1\xd7108(Wcm2) at the light-converging point.
7. A method of manufacturing a semiconductor device formed using a laser processing method, the manufacturing method comprising a step of:
irradiating an object having a wafer-like shape, in which a plurality of electric devices are formed on a front surface of the object, to be processed with laser light such that a light converging point of the laser light is located at a position located within the object and spaced from the front surface of the object by a predetermined distance and such that the laser light passes through an area which is located between the electronic devices, along each of a plurality of first lines along which the object is intended to be cut and extends along a first direction and passes through the areas between the electronic devices, to form first molten processed regions at least within the object along the first line along which the object is intended to be cut by a predetermined distance from the surface of the object, serially, and irradiating the object with laser light such that a light converging point of the laser light is located at a position located within the object and spaced from the front surface of the object by a predetermined distance and such that the laser light passes through a area which is located between the electronic devices, along each of a plurality of second lines along which the object is intended to be cut and extend along a second direction crossing the first direction, to form second molten processed regions at least within the object along the second lines, serially, each of the first and second molten processed regions having a maximum length in a thickness direction of the object, a length of each of the first molten processed regions in a direction along the first line along which the object is intended to be cut being larger than a length of the first molten processed region in a direction parallel to the surface of the object and perpendicular to the direction extending along the first line along which the object is intended to be cut, and a length of each of the second molten processed regions in a direction along the second line along which the object is intended to be cut being larger than a length of the second molten processed region in a direction parallel to the surface of the object and perpendicular to the direction extending along the second line along which the object is intended to be cut; and
applying a stress to the object through a flexible sheet which is attached to a back surface of the object, to divide the object into a plurality of chips each of which has an electronic device, along the first and second lines by functioning the first and second molten processed regions as starting points for cutting the object, with such cutting thereby providing at least one manufactured semiconductor device having the electronic device.
8. The method according to claim 7, wherein the laser light is a pulsed laser and is irradiated under a condition with a peak power density of at least 1\xd7108(Wcm2) at the light-converging point.
9. A laser processing method comprising:
irradiating an object which is fixed on a flexible sheet to be processed with laser light such that a light converging point of the laser light is located at a position located within the object and spaced from a surface of the object by a predetermined distance, along each of a plurality of first lines along which the object is intended to be cut and extends along a first direction, to form first modified regions at least within the object along the first line along which the object is intended to be cut, serially, each of the first modified regions having a maximum length in a thickness direction of the object, and a length of each of the first modified regions in a direction along the first line along which the object is intended to be cut being larger than a length of the first modified region in a direction parallel to the surface of the object and perpendicular to the direction extending along the first line along which the object is intended to be cut;
irradiating the object with laser light such that a light converging point of the laser light is located at a position located within the object and spaced from a surface of the object by a predetermined distance along each of a plurality of second lines along which the object is intended to be cut and extend along a second direction crossing the first direction, to form second modified regions at least within the object along the second lines, serially, each of the second modified regions having a maximum length in a thickness direction of the object, and a length of each of the second modified regions in a direction along the second line along which the object is intended to be cut being larger than a length of the second modified region in a direction parallel to the surface of the object and perpendicular to the direction extending along the second line along which the object is intended to be cut; and
applying a stress to the object through the flexible sheet to expand the distance between parts of the object surrounding by the first and second lines and adjacent to each other.
10. The method according to claim 9, wherein the laser light is a pulsed laser and is irradiated under a condition with a peak power density of at least 1\xd7108(Wcm2) at the light-converging point.
11. A method of manufacturing a semiconductor device formed using a laser processing method, the manufacturing method comprising:
irradiating an object which is fixed on a flexible sheet to be processed with laser light such that a light converging point of the laser light is located at a position located within the object and spaced from a surface of the object by a predetermined distance, along each of a plurality of first lines along which the object is intended to be cut and extends along a first direction, to form first modified regions at least within the object along the first line along which the object is intended to be cut, serially, each of the first modified regions having a maximum length in a thickness direction of the object, and a length of each of the first modified regions in a direction along the first line along which the object is intended to be cut being larger than a length of the first modified region in a direction parallel to the surface of the object and perpendicular to the direction extending along the first line along which the object is intended to be cut;
irradiating the object with laser light such that a light converging point of the laser light is located at a position located within the object and spaced from a surface of the object by a predetermined distance along each of a plurality of second lines along which the object is intended to be cut and extend along a second direction crossing the first direction, to form second modified regions at least within the object along the second lines, serially, each of the second modified regions having a maximum length in a thickness direction of the object, and a length of each of the second modified regions in a direction along the second line along which the object is intended to be cut being larger than a length of the second modified region in a direction parallel to the surface of the object and perpendicular to the direction extending along the second line along which the object is intended to be cut; and
applying a stress to the object through the flexible sheet to expand the distance between parts of the object surrounding by the first and second lines and adjacent to each other, with such cuffing thereby providing at least one manufactured semiconductor device having the electronic device.
12. The method according to claim 11, wherein the laser light is a pulsed laser and is irradiated under a condition with a peak power density of at least 1\xd7108(Wcm2) at the light-converging point.

The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.

1. A computer-implemented method comprising:
determining, using one or more computing devices, a set of first nodes in a social graph of a social network, the first nodes representing users of the social network;
generating, using the one or more computing devices, a neighbor list including sets of neighboring nodes for each of the first nodes;
transforming, using the one or more computing devices, the neighbor list to identify trivial neighboring nodes and non-trivial neighboring nodes;
comparing, using the one or more computing devices, the first nodes that are associated with each of the non-trivial neighboring nodes to produce a similarity matrix; and
clustering, using the one or more computing devices, similar nodes from set of first nodes using the similarity matrix.
2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the trivial neighboring nodes are associated with a single node from among the set of first nodes and the non-trivial neighboring nodes are associated with two or more nodes from among the set of first nodes.
3. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein transforming the neighbor list includes transforming the sets of neighboring nodes into sets that are indexed by neighboring node and that include the first nodes that the neighboring node corresponds to.
4. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein transforming the neighbor list includes converting the neighbor list into an inverted index.
5. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein comparing the first nodes that are associated with each of the non-trivial neighboring nodes to produce the similarity matrix includes determining a number of intersecting first nodes between the sets of neighboring nodes.
6. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein clustering the similar nodes from the set of first nodes using the similarity matrix includes processing the similarity matrix to cluster the first nodes into clusters based on a predetermined similarity metric.
7. The computer-implemented method of claim 6, further comprising merging two or more of the clusters based on a predetermined cluster-to-cluster level of similarity.
8. A computer program product comprising a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing a computer-readable program, wherein the computer-readable program, when executed on a computer, causes the computer to perform operations comprising:
determining a set of first nodes in a social graph of a social network, the first nodes representing users of the social network;
generating a neighbor list including sets of neighboring nodes for each of the first nodes;
transforming the neighbor list to identify trivial neighboring nodes and non-trivial neighboring nodes;
comparing the first nodes that are associated with each of the non-trivial neighboring nodes to produce a similarity matrix; and
clustering similar nodes from set of first nodes using the similarity matrix.
9. The computer program product of claim 8, wherein the trivial neighboring nodes are associated with a single node from among the set of first nodes and the non-trivial neighboring nodes are associated with two or more nodes from among the set of first nodes.
10. The computer program product of claim 8, wherein transforming the neighbor list includes transforming the sets of neighboring nodes into sets that are indexed by neighboring node and that include the first nodes that the neighboring node corresponds to.
11. The computer program product of claim 8, wherein transforming the neighbor list includes converting the neighbor list into an inverted index.
12. The computer program product of claim 8, wherein comparing the first nodes that are associated with each of the non-trivial neighboring nodes to produce the similarity matrix includes determining a number of intersecting first nodes between the sets of neighboring nodes.
13. The computer program product of claim 8, wherein clustering the similar nodes from the set of first nodes using the similarity matrix includes processing the similarity matrix to cluster the first nodes into clusters based on a predetermined similarity metric.
14. The computer program product of claim 8, wherein the computer-readable program, when executed on a computer, further causes the computer to perform operations of:
merging two or more of the clusters based on a predetermined cluster-to-cluster level of similarity.
15. A system comprising:
one or more processors;
one or more memories storing instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the system to perform operations including:
determining a set of first nodes in a social graph of a social network, the first nodes representing users of the social network;
generating a neighbor list including sets of neighboring nodes for each of the first nodes;
transforming the neighbor list to identify trivial neighboring nodes and non-trivial neighboring nodes;
comparing the first nodes that are associated with each of the non-trivial neighboring nodes to produce a similarity matrix; and
clustering similar nodes from set of first nodes using the similarity.
16. The system of claim 15, wherein the trivial neighboring nodes are associated with a single node from among the set of first nodes and the non-trivial neighboring nodes are associated with two or more nodes from among the set of first nodes.
17. The system of claim 15, wherein transforming the neighbor list includes transforming the sets of neighboring nodes into sets that are indexed by neighboring node and that include the first nodes that the neighboring node corresponds to.
18. The system of claim 15, wherein transforming the neighbor list includes converting the neighbor list into an inverted index.
19. The system of claim 15, wherein comparing the first nodes that are associated with each of the non-trivial neighboring nodes to produce the similarity matrix includes determining a number of intersecting first nodes between the sets of neighboring nodes.
20. The system of claim 15, wherein clustering the similar nodes from the set of first nodes using the similarity matrix includes processing the similarity matrix to cluster the first nodes into clusters based on a predetermined similarity metric.
21. The system of claim 15, wherein the instructions, when executed by the one or more processors, further cause the system to perform operations including:
merging two or more of the clusters based on a predetermined cluster-to-cluster level of similarity.