Abstract: Manufacture of multi-junction solar cells, and devices thereof, are disclosed. The architectures are also adapted to provide for a more uniform and consistent fabrication of the solar cell structures, leading to improved yields, greater efficiency, and lower costs. Certain solar cells may be from a different manufacturing process and further include one or more compositional gradients of one or more semiconductor elements in one or more semiconductor layers, resulting in a more optimal solar cell device. A multi-junction cell may include a back surface field layer, a tunneling junction layer, a first active cell, and a second active cell.

Abstract: Manufacture of multi junction solar cells, and devices thereof, are disclosed. The architectures are also adapted to provide for a more uniform and consistent fabrication of the solar cell structures, leading to improved yields, greater efficiency, and lower costs. Certain solar cells may be from a different manufacturing processes and further include one or more compositional gradients of one or more semiconductor elements in one or more semiconductor layers, resulting in a more optimal solar cell device.

Abstract: Manufacture of multi-junction solar cells, and devices thereof, are disclosed. The architectures are also adapted to provide for a more uniform and consistent fabrication of the solar cell structures, leading to improved yields, greater efficiency, and lower costs. Certain solar cells may be from a different manufacturing process and further include one or more compositional gradients of one or more semiconductor elements in one or more semiconductor layers, resulting in a more optimal solar cell device.

Abstract: Methods and apparatus for executing an application are disclosed. In accordance with one embodiment, a request is received. One or more of a plurality of module types are instantiated such that a plurality of module objects are generated. A query plan linking the plurality of module objects is executed such that a response to the request is generated. The response is then returned.

Abstract: Manufacture of multi-junction solar cells, and devices thereof, are disclosed. The architectures are also adapted to provide for a more uniform and consistent fabrication of the solar cell structures, leading to improved yields and lower costs. Certain solar cells may further include one or more compositional gradients of one or more semiconductor elements in one or more semiconductor layers, resulting in a more optimal solar cell device.

Abstract: Manufacture of multi-junction solar cells, and devices thereof, are disclosed. The architectures are also adapted to provide for a more uniform and consistent fabrication of the solar cell structures, leading to improved yields and lower costs. Certain solar cells may further include one or more compositional gradients of one or more semiconductor elements in one or more semiconductor layers, resulting in a more optimal solar cell device.

Abstract: Manufacture of multi-junction solar cells, and devices thereof, are disclosed. The architectures are also adapted to provide for a more uniform and consistent fabrication of the solar cell structures, leading to improved yields and lower costs. Certain solar cells may further include one or more compositional gradients of one or more semiconductor elements in one or more semiconductor layers, resulting in a more optimal solar cell device.

Abstract: Methods and apparatus for executing an application are disclosed. In accordance with one embodiment, a request is received. One or more of a plurality of module types are instantiated such that a plurality of module objects are generated. A query plan linking the plurality of module objects is executed such that a response to the request is generated. The response is then returned.

Abstract: Methods and systems are provided that may be used to selectively decode results in messages received from child nodes for a particular search query.

Abstract: Methods and apparatuses relate to hosting an inverted index for term-based document searching. According to disclosed aspects, each bank of a plurality of banks receives a plurality of Document IDentifiers (DocIDs) in the inverted index, and within each bank, posting lists for each term are determined large or small. DocIDs for large posting lists are distributed among computers in a bank while responsibility for producing DocIDs identifiers in a small posting list are distributed by term to one or fewer computers in the bank. During operation, each term of a query is distributed to each bank, and then for small terms, only those computers assigned responsibility for a given term need to search for responsive DocIDs. DocIDs can be redistributed among computers in a bank such that results are presented from the computers that would have produced those results in a cluster having a pure DocIDs distribution scheme.

Abstract: A quality of service policy for one or more documents for transmission from the local storage to one or more end points for said documents through a communication system is retrieved from a remote registry associated with an offering, and said documents are enqueued according to said quality of service policy. In some cases, the registry may be co-hosted with at least one of the document end points. The quality of service policy may be derived from a transport policy for said one or more documents, and may even be such as to not specify a quality of service for delivery of some or all of the documents. In some cases, XML documents may be used to set forth the quality of service policies.

Abstract: Documents are restored at a remote data storage location from a local data storage location, the one or more documents having been previously transmitted from the local data storage location to the remote data storage location through a communication system accessible by a number of offerings and according to document delivery customizations for the communication system associated with one of the offerings. Parameters defining those customizations are obtained from a registry associated with the one of the offerings, such registry as may be hosted at the remote data storage location. Prior to so restoring the one or more documents, those documents may be designated as not having previously been transmitted to the remote data storage location. In this way the same transmission policies/procedures as specified by the offering-specific customizations may be likewise used for the restoration procedures.

Abstract: A transport policy for one or more documents for transmission from a local storage to one or more end points for said documents is retrieved from a remote registry associated with an offering. Thereafter the documents are transmitted according to the transport policy. The registry may be co-hosted with at least one of the document end points. Prior to transmission, the documents may be enqueued, for example in queues corresponding to various qualities of service policies for delivery of said documents. The qualities of service policies may be likewise retrieved from the remote registry. The documents are preferably, but need not be, transmitted in message envelopes determined by the transport policy.

Abstract: In a computer communication network, affinity between a client and server is established dynamically. The client desiring affinity sends a request to establish affinity to an available server. The server can then respond by sending the client a redirect to an elected server, with which the client already has affinity. If there is no such elected server, the server establishes affinity between itself and the client.

Abstract: Methods and systems for effecting cleanup and other policies for queues and similar data stores, which policies account for preferences of consumers of the data so stored. Queuing policies for local storage of one or more documents for transmission from the local storage to one or more end points for said documents are retrieved from a remote registry. Upon such retrieval, the documents are enqueued according to the queuing policies, unless, prior to such enqueuing the queues into which the documents are to be placed require creation or clean-up, for example according to one or more queue quota policies. In some cases, the documents are queued according to associated qualities of service to be accorded to delivery of said documents. Such qualities of service may be specified in the queuing policy.

Abstract: There is provided a modified Ethernet switch for directing data packets to and from a plurality of Ethernet ports. The switch is arranged to forward each data packet outgoing to one of the ports to the correct port as determined by an address lookup table. The switch is operable in two modes. In the first mode, the switch is arranged to forward each data packet incoming from one of the ports to its correct destination port as determined by the address lookup table. In the second mode, the switch is arranged to forward each data packet incoming from one of the ports to a processor. The address lookup table is maintained by the switch. The switch comprises a control block for switching the switch between the first mode and the second mode.

Abstract: An ethernet switch associates addresses in a look-up table with received MAC addresses using a CRC algorithm, so that correspondence data about each MAC address can be stored in the corresponding section of the look-up table. When, as the look-up table is constructed, a given MAC address A0 hashes to an address H0 which is already associated with a previous MAC address, the MAC address is re-hashed using Walsh codes W1,m to provide a different look-up table address H1. This procedure can be performed any number of times y to generate different addresses Hn for n=1, . . . y. If it is performed sufficiently frequently, then it is likely that an address will be found which is free. In this way, the number of MAC addresses which will typically be associated with a single look-up table address is reduced, preferably to only one.

Abstract: A method for a first semiconductor device (1) coupled to a non-floating bus (3) to determine whether a second semiconductor device (2) is also coupled to the non-floating bus (3). The first semiconductor device (1) sends a control signal for the second semiconductor device (2) to the non-floating bus (3), and the first semiconductor device waits for a response signal from the non-floating bus (3). The first semiconductor device (1) determines that the second semiconductor device (2) is coupled to the non-floating bus (3) if a response signal is received, and determines that the second semiconductor device (2) is not connected to the non-floating bus (3) if a response signal is not received.

Abstract: A covert channel is established between a network service and one or more service monitors in a service group. The covert channel minimizes overhead by providing an indication of the status of the service through use of operating system utilities rather than conventional remote procedure calls (RPCs) or posting methods. The covert channel relies on one or more communication files established and updated by the service and having attributes which are in proportion to the workload of the service. By monitoring these attributes, the service monitor is able to determine the status of the service, including its workload and availability, without incurring costly operational overhead.