Photovoltaic mint-modules from layer transfer by the porous silicon process

We introduce a novel series connection technique to fabricate small photovoltaic modules by layer transfer. Using the porous Si (PSI) process and the novel technique, we fabricate a monocrystalline Si solar module that consists of five series-connected cells with an effective film thickness of 16 mum and an independently confirmed power conversion efficiency of 10.6%. The module size is 5 x 5 cm(2). The effective thickness is equal to the film volume divided by the film area. The cells have a back surface texture of random inverted pyramids. The process avoids photolithography. Copyright (C) 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.