A team of researchers from the Nanoengineering Research
Centre (CRNE) and the Department of Electronic Engineering at the Universitat
Politècnica de Catalunya · BarcelonaTech (UPC) has found a way to make the
manufacture of crystalline silicon materials faster and more affordable. The
results of their research have recently been published in the online version of
the landmark journal Applied Physics Letters ("'Silicon millefeuille': From
a silicon wafer to multiple thin crystalline films in a single step").
Thin crystalline silicon wafers measuring around 10 µm
(micres) are costly but also very sought after in the field of
microelectronics, especially in view of the growing demand for 3D circuit
integration with microchips. Silicon wafers also have potential photovoltaic
applications in the medium term in the conversion of sunlight to electricity
and the production of more affordable, more flexible and lighter solar cells.