Self-Tiling Monocrystalline Silicon; a Process to Produce Electrically Connected Domains of Si and Microconcentrator Solar Cell Modules on Plastic Supports

A method for self-tiling and electrically connecting microscopic semiconducting tiles with high speed and yield is presented. Assembly is driven by a stepwise reduction of interfacial free energy at a triple interface. We discuss design rules to produce highly periodic domains on rigid, flexible, and curved substrates. A fault-tolerant microconcentrator solar cell is demonstrated.