A start-up company has developed super thin solar cell that could be peeled away. This new technique could make solar cells more efficient and could mean cheaper solar power.

Astrowatt, an Austin based start-up, has developed a more energy efficient method of manufacturing thin-film solar panels. The conventional method of making thin-film solar panels requires sawing a block of crystalline silicon into smaller silicon wafers about 180 micrometers thick. This method is very wasteful as nearly half of the silicon is turned into useless sawdust during the process and can't be reused.

Astrowatt attempts to save this wasted silicon with a new method that replaces sawing with a wedge that will peel off layers from block. Astrowatt's process still uses a large block of silicon but with some differences. The block of silicon is sliced into thick wafers a millimeter thick. The top of each silicon block is coated with metal so that it can act as the back of a solar cell. The wafer is then heated which causes stress within the material as the metal and silicon expand in different rates. A wedge is applied to edge of the stressed silicon so that an engineer can easily peel away the metal film along with a thin, 25 micrometer layer of silicon. The crystalline structure of the silicon makes the crack travel evenly across the entire wafer.

The metal-silicon film is processed to form the front of a solar cell. Astrowatt claims this process can make five or more wafers in comparison to the conventional method which only produces three solar cell wafers from the same amount of materials. Another advantage to the Astrowatt method is that the leftover silicon can be salvaged so that the larger pieces can be reused. The overall result is a cheaper per-watt cost.

Astrowatt is hoping this method will reduce the amount of silicon needed to make solar cells. While the method doesn't mean that consumers will be getting solar panels that they stick on their houses but what Astrowatt's new method represents is a way for companies to make solar cells that are more efficient. Silicon is the most expensive item in solar-panel manufacturing. If Astrowatt's method is proven to be commercially successful then solar panels could become more affordable for the ordinary consumer.