Patent ID: 8829339

Claim:
A photovoltaic device, comprising: a patterned dielectric formed on a substrate, wherein the patterned dielectric includes shapes and groups of shapes having local spacings between shapes and remote spacings between groups of shapes; a doped epitaxial layer formed over the patterned dielectric including selective crystalline growth in portions of the doped epitaxial layer in contact with the substrate and including noncrystalline growth in portions of the doped epitaxial layer in contact with the patterned dielectric, wherein at least one of the portions of the doped epitaxial layer including the crystalline growth is in direct contact with at least one the portions of the doped epitaxial layer including noncrystalline growth, and the patterned dielectric is positioned between the portion of the doped epitaxial layer including non-crystalline growth and the substrate; first metal contacts formed over the local spacings of the patterned dielectric; and second metal contacts formed over the remote spacings in contact with the portions of the doped epitaxial layer including the crystalline growth to form alternating interdigitated emitter and back contact stacks.