Patent ID: 8148629

Claim:
A method for fabricating a photovoltaic material, the method comprising: providing a semiconductor substrate; forming a first layer and a second layer of porous semiconductor crystalline material overlying the semiconductor substrate, both layers comprised of a plurality of wormhole structures, the wormhole structures being characterized by a density gradient from a surface region of the crystalline material to a defined depth within a z-direction of the surface region to form a thickness of material to be detached; wherein the density gradient of the wormhole structures in the first layer ranges from 10 10 /cm 3 to 10 20 /cm 3 and the density gradient of the wormhole structures in the second layer ranges from 10/cm 3 to 10 10 /cm 3 , wherein the first layer is in between the second layer and the semiconductor substrate; subjecting the porous semiconductor crystalline material to a hydrogen plasma species to occupy at least one or more of the wormhole structures of the semiconductor crystalline material within a vicinity of an interface between the thickness of material to be detached and a remaining portion of the semiconductor substrate; providing a glue layer overlying a surface region of the second layer of the porous semiconductor crystalline material; joining the surface region of the second layer of the semiconductor crystalline material via the glue layer to a support; and delaminating a continuous portion of the porous semiconductor crystalline material from the semiconductor substrate while the surface region of the thickness of the semiconductor crystalline material remains joined to the support via the glue layer, to cause formation of a new textured surface region from a new surface of the porous semiconductor crystalline material formed during delamination to create an upper light-incident surface of a photovoltaic material on the support.