John, Bryan, is there any basic research on epitaxial deposition of suitably pure (for submicron) monocrystalline silcon from a gaseous compound on a suitably primed surface? Even Bridgman–Stockbarger would be too bulky to fit in the space requirements. Chemical Vapour Deposition was what I was thinking of... this is hobbyist stuff; so I'm not really infringing patents.

Something along the lines of the pdfs attached?? Some clever garage hacker out there must be thinking 'bout this.

2 attachments — Download all attachments  
Progress in epitaxial deposition on low-cost substrates for thin-film crystalline silicon solar cells at IMEC.pdf   Progress in epitaxial deposition on low-cost substrates for thin-film crystalline silicon solar cells at IMEC.pdf
297K   View   Download  
Method for Providing Low-Cost Wafers for Use as Substrates for Integrated Circuits USPAT 4,147,584 3Apr1979.pdf Method for Providing Low-Cost Wafers for Use as Substrates for Integrated Circuits USPAT 4,147,584 3Apr1979.pdf
197K   View   Download