The paper thus acted as the dielectric between the components of each transistor, as well as being the substrate for the circuit, in the same way that the base of a silicon chip acts both as substrate and as dielectric.

ECONOMIST: A new use for a common material

Suntech Power is currently pursuing thin film technology, a low cost PV technology that involves depositing several thin layers of silicon or more complex materials on a substrate such as glass to make a PV cell.

FORBES: Suntech Power Stock Shines With 25% Upside

The consortium's technology builds its transistors inside a sliver of pure silicon, laid on top of an insulator, which in turn sits on top of a standard wafer, the substrate on which transistors are constructed.

ECONOMIST: Transistors