NOVELTY - Elongated semiconductor strips are separated from a wafer (460) of semiconductor material by providing elongated semiconductor strips formed in a wafer in a parallel manner with respect to each other, applying vacuum to the elongated semiconductor strip forming the edge or being adjacent to the edge, and displacing the wafer and source (500) of the vacuum relative to each otter a predetermined distance.    USE - For separating elongated semiconductor strips from a wafer of semiconductor material.    ADVANTAGE - The invention can be performed simultaneously on multiple wafers, thus separating multiple elongated semiconductor strips at the same time.    DETAILED DESCRIPTION - Separation of elongated semiconductor strips from a wafer of semiconductor material comprises providing elongated semiconductor strips formed in a wafer in a parallel manner with respect to each other, applying vacuum to the elongated semiconductor strip forming the edge or being adjacent to the edge, and displacing the wafer and source of vacuum relative to each other a predetermined distance to separate the elongated semiconductor strip having vacuum applied to the elongated semiconductor strip from the wafer. INDEPENDENT CLAIMS are included for:    (A) a separation apparatus for separating elongated semiconductor strips from a wafer of semiconductor material comprising mechanism for holding a wafer having elongated semiconductor strips formed in a parallel manner with respect to each other in the wafer, vacuum source to apply vacuum to the face of the elongated semiconductor strip forming the edge or being adjacent to the edge, and mechanism for displacing the wafer and the source of the vacuum relative to each other a predetermined distance to separate the elongated semiconductor strip having vacuum applied to the elongated semiconductor strip from the wafer;    (B) 19. A method of assembling elongated semiconductor strips separated from a wafer of semiconductor material into an array of the strips comprising receiving at a predetermined position of belt(s) one of the elongated semiconductor strips oriented lengthwise across the belt, moving the belt in a given direction through a predetermined distance greater than the width of the elongated semiconductor strip, and repeating the receiving and moving steps until all of elongated semiconductor strips have been processed;    (C) an assembling apparatus for assembling elongated semiconductor strips separated from a wafer of semiconductor material into an array of strips comprising belt(s) receiving at predetermined positions one of the elongated semiconductor strips oriented lengthwise across the belt, motor moving the belt in a given direction through a predetermined distance greater than the width of the elongated semiconductor strip, and controller coupled to the motor repeating the receiving and moving operations until all of the elongated semiconductor strips have been processed; and    (D) a solar cell module comprising substrate, array of elongated semiconductor strips separated from a wafer of semiconductor material, adhesive material deposited between substrate and a face of each elongated semiconductor strip to adhere the substrate and each elongated semiconductor together, and electrically conductive material deposited on the substrate connecting greater than or equal to2 of the elongated semiconductor strips together.    The face has width of the elongated semiconductor strip as one of its dimensions.    DESCRIPTION OF DRAWING(S) - The figure is a schematic diagram illustrating the separation of strips or slivers from the semiconductor wafer.    Semiconductor wafer (400, 460)    Sliver portion (452)    Source of the vacuum (500)    Body (510)    Channels (520)    Sliver (630)