TECHNOLOGY FOCUS - ELECTRONICS - Preferred Process: The separation of elongated semiconductor strips from a wafer of a semiconductor material further includes reducing the vacuum applied to the separated and elongated semiconductor strip, displacing the separated and elongated semiconductor strip and the source of the vacuum relative to each other, moving the wafer so that the elongated semiconductor strip is in close proximity to the source of the vacuum, moving the source of the vacuum relative to the wafer so that the source of the vacuum is in close proximity to the elongated semiconductor strip, and forming weak points in portions of the wafer adjacent opposite ends of the elongated semiconductor strips to facilitate separation of the elongated semiconductor strip from the wafer. The reduction of vacuum comprises terminating the vacuum. The steps are repeatedly performed to separate two or more of the elongated semiconductor strips from the wafer. The assembling of elongated semiconductor strips includes transferring each elongated semiconductor strip from the belt to at least one further belt, moving the further belt in a given direction through a predetermined distance greater than the width of the elongated semiconductor strip, and repeating the transferring and moving steps until at least a portion of the elongated semiconductor strips have been processed forming the array of strips. Preferred Component: The source of the vacuum has a body (510) with at least one cavity for providing the applied vacuum. The cavity is adjacent the elongated semiconductor strip being the same in size as or smaller than a dimension of a face of the elongated semiconductor strip. The wafer is single crystal silicon or multicrystalline silicon. The vacuum applied to the separated and elongated semiconductor strip is at least reduced. The separation apparatus further includes mechanism for displacing the separated and elongated semiconductor strip and the source of the vacuum relative to each other, mechanism for moving the wafer so that the elongated semiconductor strip is in close proximity to the source of the vacuum, mechanism for moving the source of the vacuum relative to the wafer so that the source of the vacuum is in close proximity to the elongated semiconductor strip, mechanism for controlling operation of holding mechanism, source of the vacuum, and the displacing mechanism to repeatedly perform operations to separate two or more of the elongated semiconductor strips from the wafer, and mechanism means for forming weak points in portions of the wafer adjacent opposite ends of the elongated semiconductor strips to facilitate separation of the elongated semiconductor strip from the wafer. The vacuum source applies a vacuum to the elongated semiconductor strip and is used to deliver the elongated semiconductor strip at the predetermined position. The predetermined distance is relative to the vacuum source. The belt is made of a tape-like fabric and has adhesive on a surface upon where the elongated semiconductor strip is received. The belt is made of mylar. The belt is castellated and has a distance between adjacent castellations wider than the width of the elongated semiconductor strip. The predetermined position located between castellations on the belt and each elongated semiconductor strip is located between two adjacent castellations on the belt. The further belt(s) has castellations with a distance between adjacent castellations greater than the width of an elongated semiconductor strip but less than adjacent castellations of belt that receive the elongated semiconductor strip. The elongated semiconductor strip comprises a sliver photovoltaic solar cell.