NOVELTY - A solar cell comprises a substrate (110); a semiconductor layer (140) formed on the substrate; and a front electrode (170) formed on the semiconductor layer.    USE - As solar cell (claimed).    ADVANTAGE - The flexible solar cell is fabricated easily by using a flexible substrate having a coefficient of thermal expansion comparable to that of a semiconductor layer, e.g. a graphite substrate or a chrome steel substrate. The use of an aluminum back electrode is unnecessary, and the manufacturing process is simplified and the manufacturing cost is reduced.    DETAILED DESCRIPTION - A solar cell comprises a substrate (110); a semiconductor layer (140) formed on the substrate; and a front electrode (170) formed on the semiconductor layer. The substrate is a flexible substrate having a coefficient of thermal expansion comparable to that of the semiconductor layer. The solar cell further comprises a silicide layer (130) between the substrate and the semiconductor layer; a first diffusion barrier layer between the substrate and the silicide layer; and a second diffusion barrier layer between the silicide layer and the semiconductor layer. The semiconductor layer comprises p-type and n-type semiconductor layer; and further comprises an intrinsic semiconductor. The solar cell further comprises a highly concentrated p-type semiconductor layer including a relatively higher concentration of a p-type dopant than that of the p-type semiconductor layer below the p-type semiconductor layer; and transparent electrode (150) between the semiconductor layer and the front electrode. The transparent electrode comprises a first transparent electrode. The transparent electrode comprises a combination of a first transparent electrode and a second transparent electrode. The second transparent electrode is made of a group III-V compound. The first transparent electrode is doped with a dopant. The solar cell further comprises aluminum oxide layer on the first transparent electrode; infrared (IR) barrier layer on at least one of the top and bottom portions of the transparent electrode; protective layer (190) on the front electrode; and alumina layer between the front electrode and the protective layer. The first diffusion barrier layer comprises a refractory metal nitride layer or a refractory metal/refractory metal nitride double layer. An INDEPENDENT CLAIM is included for fabricating a solar cell involving providing a substrate, forming a semiconductor layer on the substrate and forming a front electrode on the semiconductor layer; and further depositing a metallic layer formed by atomic layer deposition on the substrate and depositing silicon on the metallic layer to form a polycrystalline silicide layer comprising a metal-silicon combination.    DESCRIPTION OF DRAWING(S) - The figure shows an exploded perspective view of a solar cell.    Substrate (110)    Polycrystalline silicide layer (130)    Polycrystalline semiconductor layer (140)    Transparent electrode (150)    Front electrode (170)    Protective layer (190)