TECHNOLOGY FOCUS - INSTRUMENTATION AND TESTING - Preferred Method: The method further comprises: applying a plating catalyst to the flexible material, patterning the plating catalyst so as to define plural areas, electroless plating so as to form a seed layer within each of the many areas, and electroplating over the seed layers so as to form the many metal strips (104) on the flexible material; applying a resin to the metal foil, embossing and curing the resin so as to define many areas, etching the resin so as to expose the metal foil within each of the many areas, and electroplating within the plural areas to as to form the many electrical traces and the many thermal vias; bonding many photovoltaic elements to respective ones of the thermal vias using thermally conductive adhesive; electrically coupling the photovoltaic elements to respective ones of the electrical traces so as to define a photovoltaic array; and bonding the flexible material to a heat sink. Preferred Components: The flexible material further defined by the flexible thermally-conductive electrically non-conductive material and at least some of the metal strips defining heat spreader bus-lines, the thermal vias being bonded to respective ones of the heat spreader bus-lines using the thermally conductive electrically non-conductive adhesive, where the thermal vias and the electrical traces being formed from a same metal. In the apparatus, at least some of the electrical traces disposed over and electrically isolated from respective ones of the metallic strips. The apparatus further comprises: many photovoltaic cells disposed over and bonded to respective ones of the thermal vias, the photovoltaic cells electrically coupled to respective ones of the electrical traces such that a photovoltaic array is defined, where at least one of the photovoltaic cells responsive to a first spectral band, at least one other of the photovoltaic cells responsive to a second spectral band different than the first spectral band; and many optical elements configured to concentrate incident photonic energy onto respective ones of the many photovoltaic cells. EXAMPLE - No suitable example given.