A promising cost-effective way of converting sun light into electricity could be a solar cell realized in a thin monocrystalline silicon film, due to its potential to achieve cell efficiencies of more than 20% in a 20 pm thick film. A porous silicon layer transfer technique provides an opportunity to get monocrystalline films on low-cost substrates such as glass. This paper reviews various processes, which are being developed for the layer transfer using porous silicon as a sacrificial layer while reusing of starting silicon substrate. The four basic steps-porous silicon formation, active layer deposition, layer separation and transfer, and device fabrication-have been identified in layer transfer process. The processes have been categorized and compared on the basis of the sequence of steps used in individual processes. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.