The artificial leaf is a thin sheet of semiconducting silicon - the material most solar cells are made of - which turns the energy of sunlight into a flow of wireless electricity within the sheet.

This is called laminar flow because of the concept of one lamination or thin cylindrical sheet of liquid flowing inside another. Other names for this type flow are streamline and viscous flow.

If the sheet is relatively thin, the range of welding parameters obtained that can get better weld quality is wider. Heavily plastic flow of the weld metal occurs inside the weld during the process.