Micro-structured thin-film fuel cell and method for forming

A method for making a fuel cell has steps of forming a sacrificial layer (202) on a substrate (204), forming a fuel cell (208, 212, 214) on the substrate (204), forming a connector (210, 216) that connects the fuel cell (208, 212, 214) to the substrate (204), and removing the sacrificial layer (202). After the sacrificial layer (202) has been removed, the fuel cell (208, 212, 214) is generally free standing over a planar surface (206) of the substrate (204) with a gap (222) defined therebetween.