Process for laser scribing

A method for accurately laser scribing lines in thin coatings on a panel, typically a solar panel (11), utilising a laser beam scanner unit (13) including an optical system and a scanner lens, the method comprising the steps of:

• using the unit (13) to move a laser beam (12) in a first direction (X) to scribe sections of lines (15) on the panel (111) that are a fraction of a total line length required;
• moving the unit (13) continuously with respect to the panel (11) in a second direction (Y), perpendicular to the first direction (X), to form a band (16) of scribe lines;
• positioning the scanner unit (13) so that the starting position of scribe lines in each band next to be processed overlap exactly finishing position ends of scribe lines in a last band that has been processed so that all scribe lines interconnect;
• and
• repeating the using and moving steps to form a plurality of parallel bands of scribe lines to cover the full area of the panel with continuous scribe lines.