Elongate solar cell and edge contact

An elongate solar cell comprising:

• a semiconductor body comprising two mutually opposed faces, at least one of the faces being an active face for receiving incident light, and two mutually opposed edges substantially orthogonal to the faces, the edges comprising electrical contacts thereon for conducting electrical current generated by the solar cell from the light;
• wherein at least one of the edges of the elongate solar cell comprises a plurality of mutually spaced doped regions so that the at least one edge is doped discontinuously to improve the performance of the solar cell.

A process for producing an elongate solar cell, the elongate solar cell comprising a semiconductor body having two mutually opposed faces, at least one of the faces being an active face for receiving incident light, and two mutually opposed edges substantially orthogonal to the faces, the edges comprising electrical contacts thereon for conducting electrical current generated by the solar cell from the light;

• the process comprising forming an electrical contact to at least one of the edges, the electrical contact comprising an electrically conductive material that contacts only a fractional portion of the at least one edge of the semiconductor body to improve the performance of the solar cell.

A process for producing an elongate solar cell, the elongate solar cell comprising a semiconductor body comprising two mutually opposed faces, at least one of the faces being an active face for receiving incident light, and two mutually opposed edges substantially orthogonal to the faces, the edges comprising electrical contacts thereon for conducting electrical current generated by the solar cell from the light;

• the process comprising forming a plurality of mutually spaced doped regions in at least one of the edges so that the at least one edge is doped discontinuously to improve the performance of the solar cell.