polycrystalline silicon solar cells have been made by shallow, mass-analyzed ion-implantation followed by q-switched ruby-laser annealing. the influence of surface finish and of thermal treatments during and after pulsed-laser annealing on cell performance has been studied. screenprinted contacts have beem applied on these cells and the influence of implanted dose as well as laser-annealing conditions on contact resistance has been investigated. it was found that smooth, acid-etched surfaces give better results than texturized sodium-etched surfaces. with pulsed-laser annealing on a heated (350/deg/c) substrate it is easier to achieve good cell performance than with p.l.a. at room temperature. a thermal anneal at 450/deg/c after p.l.a. improves v/sub oc/ considerably. the problem of series resistance, which is encountered when screen-printed contacts are applied to ion-implanted junctions can be eliminated by increasing the implanted dose. by doing so, we have obtained over 10 am 1.5 efficiency on 90m/sup 2/ polysilicon cells. (era citation 12:043154)