Residual deformations of the silicon lattice following laser scribing have been shown to be present in the grooved region of buried-contact silicon solar cells. A freshly cleaved surface perpendicular to the phosphorus-diused laser-scribed grooves has been used in conjunction with an electron beam-induced current scan to identify the regions to which the phosphorus has diused. The presence of residual deformations/ dislocations/stress is shown to facilitate the diusion of phosphorus to depths as large as 30 mm from the grooved wall surface. This is shown to have bene®cial eects on device performance through substrate gettering for the top surface of buried-contact solar cells, but potentially detrimental eects regarding shunting of the rear ¯oating junction where boron-diused grooves are formed through a rear n-type layer. Solutions to the shunting of the ¯oating junction are identi®ed, with devices of high voltage and ®ll factor demonstrated. Further work is necessary to optimize the performance of these devices when used in conjunction with upright pyramids, although photolithographically de®ned inverted pyramids in conjunction with photolithographically de®ned metal contacts and a rear ¯oating junction have been used to demonstrate an independently con®rmed eciency of approximately 22%.