NOVELTY - The method involves providing a substrate (202) e.g. glass substrate, where a film stack of the substrate has a transparent conductive oxide (TCO) layer (214), a silicon-containing film layer (216) and an electrically conductive layer. The electrically conductive layer and the silicon-containing film layer formed on a periphery region (210) along a side of the substrate are removed by using electromagnetic radiation delivered at an energy level. The TCO layer formed on the region is removed by using the radiation delivered at high energy level.    USE - Method for performing an edge film stack removal process i.e. multi-pass laser edge removal process, for fabricating thin film solar cell devices i.e. photovoltaic devices, on a substrate e.g. glass substrate or rectangular substrate.    ADVANTAGE - The method enables increasing clearness and accuracy of removing the film stack at the periphery region along the side of the substrate without having a set of issues with residue powders or formation of unwanted alloys due to melting of a back metal contact and a silicon-containing material, thus providing better seal surface for the substrate to facilitate subsequent bonding and packaging processes and eliminating a set of shorts across an active energy converting region of the substrate. The method enables using a reverse bias delivering high voltage sufficient to cause a set of conductive elements in a set of areas between a pair of isolated regions to change phase to decompose or to be altered in a way that eliminates or reduces magnitude of electrical short, thus correcting multiple defects in a set of solar cells. The multi-pass laser edge removal processing is performed to effectively remove the film stack in the periphery region along the side of the substrate without damaging glass or melting a back electrode.    DETAILED DESCRIPTION - The electromagnetic radiation is selected from a group of an infrared (IR) laser beam, neodymium-doped yttrium aluminum garnet (Nd:YAG) laser beam, neodymium-doped yttrium vanadate (Nd:YVO4) laser beam, crystalline disk laser and fiber laser. The silicon-containing film layer is selected from a group of p-type silicon containing layer, n-type silicon containing layer and intrinsic type silicon containing layer. The TCO layer is selected from a group of zinc containing material, aluminum containing material, tin containing material and indium tin oxide containing material.    DESCRIPTION OF DRAWING(S) - The drawing shows a cross-sectional view of a periphery region of a substrate on which a laser edge removal process is performed.    Substrate (202)    Width of periphery region (208)    Periphery region (210)    TCO layer (214)    Silicon-containing film layer (216)    Metal back contact layer (218)