The laser-induced damage on the surface of monocrystalline silicon (m-Si) solar cells and GaAs/Gesingle heterojunction solar cells are investigated. The solar cells were irradiated by a continuous wave laser at the wavelength of 532 nm. Concentric iridescent ring appeared on the damaged surfaces when observed with an optical microscope (OM) of broad spectrum. The damaged surface film was characterized by Xray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and the Contour Meter. The laser-induced temperature in silicon was calculated. The formation mechanism of the film and the cause of the concentric iridescent ring were analyzed. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.