A rear contacted heterojunction intrinsic thin layer solar cell comprising: - a silicon substrate with a front surface and a rear surface; - a passivating layer at the front surface of the silicon substrate; - a thin intrinsic amorphous silicon layer covering the rear surface of the substrate, the intrinsic amorphous silicon layer having a front surface adjacent to the rear surface of the silicon substrate and having a back surface opposite to the front surface; - an emitter layer comprising a doped semiconducting material of a first doping polarity and covering one or more portions of the back surface of the intrinsic amorphous silicon layer; - a base layer comprising a doped semiconducting material of a second doping polarity opposite to the first doping polarity and with higher doping concentration than the silicon substrate and covering one or more portions of the back surface of the intrinsic amorphous silicon layer neighboring the portion covered by the emitter layer; - a separation layer comprising an electrically insulating material and being arranged on one or more portions of the back surface of the rear intrinsic amorphous silicon layer laterally between neighboring portions of the emitter layer and portions of the base layer; characterized in that adjacent regions of the emitter layer and the separating layer and adjacent regions of the base layer and the separating layer are partially laterally overlapping in such a way that, in an overlapping area (23, 25), at least a portion of the separating layer is located closer to the substrate than an overlapping portion of the respective one of the emitter layer and the base layer. - a silicon substrate with a front surface and a rear surface; - a passivating layer at the front surface of the silicon substrate; - a thin intrinsic amorphous silicon layer covering the rear surface of the substrate, the intrinsic amorphous silicon layer having a front surface adjacent to the rear surface of the silicon substrate and having a back surface opposite to the front surface; - an emitter layer comprising a doped semiconducting material of a first doping polarity and covering one or more portions of the back surface of the intrinsic amorphous silicon layer; - a base layer comprising a doped semiconducting material of a second doping polarity opposite to the first doping polarity and with higher doping concentration than the silicon substrate and covering one or more portions of the back surface of the intrinsic amorphous silicon layer neighboring the portion covered by the emitter layer; - a separation layer comprising an electrically insulating material and being arranged on one or more portions of the back surface of the rear intrinsic amorphous silicon layer laterally between neighboring portions of the emitter layer and portions of the base layer; characterized in that adjacent regions of the emitter layer and the separating layer and adjacent regions of the base layer and the separating layer are partially laterally overlapping in such a way that, in an overlapping area (23, 25), at least a portion of the separating layer is located closer to the substrate than an overlapping portion of the respective one of the emitter layer and the base layer.