The present study aimed to develop a simple analytical model that simulates the performance of thin polysilicon solar cells with porous silicon (PS) contact on the front surface. It provides an analytical solution to the complete set of equations needed for determining the effect of this material on the performance of the cell when acting as an antireflective coating agent. The simple analytical expressions of the emitter reverse saturation current density and light-generated current density were also obtained. The PS layer was noted to induce a decrease in emitter reverse saturation current density and an increase in solar cell photovoltaic parameters. Overall, the findings revealed that the emitter region should not be treated as a 'dead layer' because contact with the thin PS layer front surface was noted to improve the open-circuit voltage, photocurrent, and cell efficiency values by about 20 mV, 4.5 mA/cm(2), and 3.3%, respectively. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.