Enhancement of silicon solar cell efficiency by using back surface field in comparison of different antireflective coatings

•Effective Al–BSF solar cells were fabricated through simple technique.•TiO2 and SiO2 AR coatings were applied to BSF cells.•Results were compared each other as well as with the as-grown Si solar cell.•BSF solar cell with TiO2 AR coating showed best performance over other cells. Back surface field (BSF) (n+–p–p+) silicon (Si) solar cells were fabricated with and without TiO2 or SiO2 single layer antireflection (SLAR) coatings. The two cell types were obtained with non-texturized surfaces and compared with each other, as well as with an as-grown Si solar cell. The effective aluminium–BSF was fabricated through a simple thermal evaporation and alloying (850°C, 50min) technique. The effect of BSF and AR coatings on the performance of the solar cells were characterized through electrical (AM 1.5G, 100mW/cm2), optical, and morphological measurements. The BSF Si solar cells with TiO2 and SiO2 AR coatings and without AR coatings demonstrated increased efficiencies of about 168%, 115%, and 50%, respectively, compared with the as-grown Si solar cell. The addition of the TiO2 (AR) layer initiated 24% improvement in the efficiency of the monocrystalline BSF Si solar cells, compared with 6.9% of the SiO2 (AR) coated BSF Si solar cell. The results indicate the potential of combining the TiO2 SLAR coating with BSF in the improved production of high-efficiency, low-cost Si solar cells.