Rows of aluminium studs help solar panels extract more
energy from sunlight than those with flat surfaces.
Most solar cells used in homes and industry are made using
thick layers of material to absorb sunlight, but have been limited in the past
by relatively high costs. Many new, lower cost designs are limited as their
layer of light-absorbing material is too thin to extract enough energy.
In new research, scientists have demonstrated that the
efficiency of all solar panel designs could be improved by up to 22 per cent by
covering their surface with aluminium studs that bend and trap light inside the
absorbing layer.