Nanostructured surface textures—with shapes inspired by the
structure of moths' eyes—prevent the reflection of light off silicon, improving
conversion of sunlight to electricity
Reducing the amount of sunlight that bounces off the surface
of solar cells helps maximize the conversion of the sun's rays to electricity,
so manufacturers use coatings to cut down on reflections. Now scientists at the
U.S. Department of Energy's Brookhaven National Laboratory show that etching a
nanoscale texture onto the silicon material itself creates an antireflective
surface that works as well as state-of-the-art thin-film multilayer coatings.