How moth eyes can be used to make better solar cells
Recently, I wrote about how one researcher discovered how to model solar cell production after fly eyes. But even if you can produce solar cells on a large scale, you need to make sure the solar cells can efficiently take in the sunshine.
This time around, insect eyes have inspired a sort of anti-reflection film that can improve the efficiency of solar cells. The researchers in Japan used the structure of moth eyes to create a thin film that could be placed on solar cells to capture more power from the sun.
It makes sense: the less light that is reflected, the more light can be absorbed.
To make their case for this extra film layer, the scientists calculated that each year, an anti-reflective coating could help cities like Phoenix improve efficiency of solar cells by 6 percent. For Tokyo, efficiency would improve by 5 percent.
That might seem insignificant, but the researchers insist that, it is not. Think of it like improving automobile fuel efficiency, where every percentage counts.
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This post was originally published on Smartplanet.com