3D coating promises greater solar cell efficiency

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Silicon pyramid structures etched for two minutes using hydrogen fluoride/hydrogen peroxide/water solution. Resulting structure has roughness at the micro and nanometer scales. Pic credit: C.P. Wong

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Silicon pyramid structures etched for one minute using hydrogen fluoride/hydrogen peroxide...

Article Summary

Solar power from photovoltaic cells are widely recognized as an integral part of a clean green future, and any development that can make these cells more efficient, no matter how small, assists in making this future a reality. A team of researchers at Georgia Tech have developed a surface treatment that boosts the light absorption of silicon photovoltaic cells by trapping light in three-dimensional structures and by making the surfaces self cleaning.

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