Snow falls gently on a fairytale landscape, covering it with white flakes. The well-known concept behind the miniature snow globe was developed in Vienna in the 19th century.
A similar principle Snow Globe Coating is being applied to solar cells to increase their efficiency.
The method was developed by staff scientist Dr. Angelika Basch at the University of Applied Sciences Upper Austria, in Graz.
It is being developed with the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE in Freiburg, Germany.
For Snow Globe Coating, particles of titania, a white material with a high refractive index, are finely distributed in a liquid and are brought to fall by gravity. Upon drying, a self-organized coating is formed which, unlike conventional paints, contains no binders and is, therefore, highly reflective.
Coating refracts even more sunlight
When applied to the rear of solar cells, the coating allows even more sunlight to be absorbed and converted into electricity.
The method developed by Dr Basch was nominated for the Austrian Inventum Awards' Invention of the Year accolade last year and reached the top ten.
In a co-operative effort, Snow Globe Coating is being tested on highly-efficient bifacial silicon solar cells by Dr. Jan Christoph Goldschmidt and his team at the Fraunhofer Institute.
The results show, often a simple method, like Snow Globe Coating, carried out with the most basic laboratory equipment, can lead to appreciable improvements in solar cell efficiency.
The German-Austrian research team plans to further develop the promising approach with the help of partners.
