Black Butterfly Wings Inspire Better Solar Cells

Oct-27-17 Black butterfly wings have inspired thin film solar cells able to gather light twice as efficiently as standard versions.

After studying the structure of black butterfly wings, researchers realized that the randomly spaced holes on the tiny scales of the wings help the scatter light and absorb heat. Armed with that knowledge, the team went on to create a structure made up of very thin sheets of hydrogenated amorphous silicon dotted with the same kinds of holes. The smaller holes on the top layer scatter light to the silicon base, allowing the panels to harvest about twice as much light as earlier designs.

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