Magnolia Solar recently showcased its superior transmittance through glass using a nanoscale antireflection coating. The technical paper was delivered by Magnolia's chief technical officer Dr. Roger E. Welser that was held at the SPIE Defense, Security, and Sensing Conference held in Orlando, Florida.
The event formed part of a special conference on Advanced Harvesting Devices, and highlighted research done in association with Professor Fred Schubert's team at the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI).
According to Dr. Welser, the technology has been tested across a range of incident angles. Near perfect transmittance was derived via a glass substrate over target spectral bands, and the average transmittance enhanced for replicated sunlight. The measured increase in transmittance was due to coating the windows with materials comprising porous silicon dioxide nanorods."
Dr. Ashok K. Sood, president and chief executive officer of Magnolia Solar, explained that the antireflection technology could be ideal for crystalline silicon and thin film photovoltaic platforms using a top cover glass or a glass superstrate. Solar cell modules that were fixed and flat-plated could produce energy constantly. They could however lose reflection during the early hours of the morning and late afternoon when the sun is rising or setting. The coatings could minimize the reflection losses of such modules in the early morning or late afternoon hours. The technology is awaiting a patent and could be applicable in specialized military and mercantile optical window solutions.