Image shows the preparation of a conventional solar panel. A new type of spray-on solar panel will make the cells cheaper and production more efficient.
Credit: Centre for Sustainable Energy Systems
"We want to roughen the surface in several different ways to study the different properties of each. Then we can find the best and most efficient surface," said Klaus Weber, also from the ANU.
Once an optimal surface is found, the cost of the cells would remain the same, but their efficiency and power would be greater, he said.
"What we are trying to get out of it is new ideas and processes to improve the efficiency of solar power," he added.
"If you can get the same efficiency as vacuums with this spray-on technology that's great; it will make the process a lot cheaper," said engineer Alistair Sproul from the University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia. "All of this is a good step in the right direction."
