Sustainable technology of hydrophobic thin films deposited with plasma to replace the use of water in the maintenance of photovoltaic solar cells

Abstract

Superficial dirt, such as dust, is one reason for reduction in photovoltaic solar cell energy generation. Harsh environments such as deserts or near sea regions, forms a new surface layer, which hinders the photoelectric conversion process. Cleaning methods currently use robotic systems and periodic manual washing of solar panels, which demand water resources and specialized labor. The aim of this work was the development coatings to solar panel surfaces with self-cleaning, non-fouling, transparent and weather resistant characteristics. These coatings are metal oxides and nitrides based material, produced by plasma magnetron sputtering technology, which is a environment friendly clean technology, generating little or no process residues, low raw material and energy consumption, contributing in the development of more sustainable production processes. As a presented results indicated, aluminum nitride films showed hydrophobic characteristics with contact angles above 100°. In UV Vis tests, films with thicknesses below 10 nm showed transmittance close to 99%, indicating their compatibility to application in commercial photovoltaic solar cells.