Improvement Options for PV Modules by Glass Structuring

The structuring of glass surfaces offers a wide area of application for photovoltaics: Increasing the energy yield and decreasing glare are achievable and become important factors for applications to building surfaces like roofs facing north, façades or walls along streets (e.g., noise-barrier). We investigated ways to reach specific glass surface morphologies and optical behaviors using wet and dry etching, combinations of blasting and etching, and imprinting into hot glass. We found that when a structured glass surface is present at the solar module’s front, an increase in electricity yield can be achieved, with the largest gains under angles of incidence above 60°. Also, the application of structured glass to the solar module’s rear can have a positive impact on the performance; we saw an increase in energy yield with illumination from the front especially for angles of incidence of 40° and above. The glass surface properties were investigated using a newly setup laser-based measurement tool that helped understanding light diffraction.