XeroCoat, Inc. has recently forayed into the solar energy market, targeting solar thermal along with the other segments. The company designs and manufactures an anti-reflective coating for solar energy systems.

XeroCoat, headquartered in Redwood City, California, shared that it has already signed a contract with a large solar thermal manufacturer to provide the anti-reflective coating for their demonstration line. But further details haven't been disclosed.

An anti-reflective coating on the top surface of a solar module's cover glass delivers more energy to the solar cells. This increases the output power of the module. Specifically in case of solar thermal systems, which direct the sun's energy into a thermal storage medium (usually water or some other liquid), an anti-reflective coating is highly desirable for maximising system performance as these systems concentrate energy, highlighted the company.

Referring to the existing processes for making antireflective coatings, such as chemical vapor deposition (CVD), physical vapor deposition (PVD), or atomic layer deposition (ALD) as complex and expensive propositions, XeroCoat says a process that that produces an antireflective coating where the refractive index is graded to change from glass to air without increasing manufacturing cost is the ideal solution for today's solar energy technologies.

In the past, the likes of SCHOTT have developed composition of the AR-layer, guaranteeing long-term stability against abrasion.