A team of researchers in Japan has created a new film, suitable for mass production, which can cover solar cells and reduce the amount of reflected light – thereby capturing more power from the sun. The team was inspired by the eyes of moths, which allow them to see well at night, but are covered with a water-repellent, antireflective coating that makes their eyes unreflective, helping them hide from predators in the dark. The anti-reflection film could improve the yearly performance of solar cells deployed over large areas in either Tokyo, Japan or Phoenix, Arizona. Phoenix has high annual amounts of direct sunlight, while Tokyo has a high fraction of diffuse solar radiation. The team estimates the films would improve the annual efficiency of solar cells by six percent in Phoenix and by five percent in Tokyo. According to Noboru Yamada, a scientist at Nagaoka University of Technology, “[P]eople may think this improvement is very small, but the efficiency of photovoltaics is just like fuel consumption rates of road vehicles. Every little bit helps.” The team is now working to improve the durability of the film and to optimize it for many different types of solar cells.