Comprising of seven tiny layers, each 50 to 100 nanometers in height, the coating is made of silicon dioxide and titanium dioxide nanorods positioned at an oblique angle.

CNN: New nano coating boosts solar efficiency

But Dr Bruel found that if a hydrogen-treated wafer is first fused to another wafer that has been given a glass coating, the force of the gas bubbles will instead cause a thin silicon film to peel off the one and on to the other.

ECONOMIST: Chip technology

By coating the carbon anode of a LiIon battery with a tangle of these submicroscopic silicon nanowires a battery can store more lithium without cracking or degrading after hundreds of charge cycles.

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