Nanostructured Ge-based Glass Coatings for Sustainable Greenhouse Production: Balancing Light Transmission, Energy Harvesting, and Crop Performance

We develop six nanostructured glass coatings incorporating semiconductor-based quantum dots (QDs) and quantum wires (QWs) of Ge and TiN, fabricated by magnetron sputtering—an industrially scalable technique used in smart window and energy-efficient glass production. Their optical properties are characterized in the laboratory, and their agronomic performance is tested in greenhouse trials with lamb’s lettuce (Valerianella locusta) and radish (Raphanus sativus). Plant growth, yield, and leaf color (CIELAB parameters) are analyzed in relation to spectral transmission and daily light integral (DLI). While uncoated horticultural glass produces the highest yields, several Ge-QD coatings achieve favorable compromises, selectively absorbing non-photosynthetically active radiation (non-PAR) while maintaining acceptable crop performance. These results demonstrate that nanostructured coatings can simultaneously sustain crop growth and enable solar energy conversion, offering a practical pathway toward energy-efficient and climate-smart greenhouse systems. Here we provide data of optical properties (transmittivity) of the materials used for greenhouse glass coating.