Dark Field Technologies

70 Robinson Blvd.

Orange, CT 06477

203.298.0731

http://darkfield.com

CEO and President: Timothy A. Potts
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The profile below is the result of an interview
conducted by CTC Membership Director Mike Scricca
with Timothy Potts, Dark Field's CEO and President.

Archive of CTC Member Spotlights:

Dark Field Technologies Company Profile  

For this month’s spotlight, we interviewed the 2011 winner for the Most Promising Technology Product award, given at the 2011 Innovation and Entrepreneurship Summit.

• Description of products or services

Dark Field Technologies designs and produces large-scale inspection systems which deliver 100% on-line, real-time metrology and defect detection for manufacturing plants.  Their machines immediately detect visual defects in the product as it is traveling down the manufacturing line at speeds in excess of 2,000 ft. per minute, alerting the operator when designated quality control limits are breached.  Defects are captured in the system's database so processes can be further optimized, efficiencies increased, waste decreased, quality improved, and costs reduced. 

Its systems replace manual inspection by detecting defects 10,000 times smaller than human capability.  Finding these defects on a production line is impossible for a human. To put this in perspective, imagine flying over a football field at 100 miles per hour and finding the head of a pin.  That is both the challenge and the solution provided by Dark Field’s systems.

Dark Field has become a dominant player in the U.S. thin film photovoltaic inspection market.  Their technology is perfectly suited for the rigorous demands required by manufacturers where solar panel defects can make or break panel efficiency.  Inspection becomes a critical part of the manufacturing process since defects result in lost production, decreased panel efficiency and lost money. Their technology has been recognized time and again as the gold standard in the market.  They have focused their energies on the U.S. market since introducing their solar inspection technology three years ago.

• Who are your competitors and how does your company distinguish itself from them?
  

Dark Field manufactures the only system in the world that can deliver 100% solar feature inspection online in real-time.  This is an important distinction.  All other inspection companies use off-line systems that test a portion of a panel and make assumptions about its quality.  This can be risky since defects can occur anywhere in the panel.  Dark Field detects defects much smaller than a human hair at full production speed!  Customers can control the process in order to maximize yield and sunlight conversion efficiency, while reducing the cost of manual labor.

• What are the biggest business opportunities in your market over the next 12 months?

Dark Field is expanding its reach this year to aggressively penetrate the Asian market, where much of the solar panel production is now occurring.  Most notably, they are expanding into Taiwan, Korea, China and India.

• What do you view as the greatest business challenge facing your company in the next twelve months?

While Dark Field’s expansion plans are helping to put it on solid footing, it will be important to grow at a sustainable level that allows for both continued leading edge innovation and robust growth.  A solid foundation while meeting key metrics will ensure a successful future for the company.