Patent ID: 6519315
Filing Date: 2003-02-11
Classification: B07C,G01N

Abstract:
A high-speed process for classifying a piece of material of unknown composition, the process comprising acts of:irradiating the piece with high intensity x-rays from an x-ray source located, in an x-ray chamber, causing the piece to fluoresce x-rays; detecting the fluoresced x-rays with an x-ray detector located in the x-ray chamber; reducing background noise caused by the irradiated high energy x-rays by making or lining one or more objects located in the x-ray chamber with one or more materials that do not fluoresce x-rays having an energy level within a predefined range; determining an x-ray fluorescence spectrum of the piece of material from the detected fluoresced x-rays for the predefined range of energy levels, wherein the detected x-ray fluorescence spectrum has a spectral pattern; recognizing the spectral pattern of the determined x-ray fluorescence spectrum; and classifying the piece based on the recognition of the spectral pattern.