Patent ID: 7231011

Claim:
Non-destructive testing apparatus, comprising: a photon source, said photon source producing photons having a predetermined energy and directing the photons toward a specimen being tested, the photons from said photon source resulting in the creation of positrons within the specimen being tested; a detector positioned adjacent the specimen being tested, said detector producing raw data indicative of a positron annihilation event; and a data processing system operatively associated with said detector and said photon source, said data processing system operating in accordance with a normal activation/analysis process when a half-life of a selected positron emitter within the specimen being tested is greater than a predetermined half-life, said data processing system operating in accordance with a rapid activation/analysis process when a half-life of the selected positron emitter within the specimen being tested is less than the predetermined half-life, said data processing system, when operated in accordance with the rapid activation/analysis process, alternatively activating said photon source and detecting raw data indicative of a positron annihilation event, said data processing system including a Doppler broadening algorithm, said Doppler broadening algorithm processing raw data indicative of a positron annihilation event to produce output data indicative of the presence or absence of a lattice defect in the specimen being tested.