Patent ID: 7372941

Claim:
A method of analyzing patterns, comprising: receiving a first diffraction pattern; receiving a second diffraction pattern; receiving a third diffraction pattern; detecting the characteristic peaks of the first diffraction pattern; detecting the characteristic peaks of the second diffraction pattern; detecting the characteristic peaks of the third diffraction pattern; determining a first similarity between the first and the second diffraction patterns based on the characteristic peaks of the first and the second diffraction patterns; determining a second similarity between the first and the third diffraction patterns based on the characteristic peaks of the first and the third diffraction patterns; determining a third similarity between the second and the third diffraction patterns based on the characteristic peaks of the second and the third diffraction patterns; performing hierarchical cluster analysis on the first, the second, and the third diffraction pattern based on the determined first, second, and third similarity; and displaying the results of the hierarchical cluster analysis; wherein the characteristic peaks are detected by computing the variance of the diffraction patterns.