US Patent 7925452 - Corrosion detection using quantum dots

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7925452.html


This patent from Boeing teaches a method of detecting corrosion in aircraft parts using semiconductor nanocrystals. Claim 1 reads:

1. A method for non-destructive detection of corrosion using quantum dots, the method comprising:

testing, by a number of quantum dot detectors operably coupled to a data processing system, a surface on a commodity associated with a set of quantum dots to form a test area;

detecting, by a processor of the data processing system, a pattern of wavelengths emitted by the set of quantum dots associated with the test area of the commodity to form a quantum dot pattern, wherein the set of quantum dots emits different colored lights in different sets of patterns of wavelengths; identifying, by the processor, an intensity of wavelengths in the pattern of wavelengths emitted by the set of quantum dots;

analyzing, by the processor, the quantum dot pattern to determine whether corrosion has occurred in the test area, wherein the set of quantum dots emit an expected pattern in the absence of corrosion, and wherein the corrosion changes the expected pattern; and

determining, by the processor, an amount and a severity of corrosion in the test area of the commodity based on the quantum dot pattern and the intensity of the wavelengths.