Inspection systems and methods of operation

1. A method for inspecting an object, the method comprising:

applying a pulsed excitation signal to the object;

detecting a transient response signal to the pulsed excitation signal;

selecting a segment of the transient response signal obtained over a time interval Δt;

convolving the transient response signal obtained over the time interval Δt with a plurality of orthogonal functions to generate a plurality of orthogonal components corresponding to a fundamental frequency f=1/Δt, wherein the convolving step is performed at a first frequency f1=1/Δt;

using the plurality of orthogonal components corresponding to the fundamental frequency f=1/Δt to detect a presence or an absence of a defect in the object; and

selecting a plurality of segments of the transient response signal obtained over respective time intervals {Δt2, . . . Δtn}, wherein the convolving step is repeated for the plurality of segments to generate a plurality of sets of orthogonal components corresponding to respective ones of a plurality of frequencies f={1/Δt2, . . . , 1/Δtn}, and wherein each of the sets of orthogonal components corresponds to a respective depth Δz in the object.

2. The method of claim 1 , further comprising generating a plurality of linear profiles using the orthogonal components.

3. The method of claim 2 , further comprising graphing the linear profiles in a complex plane.

4. The method of claim 1 , further comprising digitizing the transient response signal prior to convolving the transient response signal.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the orthogonal functions comprise a sine function and a cosine function.

6. The method of claim 5 , further comprising:

generating a plurality of linear profiles using the orthogonal components;

graphing the linear profiles in a complex plane to generate a XY scatter plot;

determining a phase shift (φ) for the transient response signal based on a difference between an initial time (T o ) and a zero position of the sine function; and

adjusting the XY scatter plot using the phase shift (φ).

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the sine function comprises a discrete sine transform

sin

⁡

(

2

⁢

⁢

π

⁡

(

n

-

N

1

)

N

2

-

N

1

+

ϕ

)

and the cosine function comprises a discrete cosine transform

cos

⁡

(

2

⁢

π

⁡

(

n

-

N

1

)

N

2

-

N

1

+

ϕ

)

,

wherein n is the number of time intervals for convolving the transient response signal, N 1 and N 2 are first and second time intervals and φ is a phase shift for the transient response signal.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the object comprises a plurality of layers, and wherein each of the sets of orthogonal components corresponds to a respective one of the layers.

9. The method of claim 1 , further comprising forming a linear combination of a plurality of the orthogonal components for different ones of the frequencies {f1, . . . , fn}.

10. The method of claim 1 , wherein the orthogonal components are selected from the group consisting of a real component, an imaginary component, a phase, an amplitude and combinations thereof.

11. The method of claim 1 , wherein the orthogonal components define a graphical position of the processed transient response on a XY scatter plot and phase, or magnitude are representative of a presence or absence of a defect, or are representative of a depth of the defect in the object.

12. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

digitizing the transient response signal prior to convolving the transient response signal; and

selecting a processing time for the convolving step, wherein the processing time T defines a fundamental frequency f=1/T of the orthogonal component.

13. An inspection system, comprising:

a pulse generator configured to supply a pulsed excitation signal;

a probe configured to receive the pulsed excitation signal, to transmit electromagnetic flux into an object under test, and to sense and generate output signals from transient electromagnetic flux in the object;

an analog-to-digital converter configured to digitize the output signals from the probe and to supply a digitized transient response signal; and

a processor configured to convolve a plurality of segments of the digitized transient response signal obtained over respective time intervals {Δt, Δt2, . . . Δtn} with a plurality of orthogonal functions to generate a plurality of orthogonal components corresponding to respective ones of a plurality of frequencies f={1/Δt, 1/Δt2, . . . , 1/Δtn} and to a respective depth Δz in the object.

14. The inspection system of claim 13 , further comprising a display, wherein the processor is further configured to generating a plurality of linear profiles using the orthogonal components, and wherein the display is configured to display a XY scatter plot of the linear profiles in the complex plane.

15. The inspection system of claim 13 , wherein the orthogonal functions comprise a sine function and a cosine function.

16. The inspection system of claim 15 , wherein the processor is configured to determine a phase shift for the transient response signal based on a difference between an initial time (To) and a zero position of the sine function and to adjust a two-dimensional plot using the phase shift (φ).

17. The inspection system of claim 13 , wherein the processor is configured to detect a presence or absence of defect in the object using the orthogonal components.

18. A method for inspecting an object, the method comprising:

applying a pulsed excitation signal to the object;

detecting a transient response signal to the pulsed excitation signal;

selecting a segment of the transient response signal obtained over a time interval Δt;

convolving the segment of the transient response signal with a sine function and a cosine function to generate a plurality of orthogonal components corresponding to a fundamental frequency f=1/Δt; and

using the orthogonal components corresponding to the fundamental frequency f=1/Δt to detect a presence or an absence of a defect in the object,

wherein the orthogonal components are selected from the group consisting of a real component, an imaginary component, a phase, an amplitude and combinations thereof, the method further comprising selecting a plurality of segments of the transient response signal obtained over respective time intervals {Δt2, . . . Δtn}, wherein the convolving step is repeated for the plurality of segments to generate a plurality of sets of orthogonal components corresponding to respective ones of a plurality of frequencies f={1/Δt2, . . . , 1/Δtn}, and wherein each of the sets of orthogonal components corresponds to a respective depth Δz in the object.

19. The method of claim 18 , further comprising:

generating a plurality of linear profiles using the orthogonal components; and graphing the linear profiles in a complex plane.