Systems and methods for using a crystallinity of a substance to identify the substance

1. A method for identifying a substance, said method comprising:

determining a diffraction profile of the substance;

determining a crystallinity from the diffraction profile;

determining whether to apply a first process or a second process based on the crystallinity; and

using one of the first process and the second process to identify the substance.

2. A method in accordance with claim 1 , wherein the second process is longer than the first process.

3. A method in accordance with claim 1 , wherein said determining whether to apply the first process or the second process comprises determining whether to apply the first process or the second process based on whether the crystallinity exceeds a threshold.

4. A method in accordance with claim 1 further comprising:

determining whether the crystallinity is at least equal to a threshold; and

applying the first process if the crystallinity is at least equal to the threshold.

5. A method in accordance with claim 1 further comprising:

determining whether the crystallinity is at least equal to a threshold; and

applying the second process if the crystallinity is less than the threshold.

6. A method in accordance with claim 1 , wherein the first process comprises determining an interplanar atomic spacing of the substance.

7. A method in accordance with claim 1 , wherein the second process comprises determining an effective atomic number of the substance.

8. A method in accordance with claim 1 , wherein the second process comprises determining a packing fraction of the substance.

9. A processor configured to identify a substance, said processor further configured to:

determine a diffraction profile of the substance;

determine a crystallinity based on the diffraction profile;

determine whether to apply a first process or a second process based on the crystallinity; and

identify the substance using one of the first process and the second process.

10. A processor in accordance with claim 9 further configured to determine whether to apply the first process or the second process based on the crystallinity, wherein the second process is longer than the first process.

11. A processor in accordance with claim 9 further configured to determine whether to apply the first process or the second process based on whether the crystallinity exceeds a threshold.

12. A processor in accordance with claim 9 further configured to:

determine whether the crystallinity is at least equal to a threshold; and

apply the first process if the crystallinity is at least equal to the threshold.

13. A processor in accordance with claim 9 further configured to:

determine whether the crystallinity is at least equal to a threshold; and

apply the second process if the crystallinity is less than the threshold.

14. A processor in accordance with claim 9 further configured to:

execute the first process to determine an interplanar atomic spacing of the substance.

15. An imaging system comprising:

a source configured to generate energy;

a detector configured to detect a portion of the energy; and

a processor coupled to said detector, said processor configured to:

determine a diffraction profile of a substance;

determine a cystallinity of the substance based on the diffraction profile;

determine whether to apply a first process or a second process based on the crystallinity; and

identify the substance using one of the first process and the second process.

16. An imaging system in accordance with claim 15 , wherein the second process is longer than the first process.

17. An imaging system in accordance with claim 15 , wherein said processor is further configured to determine whether to apply the first process or the second process based on whether the crystallinity exceeds a threshold.

18. An imaging system in accordance with claim 15 , wherein said processor is further configured to:

determine whether the crystallinity is at least equal to a threshold; and

apply the first process if the crystallinity is at least equal to the threshold.

19. An imaging system in accordance with claim 15 , wherein said processor is further configured to:

determine whether the crystallinity is at least equal to a threshold; and

apply the second process if the crystallinity is less than the threshold.

20. A method for identifying a substance, said method comprising:

determining a diffraction profile of the substance;

determining a crystallinity from the diffraction profile;

determining an effective atomic number of the substance;

determining a packing fraction of the substance; and

identifying the substance based on the effective atomic number, the packing fraction, and the crystallinity.