Abstract: A fast thermal cycler has a temperature chamber divided into a top, hot compartment heated by heating lamps and a bottom cold compartment cooled by liquid nitrogen, for optimizing thermal cycling rates for devices under test, such as solar cells, for rapid thermal life testing where both compartments use pressurized gaseous nitrogen for thermal conduction and regulation and a motor drive repetitively transports a test device mounted on a panel transiting between the two compartments. The thermal cycler is enhanced by computer control, enabling in-situ electrical testing, fail-safe heating, precision temperature heating and cooling phases, operator alerting and thermal gradient control during the temperature cycling.

Abstract: A novel method and system for the detection of voids or other composition anomalies in wires and particularly in composite wires is provided, which comprises a source of penetrating radiation, such as an X-ray, gamma or neutron source for irradiating the wire; a fluid bath in which the wire is immersed or through which the wire may be moved, the bath containing a material having a linear coefficient of attenuation for the radiation closely matching that of a standard or ideal composition wire; and a detector system for observing and comparing the transmission of the radiation through the bath and wire with that through the bath only, or through the bath and wire with that through the bath containing a normal or standard wire.