Abstract

Because of the superposition of pole figures corresponding to symmetrically equivalent crystal directions, only the reduced orientation distribution function f∼(g) can be obtained directly by pole figure inversion. The additional information contained in the positivity condition of the ODF allows, however, the determination of an approximation to the “indeterminable” part and hence of the complete ODF f(g), if the texture has sufficiently large zero-ranges. The application of the method and the accuracy of the results was tested using two theoretical and one experimental textures. The accuracy of the complete ODF depends on the size of the zero-range, the errors in its determination, and on the errors, experimental and truncational, of the reduced ODF. The “physical zero” used in order to determine the zero-range is defined according to the statistical error of the pole figure measurement.