Resolution of Superimposed Diffraction Peaks in Texture Analysis of a YBa₂Cu₃O₇ Polycrystal

Abstract

Texture measurements in polycrystalline 123 oxide superconductors are complicated by the superposition of Bragg reflections in the pole figures due to the near degeneracy of the crystal structure. A method is described, based on an extension of the WIMV algorithm, for resolving these superpositions and determining the crystal orientation distribution (OD). The method is exemplified by OD analysis of a magnetically aligned, strongly textured powder sample of YBa₂Cu₃O₇.