Rodrigues-Frank Representations of Crystallographic Texture

Abstract

Electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) as a technique has achieved a great deal of usage with the apparent ease by which one can associate grain specific diffraction information from a polycrystalline sample. This enabled a coupling of microstructural features within the diffraction based resolution volume of the electron beam with the local or microtexture characteristics. The development of the experimental technique of EBSD has been aided by image processing tools and automation techniques that has been significant in the establishment of orientation mapping. Using electron beam based diffraction techniques offers a distinct advantage over x-ray diffraction techniques in many cases. For example, one may be interested in characterizing texture gradients over small regions of the microstructure below the spatial resolution of x-ray diffraction techniques; or the sample dimension may be too small (such as thin films and nanostructures) to even contain many grains. Yet, while the issues of local texture are still important to assess and interpret in these cases, and while EBSD may provide an experimental means of obtaining texture information, the predominant means of representing texture is still through orientation space as discussed in the last chapter.