• HOME
  • PRODUCTS
  • SALES
  • SUPPORT
  • NEWS
  • CONTACT
  • Crystal Libraries
  • Silica
  • Proteins
  • Periodic Tables
  • Materials
  • Find a Crystal

Search for a Crystal Structure

Use CrystalMaker to read standards-compliant data files from open-access databases.

If you still cannot find the structure you need, we are very pleased to recommend two open-access databases, which have search facilities and let you download data in (industry-standard) CIF format. If you have a recent version of CrystalMaker, you should then be able to drag-and-drop your file(s) into the program, for instant display.

Crystallography Open Database

Originally set up by Prof Armel Le Bail, and now with an international board of editors, this database contains over 48,000 entries, which can be freely downloaded in the ubiquitous CIF format.

Search the COD database

MSA Crystal Structure Database

This database is the culmination of a major NSF funding project. It contains a wealth of mineral structures, including every structure published in American Mineralogist, Canadian Mineralogist, European Journal of Mineralogy and Physics and Chemistry of Minerals, plus other sources.

You will need to specify the "CIF" format, when downloading data, instead of the proprietary (and little-used) ".amc" format that seems to be the default option.

Search the MSA database

Please check your data!One should always be alert to the potential issue of "rogue" database files. Whilst both of these databases are reputable, it is not uncommon for files to contain errors. You should always check that your displayed structure appears reasonable, before proceeding to take measurements, simulate diffraction patterns, or do other "black-box" operations that rely implicitly on reasonable values.

© 2010 CrystalMaker Software Ltd. All rights reserved worldwide.