News & Updates

Crystal Studio Titled Best Crystallography Software Platform Again!


Date: 09/28/2023

We are honored to announce that Crystal Studio was named Best Crystallography Software Platform 2023!

more...

 

Crystal Studio Version 18 Release!


Date: 12/17/2022

We are pleased to announce the new release of Crystal Studio Version 18 On December 17, 2022!

more...

 

Crystal Studio Titled Best Crystallography Software Platform!


Date: 09/26/2022

We are honored to announce that Crystal Studio was named Best Crystallography Software Platform 2022!

more...

 

VirtuaLabs Version 2.0 Release!


Date:

We are pleased to announce the new release of VirtuaLabs Version 2.0!

more...

 

Features

  • Gracefully Designed Interface Elegantly Implemented
  • With tabbed Space Group View/Crystal Structure View/Model View in the left hand pane and the Properties Window in the right hand pane. Everything is easily accessible from the frame window. Example,  See the preview page for details.

    Select your favorite application looks. Customize your toolbar and/or add your own user created toolbars.

  • Photo-Realistic High Quality 3D Graphics
  • Crystal Studio produces photo-realistic graphics with stunning color and 3D realism augmented by controllable lighting effects and unlimited selection of colors and material properties for equivalent class of objects or individual objects. Such high quality 3D graphics can be saved as normal resolution or high resolution Windows Bitmap or standard JPEG files inside Crystal Studio itself or output to many Windows applications such as Adobe PhotoShop to be saved as JPEG, PNG, BMP, PSD or TIFF files. Example 1 (FeZn13)  , Example 2 (CaF2)  , Al2MgO4 Mixed Model. Download high resolution images created with Crystal Studio via this link.

    With the help of POV Ray Tracing (TM), a share ware, crystal Studio can also produce photo-realistic images with real material textures and save them as high resolution image files. Look at an example file via this link.

    Save animations or your work steps into AVI (Audio Video Interleaved) files that can be played in MS Power Point presentations. Download an example file via this link. and play it. This AVI example demonstrates selective build and Undo/Redo steps.

    Print high quality graphics through high quality color printer or ink jet printers.

  • Database Powered
  • Crystal Studio is integrated with a crystallographic database. The database contains information about all 530 space group specifications from various versions of International Tables for (X-Ray) Crystallography, information on all elements in the Periodic Table including valence, radii etc. and latest data for atomic scattering amplitude and Debye-Waller factors for diffraction calculations. The database also include a crystal structure database with 6000 common crystal structures and a layer/cluster database, you can build your own crystal structure database for easy access to your routine crystal structures.

    Non-standard space group specifications can be created and added to the database by user. The 530 existing space group specifications can also be modified by users.

    Crystal structures without space group specifications can also be created, built and stored in the database.

  • Simple User Interface
  • Most functions and procedures can be accomplished by simple mouse clicks. Use less than 5 mouse clicks to create a 3D crystal with stunning color and 3D realism, Use one more mouse click to plot powder XRD pattern, zone axis electron diffraction pattern or stereographic projections.

    Double click on any object such as atoms, bonds and polyhedra etc. invokes a dialog box for changing various aspects for that object and/or its equivalents and or group of selected objects. You can change various parameters either in individual or in equivalent classes. Double click anywhere else on the views invokes dialog or property sheet for you to change various parameters for the view. You can edit the crystal structure visually.

    Right mouse button click on all views and objects invoke a context sensitive pop-up menu of commands for the views and objects, repectively. These pop-up menus make editing in 3D view quick and easy.

    Unlimited steps of Undo and Redo of all editing processes make editing in 3D view even more easier.

  • Multiple Tools
  • 3D crystal view, 3D molecule view; nanotubes and nanocones; assembly of crystals, molecures, nanotubes and Fullerenes etc.; Powder XRD, neutron or electron Diffraction Patterns for phase or phase mixtures; 3D Reciprocal Lattices, Zone Axis Diffraction Patterns; Laue Xrd Diffraction Patterns(Example)  and Stereographic Projections for the crystal structure or matrix plus twin or second phase; First Principle Simulations; different orders of 3D Laue zones; higher order Laue zone Diffraction Patterns  (Example) and two dimensional real and reciprocal lattices to aid surface RHEED analysis. See the preview page for details.

  • First Principle Simulations
  • Crystal Studio Version 11 Quantum is implemented with an easy graphical interface to perform first principle simulations on crystals with the well-known GPL simulation package ABINIT. Calculations of band structures, Born effective charges, dielectric constants, piezoelectric constants, elastic constants and thermodynamic properties etc. can be performed. Such calculations which used to be reserved for theoretical chemists are now accessible to experimentalists and general scientists and engineers. This feature is available for the Quantum edition only. Band Structure of Si  , XX Component of Linear Optical Dielectric Tenser for Si  , Phonon Band Structure for Si.

  • Various Crystal Defects
  • Various crystal defects can be created easily such as vacancies, interstitial atoms, edge and screw dislocations, stacking faults, twin boundaries and phase epitaxies. Example 1: An edge dislocation.  Example 2: An FCC (111) Twin.  Example 3: Laue Xrd Diffraction Pattern for AuAl2+(111) Twin.  Example 4: Kurdjumov-Sachs relationship between FCC and BCC and Diffraction Pattern.

  • Multiple Styles and Projection Methods
  • Crystal Studio presents multiple styles such as Ball and Stick Model, Stick Model, Space Filling Model, Thermal Motion Ellipsoid and Stick Model and Ball and Stick plus translucent Space Filling Model. Such styles can be mixed in a crystal structure by the use of Group Models for object groups. Example. Other styles can also be created by adjusting the relative scale for atoms and bonds or by including coordination or cavity polyhedra. Crystal Studio also presents two projection methods, i.e. Perspective and Othographic projections.

  • File and Data Import and Export
  • Crystal Studio directly import CIF (Crystallographic Information File) files, mmCIF (Macro-Molecule Crystallographic Information File) files, PDB (Protein Data Bank) files, ICSD(inorganic Crystal Structure Database) files and indirectly import other common database files such as CSD (Cambridge Structure Database) files and CRYSTMET files with their output of CIF or mmCIF files. Example 1 ,  Example 2

    Crystal Studio can export standard CIF files. It can also export Atom Coordinates files for input into programs for simulation and modelling.

    Crystal Studio can import powder XRD patterns in various formats automatically.

  • Nanotubes and Nanocones
  • Crystal Studio Version 9 and above can create single wall or muli-wall carbon or boron nitride nanotubes and nanocones and twisted or deformed nanotubes. Multi-Wall Carbon Nanotube.    Multi-Wall Carbon Nanocone.

  • Unit Cell Transformations
  • With Crystal Studio, unit cells can be transformed by specifying the new Z axis of the new cell or by specifying a transformation matrix. Example: A normal FCC Al (Fm-3m) cell is transformed to a layered (ABCABC) cell structure by specifying the new Z axis as the [111] direction.

  • 3D Plane Atom Arrangement Views & Reciprocal Lattice Laue Zone Views
  • Crystal Studio can create 3D plane atom arrangement views to show atom arrangement on different planes. It can also cleave crystals along specified planes. Example: Co2W4C cell with its (111) plane atom arrangement views. Miller planes

    Crystal Studio can create 3D Laue zone views in the reciprocal Lattice view. It can also cleave the reciprocal lattice along specified zone axis and Laue zones. Example: FCC Al with its (111) Twin reciprocal lattice plus [111] ZOLZ, FOLZ and SOLZ.

  • Combo Views
  • Add up to three sub-views from other open files or from plane atom views in the current file to the main view and move and/or rotate them to form an ideal scene (Combo View) and save it as high quality high resolution images. Example.

  • Selective Build
  • Use Selective Build to construct framework or molecular cage sub-structures. Example: Fujasite.

  • Coordination and/or Cavity Polyhedra, Thermal Motion Ellipsoids and Atom Vectors
  • Create any kind of coordination or cavity polyhedra and search through out the crystal to create all equivalent polyhedra. Example. Calculate maximum cavity diameter for cavity polyhedra.

    Plot thermal motion ellipsoids if the thermal displacement parameters for the atoms are given Example 2. Create atom vectors to indicate magnetic moment or dipole moment etc..

  • 3D Symmetry Element Indicator or Markers
  • With Version 10, symmetry elements such as rotation axis, screw axis and inversion centers can be indicated by 3D markers on atom vectors. Example: Symmetry Elements, please note that the picture just show as many symmetry element markers as possible. The symmetry elements do not coincide with the symmetry of the positions.

  • Hyper-Linked Online Help System
  • The hyper-linked online help system lets you navigate through related topics by mouse clicks. The context sensitive help allows you to get help from where you are by simply pressing the F1 key.