CIF (Crystallographic Information Framework)

A well-established standard file structure for the archiving and distribution of crystallographic information, CIF is in regular use for reporting crystal structure determinations to Acta Crystallographica and other journals.

Sponsored by the International Union of Crystallography, the current standard dates from 1997. As of July 2011, a new version of the CIF standard is under consideration.

Summary Edit

Standard Website
http://www.iucr.org/resources/cif
Specification
http://www.iucr.org/resources/cif/spec
Related Vocabularies
IUCr Recommended abbreviations within data names
CIF dictionaries
Subjects
Engineering
Physical Sciences & Mathematics
Disciplines
Chemistry
Crystallography
Materials Science

Extensions Add

Tools Add

CIF2Cell Edit

A tool to generate the geometrical setup for various electronic structure codes from a CIF file.

IUCr checkCIF Edit

A tool used to check the integrity and cosistency of crystal structure encodings in CIF format.

Software for CIF Edit

The International Union of Crystallography's list of programs and libraries available for use with CIF files.

Use Cases Add

American Mineralogist Crystal Structure Database Edit

A CIF crystal structure database that includes every structure published in the American Mineralogist, The Canadian Mineralogist, European Journal of Mineralogy and Physics and Chemistry of Minerals, as well as selected datasets from other journals.

Cambridge Structural Database Edit

A repository of small molecule crystal structures, many with accompanying CIF files.

Crystallography Open Database Edit

An open-access collection of crystal structures of organic, inorganic, metal-organic compounds and minerals, many of which are in CIF form.