Material Visualization Guide
Available Visualization Tools
The Materials Database offers several visualization tools to help you understand and analyze material properties:
- Crystal Structure Viewer
- Band Structure Plot
- Density of States (DOS) Viewer
This guide explains how to use each of these tools effectively.
Crystal Structure Viewer
Accessing the Viewer
The crystal structure viewer is available on each material's detail page. Look for the "Structure" tab.
Basic Controls
- Rotate: Click and drag to rotate the structure
- Zoom: Use the mouse wheel or pinch gesture
- Pan: Right-click and drag (or two-finger drag)
- Reset View: Click the "Reset" button to return to the default view
Display Options
You can customize the display using the control panel:
- Visualization Style: Choose between ball-and-stick, space-filling, or wireframe
- Coloring Scheme: Color atoms by element, charge, or coordination
- Unit Cell: Toggle visibility of the unit cell boundaries
- Polyhedra: Display coordination polyhedra around selected atoms
- Labels: Show atom labels, bond lengths, or other annotations
Band Structure Plot
Accessing the Viewer
The band structure plot is available on the "Electronic" tab of each material's detail page.
Interactive Features
- Zoom: Click and drag to select a region to zoom into
- Pan: Right-click and drag to move the view
- Data Points: Hover over points to see energy values
- High-Symmetry Points: Labels indicate high-symmetry points in k-space
Display Options
Customize the band structure display:
- Energy Range: Adjust the displayed energy range
- Reference Level: Set Fermi level or VBM as the zero reference
- Band Highlighting: Highlight specific bands of interest
- Export: Save the plot as PNG, SVG, or data as CSV
Density of States (DOS) Viewer
Accessing the Viewer
The DOS viewer is available on the "Electronic" tab, adjacent to the band structure plot.
Display Options
- Energy Range: Adjust the displayed energy range
- Projection Type: View total DOS or projected DOS (by element or orbital)
- Smoothing: Adjust the smoothing factor for the DOS curves
- Stacked/Overlaid: Choose between stacked or overlaid display of projections
Advanced Visualization
Combined Views
For comprehensive analysis, you can display multiple visualizations simultaneously:
- Click the "Combined View" option
- Select which visualizations to display
- Arrange the layout as desired
Custom Analysis
For specialized visualization needs:
- Export the raw data (structure, bands, DOS)
- Use external tools like VESTA, Python, or specialized software
- Import and upload custom visualizations to your project