The reciprocal lattice is constructed by drawing normals to the Bragg planes (hkl) from the origin of the unit cell. If these normals are drawn with a length equal to the reciprocal of the d-spacing (d_hkl) and with a direction given by the normal, a series of “reciprocal lattice points” are drawn which describe a reciprocal lattice. Below, the three lattice points constructed for the 001, 100, and 101 Bragg planes are shown, along with the resulting reciprocal unit cell.

The direct unit cell has a > c and β > 90°; the reciprocal unit cell has a* < c* and β* < 90°.