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Measurement and minimization of field inhomogeneities in high resolution NMR

Abstract
In this work, the homogeneity of both the B0 and B1 fields was studied. Both B0 and B1 field homogeneities are the basic assumptions of high resolution liquid state NMR. Although some inhomogeneity of both of the fields is always present, the spectrometers can be operated, with the help of the developed spectral purging techniques, without giving any thought to the field inhomogeneities or the necessary actions to minimize their adverse effects. Although the effect of B0 inhomogeneity can occasionally be seen, the B1 fieldin a modern probe head is often assumed to be sufficiently homogenous for any practical purpose. By using the method used in this study the B1 field strength along one axis, typically the z-axis, can be easily mapped. Based on the information gathered from a single experiment, one can obtain reliable and valuable information about the B1 field distribution, e.g. homogeneity of the coil. From such information, the degree of required artifact suppressing methods for successful NMR experiments can be determined. Since normal pulse length calibration also requires the acquisition of several 1-D spectra, the required experimentation time is not increased.

Although the maximum amount of signal from an NMR experiment is obtained when the signal is acquired from a maximum number of resonating spins, the results presented show that significantly more homogenous B1 field along the active sample volume is achieved by rejection of the signal originating from the outer parts of the coil length. Although the total amount of signal obtained from the outer parts of the RF-coil is not very high, some loss of signal is associated with the spatially selective acquisition. The rejected signal, however, is a significant source of artifacts, and if no precautions were taken, the artifacts would severely decrease the quality of the acquired data. If the sample concentration can be increased, it would be advantageous to dissolve the amount of sample available in as small an amount of solvent as is possible and place the sample in the most B1 homogenous part of the probe-head RF-coil. With the same amount of nuclear spins concentrated into a smaller volume, the sensitivity of an NMR experiment can be increased manifold.

As an application of a spatially selective data acquisition, a versatile method capable of producing a map of the B0 field strength and its variation along the sample volume is presented.

Identiferoai:union.ndltd.org:oulo.fi/oai:oulu.fi:isbn951-42-6476-2
Date04 September 2001
CreatorsMattila, S. (Sampo)
PublisherUniversity of Oulu
Source SetsUniversity of Oulu
LanguageEnglish
Detected LanguageEnglish
Typeinfo:eu-repo/semantics/doctoralThesis, info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion
Formatapplication/pdf
Rightsinfo:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess, © University of Oulu, 2001
Relationinfo:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/pissn/0355-3191, info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/eissn/1796-220X

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