Enhancement of nuclear magnetic resonance in microtesla magnetic field with prepolarization field detected with high-Tc superconducting quantum interference device

Abstract

We applied prepolarization field and high-Tc superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID) detector to enhance nuclear magnetic resonance signal in a microtesla magnetic field. The minimum measuring magnetic field is 8.9μT at which the proton resonance frequency is 380Hz. The specificity instrumentation and the difficulty of using a high-Tc SQUID with prepolarization field were investigated. We applied gradient field to perform one-dimensional proton imaging in a microtesla magnetic field. Additionally, low field high-Tc SQUID-based NMR systems are promising in biomagnetic research due to its use, for example, in imaging with hyperpolarized noble gas.