Superconducting hybrid-resonator for receiving NMR-signals

• US 6,121,776 A
• Filed: 07/20/1998
• Issued: 09/19/2000
• Est. Priority Date: 08/02/1997
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Bruker Biospin AG (Bruker Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Bruker AG (Bruker Corporation)
• Inventors: Marek, Daniel
• Primary Examiner(s): Oda, Christine K.
• Assistant Examiner(s): SHRIVASTAV, BRIJ B
• Application Number:
  US09/118,943
• Time in Patent Office: 792 Days
• Field of Search: 324/318, 324/322, 324/309
• US Class Current: 324/318
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 33/34023 Superconducting RF coils
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 33/34061 Helmholtz coils
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 33/34076 Birdcage coils
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 33/34092 RF coils specially adapted for NMR spectrometers
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 33/3678 involving quadrature drive or detection, e.g. a circularly polarized RF magnetic field

Abstract

An RF resonator for resonant transmission and/or reception of RF-pulses at a desired resonance frequency into or out of a sample (5) within an investigational region in a homogeneous magnetic field B₀ of an (NMR)-apparatus has at least two spatially separated superconducting components (1, 1a, 1b, 1c, 1d) which do not constitute, either alone or in combination, a closed resonance system capable of resonating at the desired resonant frequency. Normally conducting connection elements (2a, 2b) are therefore provided to connect the superconducting components conductively and/or capacitively in such a fashion that the superconducting components, together with the normally connecting components, form one or a plurality of closed resonance systems capable of resonating at the desired resonant frequency. In this fashion, despite use of flat superconducting materials, a substantially higher fill factor, a very good homogeneity of the B₀ -filed, and a signal-to-noise ratio corresponding to that of prior art are achieved but with high RF-power and a short excitation pulse decay time.

Claims

1. A radio-frequency (RF)-resonator for resonant transmission and reception of RF-signals at a desired resonance frequency into and out of a sample in an investigational volume within a homogeneous magnetic field B₀ of a nuclear magnetic resonance(NMR)-apparatus, the RF-resonator comprising:

at least two spatially separated superconducting components; and

normally conducting connection elements coupling together said superconducting components, wherein said superconducting components do not form, either individually or collectively, a closed resonance system capable of resonating at the desired resonance frequency, and said superconducting components, together with said normally connecting elements, form at least one closed resonance system capable of resonating at the desired resonance frequency.

2. The RF-resonator of claim 1, wherein said superconducting layer is subdivided into a plurality of fine strips all of which are directed parallel to the magnetic field B₀.

3. The RF-resonator of claim 1, wherein said superconducting layer is subdivided into at least two regions which are capacitively coupled to each other.

4. The RF-resonator of claim 1, wherein said superconducting layer consists essentially of a high temperature superconductor.

5. The RF-resonator of claim 4, wherein said high temperature superconductor consists essentially of YBCO.

6. The RF-resonator of claim 1, wherein said plate consists essentially of a crystal having a crystal structure.

7. The RF-resonator of claim 6, wherein said crystal is one of LaAlO₃ and sapphire.

8. The RF-resonator of claim 1, wherein said the connection elements have two diametrically opposed interruption channels which extend parallel to said axis of said cylindrical surface to effect a predefined current distribution in the resonator.

9. The RF-resonator of claim 8, wherein there are 2 m superconducting components, with m being an odd integer, and said interruption channels are disposed in a middle below a superconducting component.

10. The RF-resonator of claim 8, wherein there are 2 m superconducting components, with m being an even integer, and said interruption channels are disposed in a middle between two neighbouring superconducting components.

11. The RF-resonator of claim 1, wherein said superconducting components and said connection elements form a Bird Cage resonator.

12. The RF-resonator of claim 11, further comprising a capacitive out-coupling for coupling an NMR-signal out of the resonator.

13. The RF-resonator of claim 11, further comprising a conductive out-coupling for coupling an NMR-signal out of the resonator.

14. The RF-resonator of claim 13, wherein said conductive out-coupling comprises a direct contacting to said supercondcuting component.

15. The RF-resonator of claim 11, further comprising two mutually orthogonal out-couplings to facilitate quadrature detection.

16. A radio-frequency (RF) resonator for resonant transmission and reception of RF-signals at a desired resonance frequency into and out of a sample in an investigational volume within a homogeneous magnetic field B₀ of a nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) apparatus, the RF-resonator comprising:

at least two spatially separated superconducting components, each of said superconducting components consisting essentially of an elongated narrow plate having a superconducting layer, said plate being oriented parallel to the magnetic field B₀ and distributed on a cylindrical surface having an axis parallel to the magnetic field B₀ and coinciding with an axis of the sample; and

normally conducting connection elements coupling together said superconducting components, wherein said superconducting components do not form, either individually or collectively, a closed resonance system capable of resonating at the desired resonance frequency, and said superconducting components, together with said normally conducting elements, form at least one closed resonance system capable of resonating at the desired resonance frequency.

17. A radio-frequency (RF) resonator for resonant transmission and reception of RF-signals at a desired resonance frequency into and out of a sample in an investigational volume within a homogeneous magnetic field B₀ of a nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) apparatus, the RF-resonator comprising:

at least two spatially separated superconducting components, each of said superconducting components consisting essentially of an elongated narrow plate having a superconducting layer, said plate being oriented parallel to the magnetic field B₀ and distributed on a cylindrical surface having a axis parallel to the magnetic field B₀ and coinciding with an axis of the sample; and

normally conducting connection elements coupling together said superconducting components, wherein said superconducting components do not form, either individually or collectively, a closed resonance system capable of resonating at a desired resonance frequency, and said superconducting components, together with said normally conducting elements, form at least one closed resonance system capable of resonating at a desired resonance frequency, wherein said superconducting components are at least one of capacitively and conductively connected, at their two axial ends, to normally conducting, metallic connection elements having high electrical conductivity.