NMR probe with enhanced power handling ability

• US 6,590,394 B2
• Filed: 09/28/2001
• Issued: 07/08/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 09/28/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Agilent Technologies, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Varian Incorporated (Agilent Technologies, Inc.)
• Inventors: Feng, I-Jaung, Wong, Wai Ha
• Primary Examiner(s): Lefkowitz, Edward
• Assistant Examiner(s): Fetzner, Tiffany A.
• Application Number:
  US09/967,819
• Publication Number:
  US 20030062896A1
• Time in Patent Office: 648 Days
• Field of Search: 324/318, 324/322, 324/309, 600/407
• US Class Current: 324/318
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 33/34007 Manufacture of RF coils, e.g. using printed circuit board technology; additional hardware for providing mechanical support to the RF coil assembly or to part thereof, e.g. a support for moving the coil assembly relative to the remainder of the MR system
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 33/34023 Superconducting RF coils
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 33/34053 Solenoid coils; Toroidal coils
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 33/34061 Helmholtz coils
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 33/34092 RF coils specially adapted for NMR spectrometers
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 33/341 comprising surface coils

Abstract

A phase-shifted coil comprises nested concentric spiral portions, the terminals of which are progressively offset. Separately tuned concentric such coils of different dimensions exhibit relatively close intercoil clearance in one dimension and relatively large clearances in the orthogonal dimension provide different flux return characteristics for selective RF coupling.

Claims

1. A planar MR/RF coil exhibiting desired RF resonant properties, comprising:

a plurality of substantially concentrically nested elemental spiral conductors, each said elemental spiral conductor having an inner end being confined within an inner side of the MR/RF coil and an outer end disposed within an outer side of the MR/RF coil, the inner ends of adjacent said elemental spiral conductors geometrically displaced towards each other by an angular amount Δ

θ

to obtain a desired RF offset phase difference(Δ

Φ

).

2. The MR/RF coil of claim 1, wherein said angular amount Δ

θ

is a plane angle of about 2π

/N, wherein N is a number of said elemental spiral conductors.

3. The MR/RF coil of claim 1, wherein said adjacent elemental spiral conductors comprise a selected distributed capacitive coupling across the MR/RF coil that allows for accumulation a substantial magnitude of capacitance between said adjacent elemental spiral conductors resulting in uniform current density distribution across the MR/RF coil.

4. The coil of claim 3 wherein said capacitive coupling allows for accumulation a substantial capacitance proximate the end of said elemental spiral conductors clue to the RE phase difference between adjacent elemental conductors.

5. The MR/RF coil of claim 2 wherein each said elemental conductor is of such length to substantially support a standing wave of desired resonant properties.

6. The MR/RF coil of claim 5, further comprising a second plurality of substantially concentrically nested elemental spiral conductors, each said elemental spiral conductor of said second plurality also having an inner end being confined within an inner side of the MR/RE coil and an outer end disposed within an outer side of the MR/RF coil, the inner ends of adjacent said elemental spiral conductors disposed relatively offset towards each other by an angular amount Δ

θ

₁ to obtain a desired RF offset phase difference therebetween, said first and second plurality of said elemental spiral conductors being spaced apart to form a Helmholtz pair of coils.

7. The MR/RF coil of claim 5 wherein said RF phase difference Δ

Φ

is constant for all said adjacent elemental spirals.

8. The MR/RF coil of claims 6, wherein said first and second pluralities of substantially concentrically nested elemental spiral conductors are substantially identical.

9. The MR/RF coil of claim 8, wherein the normal to each coil plane is opposing and co-linear.

10. The MR/RE coil of claim 5, wherein said spiral conductors are disposed on a planar substrate.

11. The MR/RE coil of claim 10, wherein said conductors comprise HTS materials.

12. A planar RF resonant coil component comprising:

at least two closely spaced, concentric spiral conductors,

each said spiral conductor having an inductance each pair of said spiral conductors having a distributed capacitance and a mutual inductance therebetween, whereby at least one resonant frequency characterizes said planar RF resonant coil component,

each said spiral conductor supporting a standing wave corresponding to at least one said resonance.

each said spiral conductor geometrically displaced in relation to at least one of the adjacent spiral conductors by an angular amount Δ

θ

whereby a phase shift is introduced therebetween that allows for the accumulation of a substantial capacitance due to an RF offset phase difference Δ

Φ

.

13. A multi-resonant planar MR/RF coil structure comprising:

nested inner and outer adjacent spiral conductors coaxially disposed on a common substrate forming outer and inner MR/RF coils respectively, each said spiral conductor of said outer and inner MR/RF coils having an inner end being confined within an inner side of the respective MR/RF coil and an outer end disposed on an outer side of the respective MR/RF coil, the inner ends of said adjacent elemental spiral conductors geometrically displaced towards each other by an angular amount Δ

θ

to obtain a desired RF offset phase difference Δ

Φ

,

said outer MR/RF coil having first and second symmetry axes on said surface,

said inner MR/RF coil closely approaching the outer coil along said first axis and said inner MR/RF coil spaced apart from said outer MR/RF coil by a selected separation along said second axis for optimizing isolation between said inner and outer MR/RF coils.

14. The multi-resonant MR/RF coil structure of claim 13 wherein said outer coil exhibits a first resonant frequency and said inner coil exhibits a second resonant frequency.

15. The multi-resonant MR/RF coil structure of claim 14 wherein said inner and outer coils each have substantially rectangular shape on said surface.

16. The multi-resonant coil of claim 15, wherein said conductors comprise HTSC materials.

17. The multi-resonant MR/RF coil structure of claim 13, wherein said said inner and outer MR/RF coils have opposite helicity.

18. A method of uniformly distributing RF current density over a planar RF resonant structure comprising the steps of:

providing at least one MR/RF coil having concentrically nested elemental spiral conductors, each said conductor enclosing an angle substantially different from a multiple of 2π

,

coupling RF power to each said elemental spiral conductor, and

geometrically offsetting each said adjacent elemental spiral conductor to obtain an RF phase shift between each of the adjacent elemental spiral conductors, that cause capacitive coupling between each said elemental spiral conductor and each of the adjacent conductors, resulting in an RF current density that is uniformly distributing over the RF resonant structure.

19. An NMR probe for use in an NMR apparatus, comprising:

a pair of planer RF coils, each said planer RF coil comprising a plurality of substantially concentrically nested elemental spiral conductors, each said elemental spiral conductor having an inner end and an outer end, the inner ends of adjacent said elemental spiral conductors being confined by said pair of RF coils and geometrically displaced therebetween so that the RF phase of each of said spiral conductors is shifted with respect to each said adjacent elemental spiral conductor to obtain a desired RF phase difference Δ

Φ

, said pair of RF coils disposed spaced apart on a common axis and communicating mutually with one another to produce a desired RF magnetic field in the space therebetween, whereby RF coupling between said coil pair and an RF terminal occurs.

20. An NMR apparatus for examination of a composition of matter, comprising:

a magnetic field of controllable properties,

a RF source and a RF receiver selectively coupled to an RF probe assembly, said probe assembly comprising;

at least a pair of planar RF coils, each said planar RF coil comprising spaced, concentric spiral conductors that each have an inner and outer ends disposed respectively within an inner and an outer side of each respective RF coil;

each said spiral conductor having an inductance, each pair of said spiral conductors having distributed capacitance and a mutual inductance therebetween, whereby at least one resonant frequency characterizes the resonance component,

each said spiral conductor of each said RF coil substantially supporting a standing wave corresponding to at least one said resonance,

each said spiral conductor geometrically displaced in relation to at least one of the adjacent spiral conductors whereby a phase shift Δ

θ

is introduced therebetween that allows for accumulation a substantial capacitance due to an RF offset phase difference Δ

Φ

.

21. A system for coupling a multi-resonant MR/RF coil with an RE source comprising:

said multi-resonant MR/RF coil comprising nested inner and outer adjacent spiral conductors coaxially disposed on a common substrate forming outer and inner MR/RF coils respectively,

each said spiral conductor of said outer and inner MR/RF coils having an inner end being confined within an inner side of the respective MR/RF coil and outer end disposed within an other side of the respective MR/RF coil, the inner ends of said adjacent elemental spiral conductors geometrically displaced towards each other by an angular amount Δ

θ

to obtain a desired RF offset phase difference Δ

Φ

,

said outer MR/RF coil having first and second symmetry axes on said surface, said inner MR/RF coil closely approaching the outer coil along said first axis and said inner MR/RF coil spaced from said outer MR/RF coil by a selected separation along said second axis,

said outer and inner MR/RF coils exhibiting a first and second resonant frequency respectively,

a first coupling loop for selectively coupling RF power at the second resonant frequency to said inner MR/RF coil said first coupling loop is disposed to concurrently superimpose a projection therefrom on both am interior region of said inner MR/RF coil and another region, said another region external to said Inner MR/RF coil and internal to said outer MR/RF coil, said first coupling loop having a butterfly shape, and

a second coupling loop for selectively coupling RF power at the first resonant frequency to aid outer MR/RF coil, said second coupling loop is disposed to concurrently superimpose a projection therefrom on both an interior region of said inner MR/RF coil and another region, said another region external to said inner MR/RF coil and internal to said outer MR/RF coil, said second coupling loop having a simple shape.