Diamonds May Be the Key to Future NMR/MRI Technologies
December 29, 2015 | Lawrence Berkeley National LaboratoryEstimated reading time: 4 minutes
“An NV center is created when two adjacent carbon atoms in the lattice of a pure diamond crystal are removed from the lattice leaving two gaps, one of which is filled with a nitrogen atom, and one of which remains vacant,” Pines explains. “This leaves unbound electrons in the center between the nitrogen atom and a vacancy that give rise to unique and well-defined electron spin polarization states.”
In earlier studies, Pines and his group demonstrated that a low-strength magnetic field could be used to transfer NV center electron spin polarization to nearby carbon-13 nuclei, resulting in hyperpolarized nuclei. This spin transference process – called dynamic nuclear polarization – had been used before to enhance NMR signals, but always in the presence of high-strength magnetic fields and cryogenic temperatures. Pines and his group eliminated these requirements by placing a permanent magnet near the diamond.
“In our new study we’re using microwaves to match the energy between electrons and carbon-13 nuclei rather than a magnetic field, which removes some difficult restrictions on the strength and alignment of the magnetic field and makes our technique more easy to use,” says King. “Also, in our previous studies, we inferred the presence of nuclear polarization indirectly through optical measurements because we weren’t able to test if the bulk sample was polarized or just the nuclei that were very close to the NV centers. By eliminating the need for even a weak magnetic field, we’re now able to make direct measurements of the bulk sample with NMR.”
In their Nature Communications paper, Pines, King and the other co-authors say that hyperpolarized diamonds, which can be efficiently integrated into existing fabrication techniques to create high surface area diamond devices, should provide a general platform for polarization transfer.
“We envision highly enhanced NMR of liquids and solids using existing polarization transfer techniques, such as cross-polarization in solids and cross-relaxation in liquids, or direct dynamic nuclear polarization to outside nuclei from NV centers,” King says, noting that such transfer of polarization to solid surface and liquids had been previously demonstrated by the Pines group using laser polarized Xe-129. “Our hyperpolarization technique based on optically polarized NV centers is far more robust and efficient and should be applicable to arbitrary target molecules, including biological systems that must be maintained at near ambient conditions.”
This research was supported by the DOE Office of Science.
Page 2 of 2Suggested Items
Inkjet Solder Mask ‘Has Arrived’
04/10/2024 | Pete Starkey, I-Connect007I was delighted to be invited to attend an interactive webinar entitled “Solder Mask Coating Made Easy with Additive Manufacturing,” hosted by SUSS MicroTec Netherlands in Eindhoven. The webinar was introduced and moderated by André Bodegom, managing director at Adeon Technologies, and the speakers were Mariana Van Dam, senior product manager PCB imaging solutions at AGFA in Belgium; Ashley Steers, sales manager at Electra Polymers in the UK; and Dr. Luca Gautero, product manager at SUSS MicroTec Netherlands.
NetVia Group Acquires Direct Imaging from Mivatek
04/09/2024 | Miva TechnologiesMiva Technologies is pleased to announce NetVia Group, Irving, TX has acquired a new Miva 2400NG Dual Tray Direct Imaging System with 30-micron capabilities for inner, outer and soldermask imaging.
Teledyne to Acquire Adimec
02/13/2024 | TeledyneTeledyne Technologies Incorporated announced that it has entered into an agreement to acquire Adimec Holding B.V. and its subsidiaries.
Real Time with... productronica 2023: MivaTek Global Advances Technology With High-res Imaging System
12/08/2023 | Real Time with...productronicaMivaTek's Brendan Hogan talks about how the company employs Digitally Adaptive Rasterization Technology (DART) in their high-res imaging equipment. He also shares how the blurred line between semiconductors and microelectronics is driving broader application of the imaging process.
Keysight Enables Validation of Arbe 4D Imaging Radar Chipset
11/30/2023 | Keysight Technologies, Inc.Keysight Technologies, Inc. announces that Arbe has selected the E8719A Radar Target Solution (RTS) to test the Arbe 4D imaging radar chipset for automotive applications.