Research Project
2101037
Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) spectroscopy is an extremely powerful analytical technique used routinely in biology, chemistry, medicine, physics and materials science. Sensitivity and spectral resolution improve with increasing strength of the spectrometer's magnetic field, thereby enabling the study of ever decreasing sample volumes or concentrations and providing increased resolution for the study of increasingly complex systems. "Low temperature" superconductor windings used in current NMR spectrometer magnets have critical fields which limit magnet field strengths to approximately 20 Tesla. The newer "high temperature" superconductors (HTS) have higher critical fields (approximately 180- 200 Tesla) and thus enable the generation of magnetic field strengths heretofore unattainable. Building upon the Phase I results, an HTS insert coil will be fabricated in this Phase II effort which will demonstrate the generation of an additional 2.5 Tesla in a 20T background field. Intermagnetics General Corporation, working in collaboration with the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory, will authenticate the conductor and coil technology required to fabricate a coil insert system which could ultimately be used in a future 25 Tesla (1.06 GHz) system. PROPOSED COMMERCIAL APPLICATION: It is anticipated that ultra-high fields (> 20 Tesla) will improve both the sensitivity and spectral resolution of NMR spectrometers. Historical precedent has shown that there is always a scientific and market demand for such increases in field strength. This HTS magnet coil development program will demonstrate the feasibility of NMR magnets generating field strengths beyond today's approximate 20 Tesla upper limit.
