NSF Award
9761221
*** 9761221 Withers This Small Business Innovation Research Phase 1 project will produce a detailed design of a high-temperature-superconductive (HTS) nuclear-magnetic-resonance spectroscopy (NMRS) probe for operation in a 21-T (900-MHz) magnet. High-sensitivity probes have recently been commercially introduced at proton frequencies of 400, 500, and 600 MHz. The highest specified proton sensitivity is the 3000:1 of the 600-MHz probe. The probe designed during Phase 1 will be built during Phase 2 and evaluated in the 21-T magnet at the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory in Tallahassee, FL. This probe will have a proton sensitivity of 6000:1, twice that now available. In Phase 1, RF test coils will be fabricated, ready for in-field characterization as soon as a high-field magnet is available. This will be the highest field at which RF properties of HTS materials have been measured. Approximately 1500 high-resolution NMRS probes are sold per year. High-sensitivity superconductive probes are expected to reach 20% of this unit volume. At an end-user price of $80,000 per unit, this is a $24,000,000 market. Extension of this product line to the highest available field strengths will provide the ultimate in NMR sensitivity. ***
