Superconducting Probe for NMR Spectroscopy

Our long-term goal is to create commercially available probes which greatly enhance thesensitivity of NMR (nuclear magnetic resonance) spectrometers. The system is comprised of a thin-filmreceive coil of YBCO (Y1Ba2Cu3O7), a high temperature superconductor (HTS). The YBCO coil willprovide an improvement in signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of as much as a factor of 50. This SNR gaindirectly translates into greater sensitivity to dilute chemical species such as proteins. Working prototypecoils have already been created. These YBCO coils have quality factors (Qs) at 77K which are greaterthan 10,000, more than 50 times that of normal-metal coils. The proposed project will create acontinuously operating, closed-cycle, user-friendly probe unit containing similar coils coupled to apreamplifier. Phase I will address the detailed design criteria for such a unit, including a detailedevaluation of commercial component parts. Phase II will focus on the construction of the system. Theend goal of Phase II is a system that will operate for at least 90 days without significant maintenance.