Carr-Purcell sequences with composite pulses

We present novel Carr-Purcell-like sequences using composite pulses that exhibit improved performance in strongly inhomogeneous fields. The sequences are designed to retain the intrinsic error correction of the standard Carr-Purcell-Meiboom-Gill (CPMG) sequence. This is achieved by matching the excitation pulse with the refocusing cycle such that the initial transverse magnetization lies along the axis (n) over cap (B) characterizing the overall rotation of the refocusing cycle. Such sequences are suitable for relaxation measurements. It is shown that in sufficiently inhomogeneous fields, the echo amplitudes have an initial transient modulation that is limited to the first few echoes and then decay with the intrinsic relaxation time of the sample. We show different examples of such sequences that are constructed from simple composite pulses. Sequences of the form 90(0)degrees-(90(90 degrees-theta /2)-theta (180-theta /2)-(90 degrees)(90-theta /2))(n) with theta approximate to 90 degrees and 270 degrees genera0 ate signal over a bandwidth larger than that of the conventional CPMG sequence, resulting in an improved signal-to-noise ratio in inhomogeneous fields. The new sequence 127(x,y)degrees-(127(x)degrees -127(-x)degrees)(n) only excites signal off-resonance with a spectrum that is bimodal, peaking at Deltaw(0) = +/- w(1). Depending on the phase and exact timing to the first pulse, symmetric or antisymmetric excitation is obtained. We also demonstrate several new sequences with improved dependence on the RIF field strength. The sequence (22.5(67,5)degrees -90 degrees-(22.5))- depends on B-1, allowing coarse B-1 imaging in a one-dimensional experiment. (C) 2001 Academic Press.