Development of low field nuclear magnetic resonance microcoils

A miniaturized spiral Helmholtz rf coil was fabricated using standard photolithography and electroplating. A commercial 0.6 T superconductive magnet was used to test the coil performance for both nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy and imaging applications. NMR spectra of water, methanol, and 1-propanol were obtained as well as static and flow images of a water phantom. The spectral resolution was sufficient to allow chemical identification. Additionally, the viscosity of water was estimated from the experimental velocity profile and was equal to the expected value of 1 cP. Results obtained demonstrated the prospect of using the Helmholtz rf coil as part of a portable low-field NMR system for applications in analytical chemistry and process measurements in industrial settings. (C) 2005 American Institute of Physics.