High-T-c SQUIDs for low-field NMR and MRI of room temperature samples

We have constructed a high-T-c SQUID spectrometer to detect NMR signals from samples at room temperature in magnetic fields up to 3 mT. The multiloop SQUID magnetometer has a system noise of about 30 fT/Hz(1/2) at the relevant frequencies of 2 to 100 kHz, The magnetometer is operated in vacuum at 77 K, and is separated from the sample, which is less than 1.5 mm away, by a sapphire window, In a magnetic field of 2 mT we can detect the proton spin echo at 86 kHz without signal averaging. This sensitivity enables us to obtain one-dimensional images. In addition, we present data on hyperpolarized Xe-129, which has an optically pumped polarization of several percent.