Zero-field remote detection of NMR with a microfabricated atomic magnetometer

TitleZero-field remote detection of NMR with a microfabricated atomic magnetometer
Publication TypeJournal Article
Year of Publication2008
AuthorsLedbetter M.P, Savukov I.M, Budker D., Shah V., Knappe S., Kitching J., Michalak D.J, Xu S., Pines A
JournalProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
Volume105
Issue7
Pagination2286-2290
Date PublishedFeb 19
ISBN Number0027-8424
Accession NumberWOS:000253469900009
Keywordsmri
Abstract

We demonstrate remote detection of nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) with a microchip sensor consisting of a microfluidic channel and a microfabricated vapor cell (the heart of an atomic magnetometer). Detection occurs at zero magnetic field, which allows operation of the magnetometer in the spin-exchange relaxation-free (SERF) regime and increases the proximity of sensor and sample by eliminating the need for a solenoid to create a leading field. We achieve pulsed NMR linewidths of 26 Hz, limited, we believe, by the residence time and flow dispersion in the encoding region. In a fully optimized system, we estimate that for 1 s of integration, 7 x 10(13) protons in a volume of 1 mm(3), prepolarized in a 10-kG field, can be detected with a signal-to-noise ratio of approximate to 3. This level of sensitivity is competitive with that demonstrated by microcoils in 100-kG magnetic fields, without requiring superconducting magnets.

URL<Go to ISI>://WOS:000253469900009
DOI10.1073/Pnas.0711505105
Short TitleZero-field remote detection of NMR with a microfabricated atomic magnetometer
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