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