Nuclear magnetic resonance apparatus for pulsed high magnetic fields

Nuclear magnetic resonance measurements in dynamically controlled field pulse

We present the architecture of the versatile nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectrometer with software-defined radio technology and its application to the dynamically controlled pulsed magnetic fields. The pulse-field technology is the only solution to access magnetic fields greater than 50 T, but the NMR experiment in the pulsed magnetic field was difficult because of the continuously changing field strength. The dynamically controlled field pulse allows us to perform NMR experiment in a quasi-steady field condition by creating a constant magnetic field for a short time around the peak of the field pulse. We confirmed the reproducibility of the field pulses using the NMR spectroscopy as a high precision magnetometer. With the highly reproducible field strength, we succeeded in measuring the nuclear spin-lattice relaxation rate 1/T₁, which had never been measured by the pulse-field NMR experiment without dynamic field control. We also implement the NMR spectrum measurement with both the frequency-sweep and field-sweep modes and discuss the appropriate choices of these modes depending on the magnetic properties of the sample to be measured. This development, with further improvement at a long-duration field pulse, will innovate the microscopic measurement in extremely high magnetic fields.

Improved accuracy in high-frequency AC transport measurements in pulsed high magnetic fields

We show theoretically and experimentally that accurate transport measurements are possible even within the short time provided by pulsed magnetic fields. For this purpose, a new method has been devised, which removes the noise component of a specific frequency from the signal by taking a linear combination of the results of numerical phase detection using multiple integer periods. We also established a method to unambiguously determine the phase rotation angle in AC transport measurements using a frequency range of tens of kilohertz. We revealed that the dominant noise in low-frequency transport measurements in pulsed magnetic fields is the electromagnetic induction caused by mechanical vibrations of wire loops in inhomogeneous magnetic fields. These results strongly suggest that accurate transport measurements in short-pulsed magnets are possible when mechanical vibrations are well suppressed.

Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Signature of the Spin-Nematic Phase in LiCuVO_{4} at High Magnetic Fields

We report a ^{51}V nuclear magnetic resonance investigation of the frustrated spin-1/2 chain compound LiCuVO_{4}, performed in pulsed magnetic fields and focused on high-field phases up to 56 T. For the crystal orientations H∥c and H∥b, we find a narrow field region just below the magnetic saturation where the local magnetization remains uniform and homogeneous, while its value is field dependent. This behavior is the first microscopic signature of the spin-nematic state, breaking spin-rotation symmetry without generating any transverse dipolar order, and is consistent with theoretical predictions for the LiCuVO_{4} compound.

Field-stepped broadband NMR in pulsed magnets and application to SrCu2(BO3)2 at 54T

Pulsed magnets generate the highest magnetic fields as brief transients during which the observation of NMR is difficult, however, this is the only route to unique insight into material properties up to the regime of 100T. Here, it is shown how rather broad NMR spectra can be assembled in a pulsed magnet during a single field pulse by using the inherent time dependence of the field for the recording of field-stepped free induction decays that cover a broad frequency range. The technique is then applied to (11)B NMR of the spin-dimer system SrCu2(BO3)2, a magnetic insulator known to undergo a series of field-driven changes of the magnetic ground state. At peak fields of about 54T at the Dresden High Magnetic Field Laboratory, (11)B NMR spectra spanning a total of about 9MHz width are reconstructed. The results are in good accordance with a change from a high-temperature paramagnetic state to a low-temperature commensurate superstructure of field-induced spin-dimer triplets.

New high homogeneity 55T pulsed magnet for high field NMR

Pulsed magnets can produce magnetic fields largely exceeding those achieved with resistive or even hybrid magnets. This kind of magnet is indispensable in studies of field-induced phenomena which occur only in high magnetic field. A new high homogeneous pulsed magnet capable of producing field up to 55T and specially designed for NMR experiments was built and tested. Experimentally observed homogeneity of magnetic field in central part of the magnet is 10ppm over a sample volume of 2-3mm(3) at 12T and 30ppm at 47T, which are the best values ever reported for a pulsed magnet. Reasons which affect the field profile and reduce homogeneity at high field are discussed.

SVD-Based Technique for Interference Cancellation and Noise Reduction in NMR Measurement of Time-Dependent Magnetic Fields

A nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) experiment for measurement of time-dependent magnetic fields was introduced. To improve the signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio (SINR) of NMR data, a new method for interference cancellation and noise reduction (ICNR) based on singular value decomposition (SVD) was proposed. The singular values corresponding to the radio frequency interference (RFI) signal were identified in terms of the correlation between the FID data and the reference data, and then the RFI and noise were suppressed by setting the corresponding singular values to zero. The validity of the algorithm was verified by processing the measured NMR data. The results indicated that, this method has a significantly suppression of RFI and random noise, and can well preserve the FID signal. At present, the major limitation of the proposed SVD-based ICNR technique is that the threshold value for interference cancellation needs to be manually selected. Finally, the inversion waveform of the applied alternating magnetic field was given by fitting the processed experimental data.

NMR shift and relaxation measurements in pulsed high-field magnets up to 58T

Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) experiments at fields up to 58T in pulsed magnets at the Dresden High Magnetic Field Laboratory are reported. The challenge to resolve NMR shifts in these time-dependent fields is addressed for the first time, and it is shown that this can indeed be accomplished with high precision with an internal reference. As a result, signal averaging is possible during a single magnetic field pulse, but also for multiple pulses. Thus, even very weak signals can in principle be recorded and their shifts can be determined. In a second set of experiments, the measurement of nuclear relaxation is investigated. Using adiabatic inversion with the inherent time dependence of the magnetic field and small-angle inspection, it is shown that relaxation measurements are possible, as well. The shift experiments were performed with (27)Al NMR on a mixture of aluminum metal and a Linde type A zeolite. For the relaxation studies, (27)Al NMR and (69)Ga NMR on the metals aluminum and gallium were preformed, respectively.

NMR in pulsed high-field magnets and application to high-T(C) superconductors

This article deals with the implementation of Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) experiments in pulsed magnetic fields at the pulsed-field facility of the Laboratoire National des Champs Magnétiques Intenses and its application to the high-T(C) superconductor YBa2Cu3O6.51. The experimental setup is described in detail, including a low-temperature probe head adapted for pulsed fields. An entire paragraph is dedicated to the discussion of NMR in pulsed field and the introduction of an advanced deconvolution technique making use of the induction voltage in an additional pick-up coil. The (63)Cu/(65)Cu NMR experiments on an YBa2Cu3O6.51 single crystal were performed at 2.5K during a field pulse of 46.8-T-amplitude. In the recorded spectrum the (63)Cu center line and high-frequency satellites as well as the (65)Cu center line are identified and are compared with results in literature.