Influence of the variable wall thickness of the sample tubes and a quartz Dewar on the EPR signal intensity in a single TE 102 and double TE 104 rectangular cavity

Abstract

The response of a single TE 102 and double TE 104 rectangular cavity to the insertion of samples contained in tubes with variable wall thickness and a quartz Dewar into the cavity has been analyzed. A direct, indirect, and concurrent (positive or negative) “lens effect” inside the double TE 104 rectangular cavity is discussed. The experimental dependence of the EPR signal intensity on the wall thickness of the sample tube, δ, for the line-like samples with identical length of the sample material column, L=30 mm, recorded in the microwave cavity showed a directly proportional increase of the relative “lens effect” with the increase of the wall thickness of the tube in the interval, δ∈<0.1 mm, >0.5 mm. The insertion of the variable-temperature double-wall quartz Dewar (home-built, resonant frequency shift, ca. −300 MHz) into the single TE 102 rectangular cavity showed the same relative “lens effect”, with ca. 1.5-time increase of the EPR signal intensity, for a point-like sample and the line-like samples with material columns of diameter of 1 and 1.3 mm, and wall thickness of the sample tubes, δ∈<0.1 mm, >0.5 mm. The increased effect of the Dewar arises because the active volume of the quartz Dewar tube walls is always much more larger than the active volume of the sample tube wall. In the case of the double TE 104 rectangular cavity, the insertion of the quartz Dewar: (i) into the same cavity, in which the sample is present, caused a direct “lens effect”, with ca. 1.8-fold increase of the EPR signal intensity; however, (ii) into the complementary cavity, in which the sample is absent, caused an indirect “lens effect”, with ca. 0.6-fold decrease of the EPR signal intensity. With the Dewar and sample in one cavity and a large empty sample tube in the complementary cavity, a concurrent (positive or negative) “lens effect” can be observed. Thus, the possible increase/decrease of the EPR signal intensity depends on the volume ratio of the quartz Dewar tube walls and large sample tube wall inserted into the double TE 104 rectangular cavity. Each of the above phenomena may be a significant source error in quantitative EPR spectrometry unless the samples to be compared in the quantitative EPR analysis are contained in sample tubes having the same wall thickness and each EPR spectra should be recorded inside an identical quartz Dewar.