Excitation Bandwidth Research Articles

Local measure of the electromagnetic field in magnetic resonance coils: How do simulations help to disentangle the contributions of the electric and magnetic fields?

The development of probes for Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) spectroscopy of metabolites, biomolecules or materials requires the accurate determination of the radio-frequency (RF) magnetic field strength, B1, at the position of the sample since this RF-field strength is related to the signal sensitivity and the excitation bandwidth. The Ball Shift (BS) technique is a commonly employed test bench method to measure the B1 value. Nevertheless, the influence of the RF electric field, E1, on BS is often overlooked. Herein, we derive, from Maxwell equations, an analytical expression of the BS, which shows the contribution of both the electric and magnetic energies to the BS value. This equation shows that the BS allows quantifying the B1 field strength only in regions where the electric energy is small with respect to the magnetic one. The numerical simulations of electromagnetic (EM) field and energy prove that this condition is fulfilled at 100.5MHz inside the electrically balanced coil of a double-resonance 1H/X 4mm Magic Angle Spinning (MAS) probe since for that circuit, the center of the coil is an antinode for the B1 standing wave and a node for the E1 one. We also show that the simulated BS values agree well with the experimental ones. Conversely, NMR experiments show that the contribution of the electric energy to BS becomes significant when the X channel of this probe is connected to a frequency splitter. In that case, the use of BS method to estimate the B1 value is compromised.

Two‐pulse frequency‐hopped excitation

AbstractThe use of frequency‐hopped pulse pairs and pulse pair trains for exciting NMR signals is introduced. Pairs of pulses, each pair lasting one nutation period about the effective field in the rotating frame, can be used to efficiently tip nuclear spin magnetization. In the limit where the frequency difference between the partners in a pair is large, the magnetization dynamics mimic those of an ordinary rectangular rf pulse with rf amplitude scaled down by a factor of π/2. When the amplitude of the applied rf begins to approach the offset frequency however, the excitation bandwidth broadens dramatically in a manner reminiscent of a composite pulse. The effects of the frequency‐hopped pulse pairs is described with analytical calculations and numerical simulations, and are shown to agree well with experiment.

Signatures of four-particle correlations associated with exciton-carrier interactions in coherent spectroscopy on bulk GaAs

Transient four-wave mixing studies of bulk GaAs under conditions of broad bandwidth excitation of primarily interband transitions have enabled four-particle correlations tied to degenerate (exciton-exciton) and nondegenerate (exciton-carrier) interactions to be studied. Real two-dimensional Fourier-transform spectroscopy (2DFTS) spectra reveal a complex response at the heavy-hole exciton emission energy that varies with the absorption energy, ranging from dispersive on the diagonal, through absorptive for low-energy interband transitions to dispersive with the opposite sign for interband transitions high above band gap. Simulations using a multilevel model augmented by many-body effects provide excellent agreement with the 2DFTS experiments and indicate that excitation-induced dephasing (EID) and excitation-induced shift (EIS) affect degenerate and nondegenerate interactions equivalently, with stronger exciton-carrier coupling relative to exciton-exciton coupling by approximately an order of magnitude. These simulations also indicate that EID effects are three times stronger than EIS in contributing to the coherent response of the semiconductor.

Spin excitations in optimally P-dopedBaFe2(As0.7P0.3)2superconductor

We use inelastic neutron scattering to study the temperature and energy dependence of spin excitations in an optimally P-doped ${\mathrm{BaFe}}_{2}({\mathrm{As}}_{0.7}{\mathrm{P}}_{0.3}){}_{2}$ superconductor (${T}_{c}=30$ K) throughout the Brillouin zone. In the undoped state, spin waves and paramagnetic spin excitations of ${\mathrm{BaFe}}_{2}{\mathrm{As}}_{2}$ stem from an antiferromagnetic (AF) ordering wave vector ${\mathbf{Q}}_{\text{AF}}=(\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}1,0)$, and peak near the zone boundary at $(\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}1,\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}1)$ around 180 meV. Replacing 30% As by smaller P to induce superconductivity, low-energy spin excitations of ${\mathrm{BaFe}}_{2}({\mathrm{As}}_{0.7}{\mathrm{P}}_{0.3}){}_{2}$ form a resonance in the superconducting state and high-energy spin excitations now peak around 220 meV near $(\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}1,\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}1)$. These results are consistent with calculations from a combined density functional theory and dynamical mean field theory, and suggest that the decreased average pnictogen height in ${\mathrm{BaFe}}_{2}({\mathrm{As}}_{0.7}{\mathrm{P}}_{0.3}){}_{2}$ reduces the strength of electron correlations and increases the effective bandwidth of magnetic excitations.

A High-Throughput, Arbitrary-Waveform, MPI Spectrometer and Relaxometer for Comprehensive Magnetic Particle Optimization and Characterization.

Magnetic Particle Imaging (MPI) is a promising new tracer modality with zero attenuation deep in tissue, high contrast and sensitivity, and an excellent safety profile. However, the spatial resolution of MPI is limited to around 1 mm currently and urgently needs to be improved for clinical applications such as angiography and brain perfusion. Although MPI resolution is highly dependent on tracer characteristics and the drive waveforms, optimization is limited to a small subset of possible excitation strategies by current MPI hardware that only does sinusoidal drive waveforms at very few frequencies. To enable a more comprehensive and rapid optimization of drive waveforms for multiple metrics like resolution and signal strength simultaneously, we demonstrate the first untuned MPI spectrometer/relaxometer with unprecedented 400 kHz excitation bandwidth and capable of high-throughput acquisition of harmonic spectra (100 different drive-field frequencies in only 500 ms). It is also capable of arbitrary drive-field waveforms which have not been experimentally evaluated in MPI to date. Its high-throughput capability, frequency-agility and tabletop size makes this Arbitrary Waveform Relaxometer/Spectrometer (AWR) a convenient yet powerfully flexible tool for nanoparticle experts seeking to characterize magnetic particles and optimize MPI drive waveforms for in vitro biosensing and in vivo imaging with MPI.

Transverse interference peaks in chirp FT-EPR correlated three-pulse ESEEM spectra

Fourier transform (FT) electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) correlation spectroscopy usually requires broader excitation bandwidth than can be achieved by monochromatic rectangular pulses. Replacement of such pulses by frequency-swept pulses affords the correlation spectra, which, however, may not look the same as those that would be obtained with sufficiently broad-banded monochromatic rectangular pulses. This was recently observed for correlating nuclear frequencies to FT-EPR spectra by a three-pulse electron spin echo envelope modulation experiment. Here we analyze the origin of the additional cross peaks, whose position depends on the direction of the frequency sweep. We find that such peaks arise if coherence or polarization is transferred to an electron spin transition already before this transition is actually passed during the frequency sweep. This happens by excitation of a chain of transitions that connect levels of the source transition, where coherence resides before mixing, and the target transition, where it resides after mixing. The correlation spectra can be simplified by combining data from frequency up and down sweeps.

Use of Nuclear Spin Noise Spectroscopy to Monitor Slow Magnetization Buildup at Millikelvin Temperatures.

At ultralow temperatures, longitudinal nuclear magnetic relaxation times become exceedingly long and spectral lines are very broad. These facts pose particular challenges for the measurement of NMR spectra and spin relaxation phenomena. Nuclear spin noise spectroscopy is used to monitor proton spin polarization buildup to thermal equilibrium of a mixture of glycerol, water, and copper oxide nanoparticles at 17.5 mK in a static magnetic field of 2.5 T. Relaxation times determined in such a way are essentially free from perturbations caused by excitation radiofrequency pulses, radiation damping, and insufficient excitation bandwidth. The experimental spin‐lattice relaxation times determined on resonance by saturation recovery with spin noise detection are consistently longer than those determined by using pulse excitation. These longer values are in better accordance with the expected field dependence trend than those obtained by on‐resonance experiments with pulsed excitation.

600-A Test System for Aging Analysis of Automotive Li-Ion Cells With High Resolution and Wide Bandwidth

The ongoing research in the field of automotive lithium-ion (Li-Ion) cells for battery-operated electrical vehicles requires specialized test equipment for long-term aging analysis of a large number of cells. A single testing device has to support both aging with realistic driving profiles and advanced characterization methods, such as electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, which offer further insight into aging processes and help to improve the lifetime of batteries. In this paper, we discuss the deficiencies of the existing approaches for battery testing and present a new single-cell test system with a current capability of up to 600 A fulfilling these requirements. The circuit topology which is necessary for high measurement accuracy and wide excitation bandwidth is described in detail. A composite power stage with a rise time down to $3~\mu \text{s}$ in combination with 18-bit measurement resolution is utilized to achieve this objective. The performance and the accuracy of the test system are demonstrated by the measurements of automotive Li-Ion cells. Realistic driving cycles are performed with minimal deviations between desired and measured values. The wide bandwidth and the low noise of the tester enable high-quality impedance spectroscopy as well as arbitrary current pulses with high time resolution. More than 100 single-cell test systems have been built and are used for long-term aging studies of automotive Li-Ion cells.

Saturable absorption of femtosecond optical pulses in multilayer turbostratic graphene.

We investigate the nonlinear transmission of a ~280-layer turbostratic graphene sheet for near-infrared amplifier laser pulses (775 nm, Ti:sapphire laser) with a duration of 150-fs and 20-fs. Saturable absorption is observed in both cases, however it is not very strong, amounting to ~13% transmittance change for the 20-fs (150-fs) pulses at a peak intensity of 30 GW/cm2 (4 GW/cm2). The dependence on incident peak intensity is reproduced well using a theoretical model for the time-dependent saturable absorption, where the excited carriers vacate the photo-excited energy range within 3-5 fs, which we attribute to energy redistribution due to carrier-carrier scattering. This is also supported by spectrally resolved measurements for the 20-fs pulses, which show a marked dependence of the degree of saturation on the photon energy. A key result is that the shorter pulses do not yield a lower saturation fluence, due to the combined effects of the broader excitation bandwidth, and the rapid and broad energy redistribution. We also predict the potential performance of multilayer graphene samples for removing pedestal and pre-pulse structure from ultrafast high-energy pulses.

Transition-Selective Pulses in Zero-Field Nuclear Magnetic Resonance.

We use low-amplitude, ultralow frequency pulses to drive nuclear spin transitions in zero and ultralow magnetic fields. In analogy to high-field NMR, a range of sophisticated experiments becomes available as these allow narrow-band excitation. As a first demonstration, pulses with excitation bandwidths 0.5-5 Hz are used for population redistribution, selective excitation, and coherence filtration. These methods are helpful when interpreting zero- and ultralow-field NMR spectra that contain a large number of transitions.

Rydberg polaritons in a thermal vapor

We present a pulsed four-wave mixing (FWM) scheme via a Rydberg state to create, store and retrieve collective Rydberg polaritons. The storage medium consists of a gas of thermal Rb atoms confined in a 220 {\mu}m thick cell, which are heated above room temperature. The experimental sequence consists of a pulsed excitation of Rydberg polaritons via the D1 line, a variable delay or storage time, and a final retrieval pulse via the D2 line. The lifetime of the Rydberg polaritons is around 1.2 ns, almost entirely limited by the excitation bandwidth and the corresponding motional dephasing of the atoms. The presented scheme combined with a tightly confined atomic ensemble is a good candidate for a deterministic single-photon source, as soon as strong interactions in terms of a Rydberg blockade are added.

Multi-Mode Vibration Suppression in MIMO Systems by Extending the Zero Placement Input Shaping Technique: Applications to a 3-DOF Piezoelectric Tube Actuator

Piezoelectric tube actuators are extensively used in scanning probe microscopes to provide dynamic scanning motions in open-loop operations. Furthermore, they are employed as micropositioners due to their high bandwidth, high resolution and ease of excitation. However, these piezoelectric micropositioners exhibit badly damped vibrations that occur when the input excites the dynamic response, which tends to degrade positioning accuracy and performance. This paper deals with vibrations’ feedforward control of a multi-degrees of freedom (DOF) piezoelectric micropositioner in order to damp the vibrations in the direct axes and to reduce the cross-couplings. The novelty in this paper relative to the existing vibrations feedforward controls is the simplicity in design approach, the minimal number of shaper impulses for each input required to damp all modes of vibration at each output, and the account for the strong cross-couplings which only occur in multi-DOF cases. A generalization to a multiple degrees of freedom actuator is first proposed. Then simulation runs on a 3-DOF piezoelectric tube micropositioner have been effectuated to demonstrate the efficiency of the proposed method. Finally, experimental tests were carried out to validate and to confirm the predicted simulation.

Multicolor multiphoton microscopy based on a nanosecond supercontinuum laser source

Multicolor multiphoton microscopy is experimentally demonstrated for the first time on a spectral bandwidth of excitation of 300nm (full width half maximum) thanks to the implementation a nanosecond supercontinuum (SC) source compact and simple with a low repetition rate. The interest of such a wide spectral bandwidth, never demonstrated until now, is highlighted in vivo: images of glioma tumor cells stably expressing eGFP grafted on the brain of a mouse and its blood vessels network labelled with Texas Red(®) are obtained. These two fluorophores have a spectral bandwidth covering the whole 300nm available. In parallel, a similar image quality is obtained on a sample of mouse muscle in vitro when excited with this nanosecond SC source or with a classical high rate, femtosecond and quasi monochromatic laser. This opens the way for (i) a simple and very complete biological characterization never performed to date with multiphoton processes, (ii) multiple means of contrast in nonlinear imaging allowed by the use of numerous fluorophores and (iii) other multiphoton processes like three-photon ones.

Ultra broadband NMR spectroscopy using multiple rotating frame technique

The paper describes the design of broadband excitation and inversion pulses by method of multiple rotating frame technique. The ideal situation for perfect excitation and inversion is to have no chemical shift offset and thereby everything on resonance. However, when chemical shifts span a wide range, this condition is not realized. We achieve this condition using a multiply modulated rf-field, whose effect can be understood by progressing into multiple frames. As we progress through the frames, the ratio of chemical shift dispersion to strength of static rf-field decreases, resulting in a final frame, where there is negligible chemical shift as compared to the effective rf-field and we get good excitation and inversion. Increasing the number of frames, increases excitation bandwidth and the ratio of bandwidth to rms excitation amplitude. We show, in principle, it is possible to excite arbitrary large bandwidth for a given rms rf-amplitude by increasing the number of frames. The time of excitation increases linearly with the bandwidth when we keep the rms rf-amplitude constant. Experimental demonstration of proposed method is presented on 1H excitation over a bandwidth of 52kHz with a rms amplitude of 10kHz. Increasing the frames increases excitation bandwidth for same rms amplitude of 10kHz. Experimental spectra obtained from 100%13C labeled arginine shows uniform excitation over the entire carbon spectra, obtained with a 8-frame pulse sequence.

非定常不規則入力を受ける摩擦振動系の不規則振動応答特性

For reduction of seismic response of the mechanical system, friction mechanism is utilized in base isolation systems. In general, responses of the mechanical systems decrease with the increase of friction coefficient. However, in acceleration responses, the optimum friction coefficient which gives the minimum response of the mechanical system exists in some conditions of experiments. This phenomenon is examined using random vibration theory. The mechanical system including base isolation system is modeled as a single-degree-of-freedom system with friction element. As seismic excitations, nonstationary filtered white noises are used. The mean square value of absolute acceleration and relative displacement of the mechanical system to excitation are obtained using equivalent linearization method. The maximum response is defined as the maximum value of the standard deviation of the response. The optimum friction coefficient exists when excitation is small. For characteristics of input excitation, band width and duration of excitation are considered. The effect of input excitation characteristic on the optimum friction force is examined.

Lifeguard Inhibits Fas Ligand-mediated Endoplasmic Reticulum-Calcium Release Mandatory for Apoptosis in Type II Apoptotic Cells

Death receptors are members of the tumor necrosis factor receptor superfamily involved in the extrinsic apoptotic pathway. Lifeguard (LFG) is a death receptor antagonist mainly expressed in the nervous system that specifically blocks Fas ligand (FasL)-induced apoptosis. To investigate its mechanism of action, we studied its subcellular localization and its interaction with members of the Bcl-2 family proteins. We performed an analysis of LFG subcellular localization in murine cortical neurons and found that LFG localizes mainly to the ER and Golgi. We confirmed these results with subcellular fractionation experiments. Moreover, we show by co-immunoprecipitation experiments that LFG interacts with Bcl-XL and Bcl-2, but not with Bax or Bak, and this interaction likely occurs in the endoplasmic reticulum. We further investigated the relationship between LFG and Bcl-XL in the inhibition of apoptosis and found that LFG protects only type II apoptotic cells from FasL-induced death in a Bcl-XL dependent manner. The observation that LFG itself is not located in mitochondria raises the question as to whether LFG in the ER participates in FasL-induced death. Indeed, we investigated the degree of calcium mobilization after FasL stimulation and found that LFG inhibits calcium release from the ER, a process that correlates with LFG blockage of cytochrome c release to the cytosol and caspase activation. On the basis of our observations, we propose that there is a required step in the induction of type II apoptotic cell death that involves calcium mobilization from the ER and that this step is modulated by LFG.

最大エントロピー法を用いた非白色励振を受ける非線形系の応答分布推定

The approximate analytical method using the maximum entropy method (MEM) is proposed to estimate the stationary probability density function of nonlinear systems subjected to non-white random excitation. The MEM is often used to estimate the response distribution of nonlinear systems subjected to Gaussian white noise. In order to obtain the response distribution, the moment equations are used as the constraint conditions on the MEM. However, in the case of nonlinear systems under non-white random excitation, the term of the cross-correlation between the excitation and the response in the moment equations is generally not able to be calculated. In the proposed method, the equivalent linearization technique is applied to calculate the cross-correlation approximately. Using the method, we estimate the stationary response probability density functions of a Duffing oscillator and an asymmetric nonlinear system subjected to non-white excitation with the exponentially decaying correlation function. In the analysis, a wide range of the excitation bandwidth is considered. To demonstrate the effectiveness of the method, the results are compared with those of Monte Carlo simulation.

Pulsed Rydberg four-wave mixing with motion-induced dephasing in a thermal vapor.

We report on time-resolved pulsed four-wave mixing (FWM) signals in a thermal Rubidium vapor involving a Rydberg state. We observe FWM signals with dephasing times up to 7 ns, strongly dependent on the excitation bandwidth to the Rydberg state. The excitation to the Rydberg state is driven by a pulsed two-photon transition on ns timescales. Combined with a cw de-excitation laser, a strongly directional and collective emission is generated according to a combination of the phase matching effect and averaging over Doppler classes. In contrast to a previous report (Huber et al. in Phys Rev A 90: 053806, 2014) using off-resonant FWM, at a resonant FWM scheme we observe additional revivals of the signal shortly after the incident pulse has ended. We infer that this is a revival of motion-induced constructive interference between the coherent emissions of the thermal atoms. The resonant FWM scheme reveals a richer temporal structure of the signals, compared to similar, but off-resonant excitation schemes. A simple explanation lies in the selectivity of Doppler classes. Our numerical simulations based on a four-level model including a whole Doppler ensemble can qualitatively describe the data.

Prethermal Floquet Steady States and Instabilities in the Periodically Driven, Weakly Interacting Bose-Hubbard Model

We explore prethermal Floquet steady states and instabilities of the weakly interacting two-dimensional Bose-Hubbard model subject to periodic driving. We develop a description of the nonequilibrium dynamics, at arbitrary drive strength and frequency, using a weak-coupling conserving approximation. We establish the regimes in which conventional (zero-momentum) and unconventional [(π,π)-momentum] condensates are stable on intermediate time scales. We find that condensate stability is enhanced by increasing the drive strength, because this decreases the bandwidth of quasiparticle excitations and thus impedes resonant absorption and heating. Our results are directly relevant to a number of current experiments with ultracold bosons.

Design and characterization of a W-band system for modulated DNP experiments

Magnetic-field and microwave-frequency modulated DNP experiments have been shown to yield improved enhancements over conventional DNP techniques, and even to shorten polarization build-up times. The resulting increase in signal-to-noise ratios can lead to significantly shorter acquisition times in signal-limited multi-dimensional NMR experiments and pave the way to the study of even smaller sample volumes. In this paper we describe the design and performance of a broadband system for microwave frequency- and amplitude-modulated DNP that has been engineered to minimize both microwave and thermal losses during operation at liquid helium temperatures. The system incorporates a flexible source that can generate arbitrary waveforms at 94GHz with a bandwidth greater than 1GHz, as well as a probe that efficiently transmits the millimeter waves from room temperature outside the magnet to a cryogenic environment inside the magnet. Using a thin-walled brass tube as an overmoded waveguide to transmit a hybrid HE11 mode, it is possible to limit the losses to 1dB across a 2GHz bandwidth. The loss is dominated by the presence of a quartz window used to isolate the waveguide pipe. This performance is comparable to systems with corrugated waveguide or quasi-optical components. The overall excitation bandwidth of the probe is seen to be primarily determined by the final antenna or resonator used to excite the sample and its coupling to the NMR RF coil. Understanding the instrumental limitations imposed on any modulation scheme is key to understanding the observed DNP results and potentially identifying the underlying mechanisms. We demonstrate the utility of our design with a set of triangular frequency-modulated DNP experiments.