Optical hyperpolarization and NMR detection of ${}^{129}$Xe on a microfluidic chip

Abstract

Optically hyperpolarized ${}^{129}$Xe gas has become a powerful contrast agent in nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy and imaging, with applications ranging from studies of the human lung to the targeted detection of biomolecules. Equally attractive is its potential use to enhance the sensitivity of microfluidic NMR experiments, in which small sample volumes yield poor sensitivity. Unfortunately, most ${}^{129}$Xe polarization systems are large and non-portable. Here we present a microfabricated chip that optically polarizes ${}^{129}$Xe gas. We have achieved ${}^{129}$Xe polarizations greater than 0.5$\%$ at flow rates of several microliters per second, compatible with typical microfluidic applications. We employ in situ optical magnetometry to sensitively detect and characterize the ${}^{129}$Xe polarization at magnetic fields of 1 $\mu$T. We construct the device using standard microfabrication techniques, which will facilitate its integration with existing microfluidic platforms. This device may enable the implementation of highly sensitive ${}^{129}$Xe NMR in compact, low-cost, portable devices.

References in corpus (3)

• NMR detection with an atomic magnetometer
• Collisional ${}^3$He and ${}^{129}$Xe frequency shifts in Rb--noble-gas mixtures
• Nuclear quadrupole resonances in compact vapor cells: the crossover from the NMR to the NQR interaction regimes

Cited by in corpus (10)

• Fifteen Years of Cold Matter on the Atom Chip: Promise, Realizations, and Prospects
• Instrumentation for nuclear magnetic resonance in zero and ultralow magnetic field
• Synchronous Spin-Exchange Optical Pumping
• Signal tracking beyond the time resolution of an atomic sensor by Kalman filtering
• Strong coupling of alkali spins to noble-gas spins with hour-long coherence time
• Zero- to Ultralow-field Nuclear Magnetic Resonance
• Subpicotesla Scalar Atomic Magnetometer with a Microfabricated Cell
• Enhanced coupling of electron and nuclear spins by quantum tunneling resonances
• A single beam Cs-Ne SERF magnetometer with differential laser power noise suppression method
• Fluidic Endogenous Magnetism and Magnetic Monopole Clues from Liquid Metal Droplet Machine