Tallahassee Community College

Identify specific science and/or engineering disciplines involved in researching a solution to the problem your team has identified, explain the relationship of the disciplines to each member’s career goals and identify at least two professional science and/or engineering organizations with technical membership related to your research.

Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) has the ability to determine chemical structure completely. Spectroscopy is relatively insensitive compared to other analytical techniques. As a result, significant research has been directed at improving the overall sensitivity of NMR spectroscopy by optimizing radio-frequency (RF) coil design. To investigate volume-and mass-limited samples, RF micro coils have been examined extensively. These solenoid wire coils take advantage of reduced coil diameter to improve the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of micro coils for constrained samples. To study the properties of a multilayer configuration, both theoretical and experimental solutions for conductor thicknesses above the skin depth at the frequency of operation must be known. Experimental data for thicker conductors displays a reduction in SNR with increased layers, supporting the theoretical development. As indicated by analytical theory and as partially confirmed by experimentation, SNR improvements for multilayer micro coils may be realized only when the conductor thickness is on the order of the skin depth. However, the utilization and availability of skin-depth conductors in the fabrication of current micro coil designs are not trivial matters. To take advantage of the SNR benefits of multilayer micro coil geometry, we suggest a new configuration called the scroll coil. This novel geometry offers additional flexibility in fabrication that may be of great benefit in high-resolution NMR spectroscopy, especially at very small coil dimensions.

How is the research you are doing related to any past or current  research efforts at your institution (or if none, another institution in your state) and what are the professional requirements of an individual who could provide technical support for your project.

Task 1

Task 3

Task 2

Component 2