# Administrative Supplement to A high-resolution 1.3-GHz LTS/HTS NMR magnet (1.3G)

> **NIH NIH R01** · MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY · 2021 · $195,000

## Abstract

In the simplest view of NMR, the advantages of higher field (B0) are improved sensitivity and resolution. For
NMR spectroscopy, sensitivity and resolution depend, respectively, on amplitude and frequency of
measurement. Sensitivity per unit time in signal averaging experiments and resolution for 3D experiments both
ideally improve as ω3 and, hence, B03. Thus, increased proton frequency, for example, from 900 MHz, currently
the highest frequency at the MIT-Harvard Magnetic Resonance Center, to 1.3 GHz, increases sensitivity and
resolution by a factor of 3. This benefit of higher frequency was the basis of our initiative in 2000 to propose a
long march towards a 1-GHz NMR magnet by combining low- and high-temperature superconducting magnets,
LTS and HTS; in 2007 the proposed frequency was increased to 1.3 GHz. HTS is mandatory at frequencies
above 1-GHz, thus, our 1.3-GHz LTS/HTS NMR magnet (1.3G) combines a 500-MHz LTS NMR magnet
(L500) with an 800-MHz HTS insert (H800). HTS conductors are used in this 4K application not for their high-
temperature capabilities, but rather for their ability to achieve significantly higher magnetic field than can be
reached by LTS alone. Despite the best efforts in design and construction, the homogeneity of an “as-wound”
NMR magnet in reality will be more than two orders of magnitude away from required specifications. For field
shimming, another critical activity in this Revised Phase 3BZ is field mapping, requiring exact probe positioning
along optimized path and accurate measurement, from which to derive the target field gradients that in turn
guide the design of appropriate shim coils, in our case, of HTS and room-temperature (RT), both to be
designed and built in this Revised Phase 3BZ. Because HTS insert is notorious as a source of “large” non-
uniform field, field shimming our 1.3G will be challenging and laborious, requiring innovative ideas. The specific
aims (SA) of the last phase of this MIT 1.3-GHz LTS/HTS NMR magnet that began in 2000 are to achieve two
vital requirements for NMR. In the first two years, we will: 1) replace the H800 damaged in March 2018 test
with a new 800-MHz HTS insert (H800N) and 2) combine L500 and H800N to complete a new non-NMR 30.5-
T L500/H800N magnet; and in the last two years we will 3) convert the non-NMR 30.5-T field to realize a high-
resolution 1.3 GHz NMR magnet (1.3G). To achieve SA3, we will apply two innovative techniques: 1) HTS Z1
and Z2 shim coils, installed in the bore of H800N; and 2) current-sweep-reversal and field-shaking to mitigate
the screening-current field (SCF), a non-uniform diamagnetic field, superposed on the main field that severely
degrades the spatial field quality particularly for HTS magnets like our H800N. We will also deploy ferro-
magnetic passive shimming and RT active shimming, both of our design. We believe that our 1.3G will become
a vital force in high-field NMR as well as for drug discovery and development; it will serve the entire U.S....

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10388520
- **Project number:** 3R01GM137138-02S1
- **Recipient organization:** MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
- **Principal Investigator:** Yukikazu Iwasa
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $195,000
- **Award type:** 3
- **Project period:** 2020-08-01 → 2024-07-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10388520

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10388520, Administrative Supplement to A high-resolution 1.3-GHz LTS/HTS NMR magnet (1.3G) (3R01GM137138-02S1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10388520. Licensed CC0.

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