Microcoil

A microcoil is a tiny electrical conductor such as a wire in the shape of a spiral or helix which could be a solenoid or a planar structure. One field where these are found is nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy, where it identifies radio frequency (RF) coils that are smaller than 1 mm. A microcoil is a tiny electrical conductor such as a wire in the shape of a spiral or helix which could be a solenoid or a planar structure. One field where these are found is nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy, where it identifies radio frequency (RF) coils that are smaller than 1 mm. The microcoils have also found usefulness in telemetry systems, where planar microcoils are used to supply energy to miniaturized implants. The detection limits of Micro-MRI or MRM can be pushed further by taking advantage of microsystem fabrication techniques. In general, the RF receiver coil should closely conform to the sample to ensure good detection sensitivity. A properly designed NMR probe will maximize both the observe factor, which is the ratio of the sample volume being observed by the RF coil to the total sample volume required for analysis, and the filling factor, the ratio of the sample volume being observed by the RF coil to the coil volume.