Novel Magnetic Resonance Instrumentation

Our Specialty

We design and build next-generation magnetic resonance instruments that push beyond conventional capabilities. Our platforms include optical hyperpolarization devices that achieve far greater efficiency than traditional methods; magnetic field-cycling systems capable of rapid transitions between cryogenic and ambient conditions; and high-speed, high-performance NMR spectrometers powered by arbitrary waveform transceivers. We also develop portable low-field NMR instruments that harness hyperpolarized molecular and semiconductor crystals. Collectively, these technologies unite advances in NMR and EPR spectroscopy with quantum sensing methods.

Custom NMR Instrumentation

  • Our first room temperature, 300 MHz field cycling instrument!

  • Internal view of our “laser dome” used for hyperpolarization

  • Leo and Manny (not pictured) construct the field-cycling frame

  • “Laser dome” being installed into our hyperpolarization laser box

  • Cryogenic field cycling instrument, operating at liquid nitrogen conditions

  • Diode laser drivers connected to an arduino, allowing easy, remote control of the lasers

  • “Cyrogenic field cycler” allowing field cycling 0-10T, and temperatures 4K-RT

  • Custom field cycling probes compatible with cryogenic operation

  • Hyperpolarization device with arrayed laser illumination

  • Efficient hyperpolarization via arrayed illumination

  • Novel sample cooling strategies in parallel with arrayed laser illumination

Novel NMR Spectrometers with Arbitrary Waveform Transceivers (AWT)

  • Housing of our new spectrometer system!

  • Block diagram of our home built NMR spectrometer

  • AWT based high-speed NMR spectrometer

  • Details of transmit receive circuit

Latest publications about this work

Publications
68. High-Speed, High-Memory NMR Spectrometer and Hyperpolarizer

L. J. I. Moon†, W. Beatrez†, J. Ball, J. Mercade, M. Elo, A. Singh, E. Druga, A. Ajoy [PDF]
Journal of Magnetic Resonance (in press) (2025).

67. High-sensitivity multichannel zero-to-ultralow field NMR with atomic magnetometer arrays

B. Andrews†, M. Lai†, Z. Wang, N. Kato, M. Tayler, E. Druga, A. Ajoy [PDF]
arXiv:2407.00929 — PNAS Nexus 4, 6 (2025)

58. Cryogenic field-cycling instrument for optical NMR hyperpolarization studies

N. D'Souza†, K. A. Harkins†, C. Selco, U. Basumallick, S. Breuer, Z. Zhang, P. Reshetikhin, M. Ho, A. Nayak, M. McAllister, E. Druga, D. Marchiori, A. Ajoy [PDF]
arXiv:2412.164715 — Journal of Magnetic Resonance 375, 107874 (2025).
Selected as the Journal Cover Article in J. Magn. Res.

28. Room temperature “Optical Nanodiamond Hyperpolarizer”: physics, design and operation

A. Ajoy*, R. Nazaryan, E. Druga, K. Liu, A. Aguilar, B. Han, M. Gierth, J. T. Oon, B. Safvati, R. Tsang, J. H. Walton, D. Suter, C. A. Meriles, J. A. Reimer and A. Pines [PDF]
arXiv:1811.10218 — Rev. Sci. Instru. 91, 023106 (2020) .
Youtube video highlighting "Ultracompact Nanodiamond Hyperpolarizer".

21. Wide dynamic range magnetic field cycler: Harnessing quantum control at low and high fields

YouTube video highlighting "Wide dynamic field cycling".
YouTube video highlighting "Printing coils for NMR".
A. Ajoy*, X. Lv, E. Druga, K. Liu, B. Safvati, A. Morabe, M. Fenton, R. Nazaryan, S. Patel, T. Sjolander, J. Reimer, D Sakellariou, C. Meriles and A. Pines [PDF]
arXiv:1808.06124 — Rev. Sci. Instru. 90, 013112 (2019)

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