High Q calcium titanate cylindrical dielectric resonators for magnetic resonance microimaging

At high magnetic fields radiation losses, wavelength effects, self-resonance, and the high resistance of typical components all contribute to increased losses in conventional RF coil designs. High permittivity ceramic dielectric resonators create strong uniform magnetic fields in a compact structure at high frequencies and can potentially solve some of the challenges of high field coil design. In this study an NMR probe was constructed for operation at 600 MHz (14.1 T) using an inductively fed CaTiO₃ (relative permittivity of 156) cylindrical hollow bore dielectric resonator. The design has an unmatched Q value greater than 2000, and the electric field is largely confined to the dielectric itself, with near zero values in the hollow bore which accommodates the sample. Experimental and simulation mapping of the RF field show good agreement, with the ceramic resonator giving a pulse width approximately 25% less than a loop gap resonator of similar inner dimensions. High resolution images, with voxel dimensions less than 50 μm³, have been acquired from fixed zebrafish samples, showing excellent delineation of several fine structures.