Dynamic Nuclear Polarization in Silicon Microparticles

A. E. Dementyev, D. G. Cory, and C. Ramanathan

Phys. Rev. Lett. 100, 127601 – Published 24 March 2008

Abstract

We report record high ${}^{29}{Si}$ spin polarization obtained using dynamic nuclear polarization in microcrystalline silicon powder. Unpaired electrons in this silicon powder are due to dangling bonds in the amorphous region of this intrinsically heterogeneous sample. ${}^{29}{Si}$ nuclei in the amorphous region become polarized by forced electron-nuclear spin flips driven by off-resonant microwave radiation while nuclei in the crystalline region are polarized by spin diffusion across crystalline boundaries. Hyperpolarized silicon microparticles have long $T_{1}$ relaxation times and could be used as tracers for magnetic resonance imaging.

Received 19 June 2007

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.100.127601

Authors & Affiliations

A. E. Dementyev^1,*, D. G. Cory², and C. Ramanathan²

¹Francis Bitter Magnet Laboratory, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA
²Department of Nuclear Science and Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA

^*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed. anatolyd@physics.harvard.edu

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Vol. 100, Iss. 12 — 28 March 2008

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Physical Review Letters