Simultaneous Detection of H and D NMR Signals in a micro-Tesla Field

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates simultaneous detection of H and D NMR signals in a micro-Tesla magnetic field using a differential atomic magnetometer, highlighting potential for ultra-low-field NMR spectroscopy in analyzing spin relaxation.

Contribution

It introduces a method for concurrent detection of proton and deuteron signals in ultra-low magnetic fields with broadband atomic magnetometry.

Findings

Successful simultaneous detection of H and D signals.

Accurate measurement of their decay times.

Potential applications in ultra-low-field NMR analysis.

Abstract

We present NMR spectra of remote-magnetized deuterated water, detected in an unshielded environment by means of a differential atomic magnetometer. The measurements are performed in a $\mu$T field, while pulsed techniques are applied -following the sample displacement- in a 100~$\mu$T field, to tip both D and H nuclei by controllable amounts. The broadband nature of the detection system enables simultaneous detection of the two signals and accurate evaluation of their decay times. The outcomes of the experiment demonstrate the potential of ultra-low-field NMR spectroscopy in important applications where the correlation between proton and deuteron spin-spin relaxation rates as a function of external parameters contains significant information.