We present a design for a spin-exchange optical pumping system to produce large quantities of highly polarized 129Xe and 131Xe. Low xenon concentrations in the flowing gas mixture which allow the laser to maintain high Cs polarization. The large spin-exchange rate between Cs and Xe through the long-lived van der Waals molecules at low pressure, combined with a high flow rate, results in large production rates of hyperpolarized xenon. The fast rates make it possible to obtain large nuclear polarizations after several minutes of optical pumping with a laser.At high Xe pressures. According to the theory, the longitudinal spin-elaxation rate 1T1 of Xe in a high-pressure sample containing only Xe and Cs vapor has the simple form is the velocity averaged binary spin-exchange cross section, It is the relaxation rate due to wall collisions and perhaps magnetic field inhomogeneities. Our results complement earlier studies performed at 129Xe pressures of about 20 Torr and 131Xe pressures of about 20 Torr and N2 pressures of 600 Torr . This work is useful for predicting spin-exchange rates between polarized Cs atoms and Xe nuclei.
Here we present a $\mathrm{Rb}\text{\ensuremath{-}}^{129}\mathrm{Xe}$ spin-exchange optical pumping polarizer capable of rapid generation of large volumes of highly polarized
129Xe gas. Through modeling and measurements we maximize the
129Xe nuclear spin polarization output to enable the generation of polarized
129Xe gas imaging volumes (
300 cm3) every 5 min within a clinical setting. Our model is verified by experiment to correctly predict the optimum Rb vapor density for maximum
129Xe nuclear polarization for a flux
3.4 W/cm2 of circularly polarized Rb
D1 photons incident on an 80 cm long cylindrical optical cell. We measure a
129Xe magnetization production efficiency of ${\ensuremath{\eta}}_{\mathrm{pr}}=1.8%$, which approaches the photon efficiency limit ${\ensuremath{\eta}}_{\ensuremath{\gamma}}=3.3%$ of this system and enables the polarization of $2.72\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}{10}^{22}$
129Xe spins per hour, corresponding to
1013 cm3 of 100% polarized
129Xe at STP. This magnetization production rate is threefold higher than the highest previously published
129Xe magnetization production rate and has enabled routine clinical lung magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) with hyperpolarized
129Xe doses available on demand at run time, as well as high-SNR
129Xe MRI of the human brain and kidneys.
We present a design for a spin-exchange optical pumping system to produce large quantities of highly polarized 129Xe. Low xenon concentrations in the flowing gas mixture allow the laser to maintain high Rb polarization. The large spin-exchange rate between Rb and 129Xe through the long-lived van der Waals molecules at low pressure, combined with a high flow rate, results in large production rates of hyperpolarized xenon. We report a maximum polarization of 64% achieved for a 0.3 l/h Xe flow rate, and maximum magnetization output of 6 l/h at 22% polarization. Our findings regarding the polarization dependence on temperature, nitrogen partial pressure, and gas mixture flow velocity are also reported.
The spectroscopic characteristics of the polarization of 129Xe nuclei in Xe gas by spin exchange with optically pumped Rb atoms is examined in high magnetic field. The high field Zeeman effect provides the spectral dispersion necessary to separate the effects of different light polarizations and incident wavelengths on the pumping cycle. Indirect detection of the D1 line in Rb using 129Xe nuclear magnetic resonance in combination with direct optical detection indicates that conventional container construction significantly decreases the efficiency of the 129Xe polarization. The decreased pumping efficiency is due to randomly polarized photons that can be eliminated by using containers with good optical quality windows. Study of these effects is facilitated by the large Zeeman shifts obtained with multi-tesla fields which resolve the D1 multiplet structure even in the presence of the significant pressure-broadening incells with typical gas pressures of 0⋅1-1 atm.
We report production of hyperpolarized Xe-129 gas via spin-exchange with optically pumped Cs atoms at the D-2 line, achieved at low magnetic field in a flow system and in the absence of nitrogen gas. The nuclear spin polarization of hyperpolarized Xe-129 gas is enhanced by a factor of 10000 compared to that without optical pumping under the same condition, which corresponds to polarization of about 2.66%. Due to the high spin polarization, the radiation damping of hyperpolarized Xe-129 gas has also been observed in the flow system.
This paper shows the possibility of the use of a solid-state alexandrite laser as a radiation source for the method of spin-exchange optical pumping of noble gases (xenon, krypton). The use of dispersive optical elements in the laser cavity will allows the adjusting of the radiation wavelength exactly in the rubidium spectral absorption lines 794.7 nm and 780 nm. To obtain a hyperpolarized state of noble gases, it is necessary to excite rubidium atoms for further spin-exchange process with the noble gas nuclei. This fact will allow the increasing of the magnetic resonance imaging contrast in the field of diagnosis of respiratory organs diseases.