Surface Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Imaging of Large Systems

The general theory of surface NMR imaging of large electromagnetically active systems is considered, motivated by geophysical applications. A general imaging equation is derived for the NMR voltage response, valid for arbitrary transmitter and receiver loop geometry and arbitrary conductivity structure of the sample. When the conductivity grows to the point where the electromagnetic skin depth becomes comparable to the sample size, significant diffusive retardation effects occur that strongly affect the signal. Accounting for these now allows more accurate imaging than previously possible. It is shown that the time constant T1 may in principle be inferred directly from the diffusive tail of the signal. [S0031-9007(99)09154-1]