Broadband electron spin resonance at low frequency without resonant cavity

Broadband electron paramagnetic resonance spectrometer from 1 to 15 GHz using metallic coplanar waveguide

We report a broadband electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectrometer that operates continuously in the frequency range from 1 to 15 GHz. A broadband metallic coplanar waveguide is utilized as the probe. The system is capable of performing EPR measurements in both continuous wave and pulsed modes. Its performance has been tested with a sample, named 2,2-diphenyl-1-(2,4,6-trinitrophenyl)hydrazyl powder, at room temperature. In the continuous wave mode, the sensitivity of the spectrometer is estimated to be 3.3×10¹² spins/gaussHz at 13 GHz. In the pulsed mode, inversion recovery experiments were carried out to obtain the spin-lattice relaxation time of the sample.

Broadband Tunable Electron Paramagnetic Resonance Spectroscopy of Dilute Metal Complexes

Analysis of the electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) of transition ion complexes requires data taken at different microwave frequencies because the spin Hamiltonian contains operators linear in the frequency as well as operators independent of the frequency. In practice, data collection is hampered by the fact that conventional EPR spectrometers have always been designed to operate at a single frequency. Here, a broadband instrument is described and tested that operates from 0.5 to 12 GHz and whose sensitivity approaches that of single-frequency spectrometers. Multifrequency EPR from triclinic substitutional (0.5%) Cu(II) in ZnSO₄ is globally analyzed to illustrate a novel approach to reliable determination of the molecular electronic structure of transition ion complexes from field-frequency 2D data sets.

Electron-paramagnetic resonance detection with software time locking

A setup for electron paramagnetic resonance with narrow band digital detection is described. A low frequency reference tone is added to the radio frequency signal. This reference signal, after digital detection, is used to lock the resonance signal, even in the absence of hardware time locking among the radio frequency generator, the conversion local oscillators, and the sampling stage. Results obtained with 2,2-Diphenyl-1-Pycryl-Hydrazil are presented and discussed.

Temperature Dependence of Electron Spin Relaxation of 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl in Polystyrene

The electron spin relaxation rates for the stable radical DPPH (2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl) doped into polystyrene were studied by inversion recovery and electron spin echo at X-band and Q-band between 20 and 295 K. At low concentration (340 μM, 0.01%) spin-lattice relaxation was dominated by the Raman process and a local mode. At high concentration (140 mM, 5%) relaxation is orders of magnitude faster than at the lower concentration, and 1/T₁ is approximately linearly dependent on temperature. Spin lattice relaxation rates are similar at X-band and Q-band. The temperature dependence of spin echo dephasing was faster at about 140 K than at higher or lower temperatures, which is attributed to a wagging motion of the phenyl groups.

Broadband electron spin resonance at 4-40 GHz and magnetic fields up to 10 T

A broadband electron spin resonance spectrometer is described which operates at frequencies between 4 and 40 GHz and can be used in superconducting magnets. A tunable cylindrical cavity is connected to a vector network analyzer via coaxial cables, and the radiation is fed into the cavity by a coupling loop. No field modulation is employed. Resonance frequencies below 14 GHz are obtained by inserting dielectrics with different permittivities into the cavity. The setup allows for measurements with the microwave magnetic field either parallel or perpendicular to the external field.