Abstract
We present a device for the production of hyperpolarized 3He, which is widely used in spinrelated nuclear physics research. Spin-exchange optical pumping (SEOP) is employed to polarize 3He enclosed in a circular borosilicate glass cell suitable not only for the production of polarized gas but also for its storage. The portable glass cell can, thus, be transported to any other research facility. The glass cell can be refilled several times. Special attention is given to the preparation and the filling of the cell to minimize the impurities on its walls and in the gas. We employ glass tubes with shorter lengths and larger diameters in the gas-filling system to achieve the improvement in the air flow necessary to obtain purer polarized 3He samples. The cell is prepared, and after it has been filled with rubidium (Rb) and 3He-N2 mixture, it is sealed under high vacuum conditions. The cell containing the mixture is exposed to circularly-polarized laser light with a wavelength of 795 nm at temperatures of 180 - 220 °C for SEOP. The polarization of 3He is measured via nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR). We obtained 40% polarized 3He in less than 15 hours and 50% in about 25 hours. The longitudinal relaxation time T 1 of the polarized 3He we measured was about 58 hours.
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Kim, W., Stepanyan, S.S., Kim, A. et al. Gas cells for 3He hyperpolarized via spin-exchange optical pumping. Journal of the Korean Physical Society 68, 183–189 (2016). https://doi.org/10.3938/jkps.68.183
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.3938/jkps.68.183