Properties of Sol–Gel Derived Thin Organoalkylenesiloxane Films

We have prepared film-forming solutions for the growth of dense and porous thin organoalkylenesiloxane (OAS) films based on copolymers of methyltrimethoxysilane and 1,2-bis(trimethoxysilyl)ethane (BTMSE) by a sol–gel process. The chemical composition and microstructure of the OAS films have been studied by IR spectroscopy and spectral ellipsometry in relation to the mole fraction of BTMSE and the water: methoxy groups ratio in solution. The results demonstrate that partial substitution of ethylene bridges for silicon–oxygen bonds in OAS leads to distortion of the regular ladder-like structure characteristic of polymethylsilsesquioxane films and the presence of residual silanol groups, which causes an increase in the dielectric permittivity k of the matrix material. The relative porosity in porous OAS films produced via evaporationinduced self-assembly has been shown to be determined by not only the amount of surfactant added but also the presence of a sufficient amount of silanol groups, participating in the attachment of surfactant molecules, in the matrix copolymer solution. In this connection, an important factor determining the structure of the OAS matrix and its pore structure is control over the amount of water involved in the cohydrolysis process. It has been shown that the samples with a relative porosity of 38% prepared from a film-forming solution containing 47 mol % BTMSE (m = 0.7) and 30 wt % surfactant have k ≈ 2.3 and are potentially attractive materials for use as insulators in integrated circuits.     

Ramping down a clinical 3 T scanner: a journey into MRI and MRS at 0.75 T

Object

Lower-field MR is reemerging as a viable, potentially cost-effective alternative to high-field MR, thanks to advances in hardware, sequence design, and reconstruction over the past decades. Evaluation of lower field strengths, however, is limited by the availability of lower-field systems on the market and their considerable procurement costs. In this work, we demonstrate a low-cost, temporary alternative to purchasing a dedicated lower-field MR system.

Materials and Methods

By ramping down an existing clinical 3 T MRI system to 0.75 T, proton signals can be acquired using repurposed ¹³C transmit/receive hardware and the multi-nuclei spectrometer interface. We describe the ramp-down procedure and necessary software and hardware changes to the system.

Results

Apart from presenting system characterization results, we show in vivo examples of cardiac cine imaging, abdominal two- and three-point Dixon-type water/fat separation, water/fat-separated MR Fingerprinting, and point-resolved spectroscopy. In addition, the ramp-down approach allows unique comparisons of, e.g., gradient fidelity of the same MR system operated at different field strengths using the same receive chain, gradient coils, and amplifiers.

Discussion

Ramping down an existing MR system may be seen as a viable alternative for lower-field MR research in groups that already own multi-nuclei hardware and can also serve as a testing platform for custom-made multi-nuclei transmit/receive coils.