OPTI MI ZED ELECTROHAGNETI C COI L DESI GN THEORY

B. L. W. Chapman, M. Doyl e and G. M. Pohost .

Depart ment of Medi ci ne, Di vi si on of Cardi ovascul ar Di seases,
Uni versi t y of Al abama at Bi r mi ngham,
828 8t h Court Sout h,
Bi rmi ngham,
AL 35294.
Abst ract
Wi t h t he recogni t i on of t he Bi ot - Savar t equat i on
as t he convol ut i on of t he current densi t y di st ri but i on
wi t h t he i nverse squar e decrease of magnet i c f i el d
wi t h di st ance, great l y i mproved met hods of coi l desi gn
are real i zabl e. I n part i cul ar, surf ace current
di st ri but i ons can be empl oyed to produce
el ect romagnet i c f i el ds wi t h vast l y superi or near f i el d
charact eri st i cs t han t hose at t ai nabl e f rom l i ne
el ement coi l s (the syst em t hat had been empl oyed
previ ousl y). The use of surf ace current di st ri but i ons
has al so f aci l i t at ed t he desi gn of scr eened, al so
known as shi el ded, gradi ent coi l s t o el i mi nat e
ext raneous magnet i c f i el ds; . f i el ds whi ch ot herwi se
woul d cr eat e undesi rabl e t i me dependant eddy current s
i n surroundi ng st ruct ures.
Fr equent l y, and i n part i cul ar i n Magnet i c
Resonance (MR) appl i cat i ons, pract i cal consi derat i ons
of access and space prevent the use of cl osed coi l
st r uct ur es; whi ch i s a requi rement of Amper e s l awf or
t he at t ai nment of i deal magnet i c f i el ds. I n the
present paper , a met hod of screened coi l desi gn i s
descri bed whi ch produces magnet i c f i el ds of a
pari i cul ar t ype ( e. g. uni f or m, l i near or hi gher order
gr adi ent , et c. ) opt i mi zed on a l east square basi s,
over one vol ume and zer o i n a second. Addi t i onal l y,
t hi s new met hod t akes account of the pract i cal
necessi t i es of havi ng open st ruct ured pri mary coi l s of
rest ri ct ed l engt h.
I nt roduct i on
El ect romagnet i c coi l desi gn i s of great
i mport ance i n many f i el ds of physi cs and engi neeri ng.
Thi s i s part i cul arl y so i n Magnet i c Resonance (HR)
i magi ng and spect r oscopy, where preci se spat i al
di st ri but i ons of a vari et y of magnet i c f i el ds are
essent i al . The most common arrangement of
el ect romagnet i c coi l st ruct ures f or use i n HR consi st s
of : a mai n f i el d coi l , usual l y super conduct i ng, whi ch
provi des a st r ong, subst ant i al l y uni f orm magnet i c
f i el d over a Regi on Of I nt erest ( ROI ) i n t he cent er of
the st r uct ur e; and one axi al and t wo t ransverse coi l s,
whi ch provi de t hree ort hogonal gradi ent f i el ds t hat
vary l i nearl y over t he ROI . There are t wo maj or
pract i cal probl ems associ at ed wi t h the desi gn of coi l s
such as t hese: f i r st , t he necessi t y f or access t o the
i nt eri or ROI requi res t hat the coi l be open, t hereby
compromi si ng t he f i el d s spat i al di st r i but i on; second,
t he generat i on of eddy current s i n surroundi ng
st ruct ures and t he associ at ed undesi rabl e t emporal and
spat i al magnet i c vari at i ons t hat t hese i nt roduce over
t he ROI .
I n t hi s paper we wi l l begi n wi t h a revi ewof the
general t heory of el ect romagnet i c coi l desi gn, the
st art i ng poi nt f or whi ch i s the Bi ot - Savar t equat i on,
whi ch expr esses the rel at i onshi p bet ween cur r ent
di st ri but i on and the resul t ant st at i c magnet i c f i el d.
Hi st or i cal l y, spheri cal har moni c, l i ne el ement ,
sol ut i ons wer e empl oyed to provi de such coi l desi gns.
Amper e s ci rcui t al t heorem i ndi cat es t hat a bet t er
sol ut i on i s to empl oy current di st ri but ed over a
cl osed surf ace. Recent l y t hi s pri nci pl e has been
empl oyed t o desi gn screened coi l s, i . e. ones whi ch
el i mi nat e eddy current s i n surroundi ng st ruct ures, and
to i mprove f undament al coi l desi gn f or MR. I n t hi s
paper we i nt roduce a r e- f or mal i zat i on of the Bi ot -
Savart equat i on whi ch provi des f or the general desi gn
of el ect romagnet i c coi l s based on surf ace current
di st r i but i ons, of whi ch t hese recent sol ut i ons are
speci f i c exampl es. Fi nal l y we wi l l demonst rat e how
t hi s r e- f or mal i zat i on can be used to opt i mi ze the
desi gn of el ect romagnet s havi ng rest ri ct ed l engt h.
Bi ot - Savar t Eauat i on
The general probl em of el ect romagnet i c coi l
desi gn i s one of produci ng a magnet i c f i el d of a
part i cul ar f orm i n one ROI f rom a proxi mat e coi l
st ruct ure. Mat hemat i cal l y chi s reduces t o sol vi ng t he
Bi ot - Savar t equat i on:
where B i s t he resul t ant magnet i c f i el d at the poi nt
r due to the current densi t y di st ri but i on J (r ) at al l
poi nt s r wi t hi n the r egi on r , and p i s t he magnet i c
permeabi l i t y of t he medi um. Not e, al l bol ded
quant i t i es ar e vect ors havi ng t hree or t hogonal , i n
t hi s i nst ance spat i al , component s.
Sol vi ng the Bi ot - Savar t equat i on to obt ai n the
magnet i c f i el d f or a gi ven current di st r i but i on, i n
al l but a f ewvery si mpl e cases, has unt i l r ecent l y,
rel i ed upon numeri cal i nt egrat i on met hods. Sol vi ng
the reverse pr obl em, i . e. t hat of det ermi ni ng a
pari i cul ar current di st ri but i on t o produce a desi red
magnet i c f i el d, i s consi derabl y more di f f i cul t [I, 21.
SDheri cal Harmoni cs
Unt i l r ecent l y, sol ut i ons f or the desi gn of
coi l s t o produce speci f i c magnet i c f i el ds were
obt ai ned by expandi ng the magnet i c f i el d i n t erms of
spheri cal harmoni cs and opt i mi zi ng the f i rst f ewnone
zero t erms at the ori gi n 13, 41. Thi s met hod has been
i n use f or over a cent ur y, and resul t s i n t he st andard
Hel mhol t z and Maxwel l coi l s f or the product i on of
uni f ormand l i near axi al gradi ent f i el ds respect i vel y.
The use of spheri cal harmoni cs resul t s i n coi l s whi ch
consi st of a seri es of l i ne current el ement s at
part i cul ar spat i al l ocat i ons. The f i el ds f romsuch
l i ne el ement s devi at e asympt ot i cal l y t o i nf i ni t y as
one moves t owards t he cent er of each l i ne el ement ,
whi ch i mposes severe rest ri ct i ons on the ut i l i zabl e
vol ume.
Amer e s Ci rcui t al Law
One means of el i mi nat i ng the si ngul ari t i es
associ at ed wi t h l i ne el ement s i s to empl oy surf ace
current di st ri but i ons. Adopt i ng surf ace current
di st ri but i ons al so has the advant age t hat any
0-7803-0494-2/92 S3.0001992 IEEE
757
t heoret i cal l y achi evabl e magnet i c f i el d over a vol ume
can be generat ed by a current di st ri but i on conf i ned to
a cl osed sur f ace; t hi s i s a consequence of Ampere' s
ci rcui t al l aw. The onl y rest ri ct i on to t hi s i s t hat
i t must be possi bl e t o generat e t he magnet i c f i el d by
a general cur r ent di st ri but i on t hat can be separ at ed,
by t hat sur f ace, f romt he vol ume over whi ch t he f i el d
i s r equi r ed; i . e. ei t her the current di st ri but i on or ,
more usual l y, the vol ume must be ent i rel y cont ai ned
wi t hi n t he surf ace. For exampl e, f or cyl i ndri cal
coi l s t hi s i nvol ves surf aces whi ch ei t her ext end to
i nf i ni t y or are cl osed l ocal l y wi t h end pi eces.
Magnet i c f i el ds produced i n t hi s way have a perf ect
f or mt hroughout the ent i re vol ume cont ai ned wi t hi n the
current di st ri but i on surf ace. The maj or di sadvant age
of t hi s approach has been t he di f f i cul t y of sol vi ng
t he Bi ot - Savar t equat i on f or al l but a f ewel ement ary
cases: uni f or m f i el ds wi t hi n i n a sphere and an
i nf i ni t e cyl i nder .
Surf ace Current Sol ut i ons
Eddv Current El i mi nat i on: I ni t i al l y,
general i zed exact sol ut i ons of t he Bi ot - Savar t
equat i on wer e deri ved f or the i nf i ni t e cyl i nder , to
sol ve t he probl em of eddy current f ormat i on i n
st ruct ures ext ernal t o gradi ent coi l s i n MR syst ems
[SI. Usi ng t hi s met hodol ogy eddy current s are
el i mi nat ed by surroundi ng t he pri mary coi l st ruct ure
wi t h a surf ace current di st ri but i on whi ch exact l y
cancel s t he pri mary' s f i el d ext ernal to thi s surf ace.
Al t hough such magnet i c screeni ng resul t s i n a
reduct i on of t he f i el d per uni t current wi t hi n the
ROI , t he addi t i onal st ruct ure does not i nt roduce any
addi t i onal i nduct ance as, by def i ni t i on, al l f l ux
l i nes are conf i ned wi t hi n the scr een [ 6 ] . Si mi l ar l y,
screened coi l s possess cert ai n advant ageous resi st i ve
propert i es. Consequent l y, si nce t hei r i nt roduct i on,
scr eened, or shi el ded, gradi ent coi l s have become the
pref erred st ruct ures f or i ncl usi on i n HR syst ems.
Screeni ng al so provi des a means of great l y reduci ng
t he ext ent of t he st ray ext ernal st at i c f i el d f romthe
mai n el ect r omagnet , whi ch ot herwi se woul d adversel y
af f ect pr oxi mal el ect roni c devi ces. Act i ve
el ect romagnet i c screeni ng of t he mai n f i el d has the
advant age over the t radi t i onal met hod of passi ve
screeni ng [ 7 ] t hat i t does not requi re the use of
great masses of f erromagnet i c mat eri al .
Gr adi ent Coi l Desi en: Surf ace current sol ut i ons
of the Bi ot - Savar t equat i on have been subsequent l y
appl i ed t o t he desi gn of gradi ent coi l s [ 8] and
i nt egrat ed screened gradi ent coi l s 19, 101 i n MR.
Thi s has r esul t ed i n el ect romagnet i c coi l desi gns wi t h
i mproved gradi ent l i neari t y ext endi ng over l arger
f ract i ons of t he coi l di mensi ons, and whi ch ar e f ree
of t i me dependant eddy current f i el d pert urbat i ons.
These anal yt i c met hods of coi l desi gn rel y on the
choi ce of a sui t abl e ' t arget ' f unct i on f or the
el ect romagnet i c f i el d. I n addi t i on to provi di ng a
f i el d of speci f i c t ype, t hi s t arget f unct i on must
sat i sf y t he condi t i on t hat t he resul t ant current
di st r i but i on di mi ni shes to zer o at i nf i ni t y. Al t hough
t he choi ce of sui t abl e f unct i ons i s si mpl e [ l o] i t i s
al so ar bi t r ar y, and consequent l y the resul t ant f i el d
i s l ess t han opt i mal .
Re- f or mal i smof Bi ot - Savar t
I n t he f ormal i zat i on empl oyed i n thi s paper the
Bi ot - Savar t equat i on i s recogni zed as the convol ut i on
of the cur r ent densi cy di st ri but i on wi t h the i nverse
square decr ease of magnet i c f i el d wi t h di st ance.
Consequent l y, Fouri er t ransf ormat i on can be ut i l i zed
t o yi el d a si mpl e vect or product i n t he kernel space.
I n t hi s f or mt he equat i on can be sol ved wi t h equal
f aci l i t y i n bot h di r ect i ons; i . e. f or a gi ven current
_ _ - -----
di st r i but i on the f i el d can be det ermi ned i mmedi at el y,
or conver sel y, gi ven a f i el d the requi red cur r ent
di st r i but i on can be deri ved. Consequent l y, great l y
i mproved met hods of coi l desi gn are real i zabl e. I n
par t i cul ar , general surf ace current di st ri but i ons are
possi bl e f or the product i on of el ect romagnet i c f i el ds
wi t h consi derabl y superi or proxi mat e charact eri st i cs
i n accordance wi t h Ampere' s t heorem.
For pract i cal r easons, at l east i n MR where
access i s essent i al , cyl i ndri cal coi l s are empl oyed
whi ch must be rel at i vel y short and open ended.
Consequent l y, the pract i cal l y achi evabl e magnet i c
f i el ds f r om surf ace current di st r i but i ons, whi l e
consi derabl y bet t er t han t hose deri ved by spher i cal
harmoni c expansi on, cannot be perf ect and some f ormof
opt i mi zat i on i s necessary. I nci dent al l y, si mi l ar
opt i mi zat i on coul d have been appl i ed to t he desi gn of
l i ne cur r ent el ement s to i mprove t he f i el d over a
f i ni t e vol ume rat her t han at a poi nt , t hough at the
cost of mat hemat i cal si mpl i ci t y and general i t y.
ODt i mi zed Coi l s of Rest ri ct ed Lenet h
I n t hi s paper a desi gn met hod i s devel oped t hat
t akes account of t he pract i cal l i mi t at i ons of access
and rest ri ct ed l engch. I n part i cul ar, a met hod i s
devel oped t hat opt i mi zes the magnet i c f i el d on a l east
squares basi s over t he ROI whi l e t aki ng account of the
f i ni t e l engt h, and open ended nat ur e, of t he pri mary
coi l .
Theory
The Bi ot - Savar t equat i on st at es t hat t he
magnet i c f i el d B i s gi ven by the convol ut i on of the
current densi t y di st r i but i on, J , wi t h t he i nverse
square of t he di st ance, r/l:13. Ther ef or e, the
equat i on can be great l y sl mpl i f i ed by. Fouri er
t ransf ormi ng t o yi el d the f ol l owi ng product i n Fouri er
Kernel space:
where B(s) i s the Fouri er t ransf ormof t he f i el d
B ( r ) and J ( s ) i s t he Fouri er t ransf ormof t he current
di st r i but i on J (r), at the poi nt s i n Fouri er Kernel
space.
Because of t hei r i mport ance i n MR t he f ol l owi ng
anal ysi s wi l l be present ed f or cyl i ndri cal coi l s;
t hough much of i t i s equal l y appl i cabl e to ot her
geomet ri es. On a cyl i ndri cal sur f ace, current
di st r i but i on nat ural l y devol ves i nt o i ndependent
f unct i ons i n t he axi al and azi mut hal di rect i ons. Any
f unct i on conf i ned t o t hi s surf ace can be descri bed
exact l y i n t erms of t he permi ssi bl e harmoni c modes i n
each of t hese i ndependent di rect i ons. Fi rst we wi l l
consi der t he azi mut hal di rect i on; f or t hi s we
i nt roduce t he concept of the el ement al current hoop.
The El ement al Current HOOD
Consi der an el ement al ci rcul ar hoop on a
cyl i ndri cal surf ace i n whi ch the current ampl i t ude
vari es azi mut hal l y as cos (me); i . e. the permi ssi bl e
azi mut hal har moni c modes. The ot her vect or component s
of a current di st ri but i on on a cyl i ndri cal sur f ace,
and consequent l y t he f i el d component s, can be
i mmedi at el y deri ved f rom t he cont i nui t y equat i on,
, Curl J - 0 . For t hi s r eason, we shal l hence f ort h
conf i ne our sel ves t o the det ermi nat i on of t he axi al
: component of the f i el d, B. The t wo Di mensi onal
Fouri er Tr ansf or m(SDFT) i n the azi mut hal and axi al
di rect i ons of the Bi ot - Savar t equat i on i n cyl i ndr i cal
pol ar coordi nat es yi el ds:
758
T
( 3)
B h ( r , m, k) = I.I k a rL(kd) K,(kr)
p k a rm(kr) KJ,(ka)
r > a
r < a
where a i s the radi us of the el ement al current hoop,
k i s the ker nel space di mensi on correspondi ng to t he
axi al di mensi on z, I, and IC, are t he modi f i ed Bessel
f unct i ons and 1 , and K , are t hei r deri vat i ves wi t h
respect to k. Thi s i s consi st ent wi t h t he anal yt i c
sol ut i on of Green [8].
I t i s apparent f romthe f oregoi ng argument s t hat
al l cur r ent di st ri but i ons on a cyl i nder are si mpl y
product s of t hi s el ement al current hoop wi t h a purel y
axi al current di st ri but i on f unct i on. For pract i cal
reasons of access, such general sol enoi dal current
di st ri but i ons are commonl y conf i ned to short open
surf aces. For an open cyl i nder of rest ri ct ed l engt h,
L, t he axi al vari at i on of the current di st ri but i on can
be expressed as the sum of the permi ssi bl e axi al
harmoni c modes, n, on the surf ace i . e. :
Jf) ( a, 2) =E, c, H(z) cos(2nnz/l +6,
(4)
25-r
-
E
\
n
E
a
v
N
D
\
H
U
a)
E
\
E
a
a
v
N
U
\
H
-U
b)
10 7
-lo+ I /
-4 I/
, I
I I I
I
40 80 120
-20
-25
-120 -80 -40 0
z (cm)
where C,, i s t he current ampl i t ude of the nt h harmoni c
and
( 5 )
Fouri er t ransf ormat i on of equat i on 4 i n the z
di rect i on yi el ds:
J~ (a, k) = ~ L C , C, el* si nc( ki / 2 - nn)
+ e-io sine (kL/2 +n x ) ]
( 6)
The Fouri er t ransf ormof the resul t ant axi al f i el d i n
the azi mut hal and axi al di rect i ons of i s gi ven by:
B( r . m, k) =J, ( a. k) . B h ( r , m, k)
( 7 )
Opt i mi zat i on of the coi l desi gn i s t hen
conveni ent l y sol ved by l east squares mi ni mi zat i on of
the f i rst f ew t erms ( C, ) over the Regi on of I nt erest
(ROI ) i n r eal , as agai nst Ker nel , space. The choi ce
of t he number of t erms i s dependent upon t he
geomet ri es of the coi l st ruct ure and the ROI . Thi s
lot
-254 I , II I I II i
-120 -80 -40 0 40 8 0 120
Fi gure 1.
Current di st ri but i ons f or (a) pri mary and (b) scr een
surf aces provi di ng a l i near axi al gradi ent magnet i c
f i el d ( Ki l o Amps per Tesl a versus cm). The ampl i t udes
of bot h current di st ri but i ons are const ant i n t he
azi mut hal di rect i on.
bl
Fi gure 2.
(a) The axi al f i el d var i at i on, B,, over one quadrant of
the cyl i ndri cal ROI (r - 0 - 27. 5, z - 0 - 20 cm), f or
the current di st ri but i ons shown i n f i gure 1. (b) The
l i near magnet i c gradi ent f i el d provi ded by a st andard
Maxwel l coi l of radi us equal to t hat of the pri mary.
choi ce can be made by sol vi ng wi t h i ncreasi ng numbers
of t erms unt i l the cross t erm coef f i ci ent mat ri x
becomes si ngul ar t o, f or exampl e, one part per
mi l l i on, at whi ch poi nt no f urt her si gni f i cant
i mprovement can be achi eved.
Screened El ement al Current Hoop
Roemer and Hi ckey [ l l ] proposed a f ormof l east
squares opt i mi zat i on of a screened coi l t hat i nvol ved
addi ng t he t er ms f roma second cyl i ndri cal surf ace i n
a manner si mi l ar to t hat descri bed above f or the
unscreened case. Whi l e t he l engt h of the pri mary i s
usual l y a sever e const rai nt on the desi gn, some
f reedomi n t he l engt h of the scr een i s usual, but the
choi ce of t hi s l engt h f or a l east squares sol ut i on
wi t h a reasonabl e number of coef f i ci ent s i s not
obvi ous. The use of t he t ot al avai l abl e l engt h wi l l
al most al ways be unsui t abl e, as the requi si t e
harmoni cs wavel engt hs are not necessari l y al equot s of
t hi s l engt h. A f ar bet t er sol ut i on, one vhi ch al l ows
f or the scr een to be of great er l engt h t han the
pr i mar y, i s t o desi gn t he perf ect l y screened syst em
'1 50
- ' Ot
-75 t I 1 I
I I I
I I
-120 -80 -40 0 40 80 120
z (cm)
'7
50
L
t
1 1 I I 1
I
4b eb 120
-75
-120 -80 -40 0
b) z ( cm)
Fi gur e 3.
(a) Si de vi ewof the ser i es wound cyl i ndri cal pri mary
coi l wi t h a t ot al of 30 t urns t hat approxi mat es the
cur r ent di st ri but i on of f i gur e l a. (b) Si de vi ew of
t he correspondi ng screen coi l wi t h 54 t urns. These
posi t i ons cor r espond t o equi pot ent i al l i nes of the
i nt egrat ed cur r ent di st ri but i on.
and rel y on the f act t hat the current i n t he scr een
wi l l di mi ni sh rapi dl y beyond the axi al l i mi t s of t he
pri mary. Consequent l y, wi t h t hi s i mpl i ci t coupl i ng of
t he pri mary and the scr een, no const rai nt s are pl aced
upon the scr een, and t he sol ut i on can be expect ed t o
converge as rapi dl y as f or the unscreened case.
I t i s a rel at i vel y si mpl e mat t er to add a
surf ace cur r ent di st r i but i on whi ch wi l l scr een t he
el ement al cur r ent hoop of equat i on 3 , [ l o] . The
resul t ant Fouri er t ransf ormi n the azi mut hal and axi al
di rect i ons f or the i nt ernal f i el d of such an
i mpl i ci t l y screened hoop i s gi ven by:
( 8 )
B s ( r , m, k) = )I k a I,(kr) [&,(kd)
- d,(kb) r L ( ka) / r L u~~
where b i s t he r adi us of the perf ect cyl i ndri cal
screen. The ext ernal f i el d i s by def i ni t i on zer o.
The f i el d bet ween radi i a and b i s not requi red i n t he
present anal ysi s, but can be i mmedi at el y wr i t t en down
by i nspect i on f romequat i ons 3 and 8 .
Agai n consi der at i on of the permi ssi bl e harmoni cs
of the pri mary surf ace of radi us a, yi el ds t he axi al
component of the i nt ernal f i el d, the conveni ent 2DFT
of whi ch, B, i s obt ai ned i mmedi at el y by subst i t ut i ng
B, f or i n equat i on 7 . Thi s can agai n be
conveni ent l y sol ved on a l east squares basi s f or the
harmoni c current ampl i t udes C,, but we can expect t hat
no more coef f i ci ent s wi l l be requi red f or opt i mi zat i on
t han f or t he equi val ent unscreened coi l st ruct ure.
Pr act i cal l y, t he l engt h of the scr een must be f i ni t e,
but as t he cur r ent di st ri but i on f al l s of f rapi dl y
beyond the l engt h of the pr i mar y, the screen l engt h
can be l i mi t ed to t he l engt h at whi ch the current
di st ri but i on ampl i t ude becomes negl i gi bl e. I n t hi s
way no ' a pri ori ' l i mi t at i onhas been i mposed upon the
screen t hat woul d i mpai r , or pr event , sol ut i on f or t he
coef f i ci ent s and compromi se bot h t he screeni ng
ef f ect i veness and the qual i t y of t he f i el d over t he
ROI .
r e
Is0T
- 1 0
-150 1
760
Fi gure 4.
Coi l wi ndi ngs whi ch approxi mat e t he opt i mi zed pri mary
cur r ent di st r i but i on f or t he product i on of a
t ransverse l i near gradi ent f i el d over the ROI . Shown
i s a compl et e ' unrol l ed' axi al versus ci rcumf erent i al
l ayout of t he cyl i ndri cal surf ace.
Exampl es
The f ol l owi ng exampl es const i t ut e the gradi ent
' f i el ds requi red f or MR:-
1. Li near axi al gradi ent f i el d
2. Li near t ransverse gradi ent f i el d
The met hod descri bed i s i mmedi at el y appl i cabl e
t o si mi l ar coi l geomet ri es and al l ROI's geomet ri es.
Addi t i onal l y, i t can be readi l y general i zed to ot her
open geomet r i es, such as f l at surf aces.
I n the f ol l owi ng exampl es a cyl i ndri cal coi l
st ruct ure of 70 cmdi amet er rest ri ct ed to a l engt h of
120 cmwas assumed f or t he pri mary, and a di amet er of
90 cmf or t he screen. A cyl i ndri cal ROI was al so
assumed, of di amet er 55 cmand l engt h 40 cm. Least
squar es opt i mi zat i on was perf ormed over si x evenl y
spaced radi i wi t hi n t hi s ROI , f or i ncreasi ng numbers
of coef f i ci ent s unt i l the mat ri x became si ngul ar to
wi t hi n one part per mi l l i on.
Screened l i near axi al gradi ent magnet i c f i el d coi l
Least squares opt i mi zat i on resul t ed i n the
current di st ri but i ons shown i n f i gures l a and l b f or
the pri mary and screen respect i vel y. Opt i mi zat i on
requi red the use of si x coef f i ci ent s. These current
di st ri but i ons provi de a magnet i c f i el d whi ch vari es
l i nearl y wi t h di st ance al ong t he axi s i n the ROI ,
Fi gure 2a, and whi ch i s zer o ext ernal to the screen (r
>45 cm); the ampl i t udes of bot h current di st ri but i ons
are const ant i n the azi mut hal di rect i on. Fi gure 2b
shows t he l i near magnet i c gradi ent f i el d of a st andard
Maxwel l coi l [ 12] of radi us equal t o t hat of the
pri mary.
One met hod of const ruct i on of coi l s, based on
t hese current di st r i but i ons, i s shown i n f i gures 3a
and 3b. Fi gure 3a shows t he si de vi ew of t he seri es
wound cyl i ndri cal pri mary coi l wi t h a t ot al of 30
t urns. Fi gure 3b shows the si de vi ew of the
correspondi ng screen coi l wi t h 54 t urns. These
posi t i ons correspond to equi pot ent i al l i nes of the
i nt egrat ed current di st ri buci on.
r e
150T
F
-120
-150L
20
Z
Fi gure 5 .
Unrol l ed vi ewof t he scr een coi l correspondi ng t o t he
pri mary of f i gure 4 , pl ot t ed at the same scal e.
Screened l i near t ransverse eradi ent mamet i c f i el d
coil
Least squares opt i mi zat i on over the ROI requi red
seven coef f i ci ent s. The resul t ant current
di st ri but i ons provi de a magnet i c f i el d whi ch vari es
l i nearl y wi t h di st ance al ong t he radi us over the ROI ,
and whi ch i s zer o ext emal to the screen (r >45 cm);
t he ampl i t udes of bot h current di st ri but i ons vary
cosi nusoi dal l y (m- 1) i n t he azi mut hal di rect i on.
Fi gure 4 shows an ' unrol l ed' vi ew of t he cyl i ndri cal
surf ace di spl ayi ng the axi al versus ci rcumf erent i al
(re) l ayout of al l f our quadrant s. Fi gure 5 shows t he
unrol l ed vi ew of the f our quadrant s of t he associ at ed
scr een coi l drawn to the same scal e.
Di scussi on
Recogni t i on t hat the Bi ot - Savar t equat i on
represent s a convol ut i on, has enabl ed exact sol ut i on
of the st at i c el ect romagnet i c near f i el d probl em. Thi s
i n t urn has enabl ed l east squares opt i mi zat i on to be
appl i ed to the general probl em of screened
el ect romagnet i c coi l desi gn on cyl i ndri cal surf aces.
Thi s process can be empl oyed to det ermi ne current
di st ri but i ons on surf aces of arbi t rary shape to
produce any achi evabl e magnet i c f i el d.
The f oregoi ng sect i ons have concent rat ed on the
appl i cat i on of sol ut i ons over a speci f i c ROI . For
each ROI the probl emmust be reworked. As wi t h the
desi gns based on spheri cal har moni cs, sol ut i ons exi st
whi ch ar e scal e i ndependent , provi ded we are wi l l i ng
t o t ol erat e some l oss of opt i mi zat i on. A general
sol ut i on f or surf ace current di st ri but i ons can be
achi eved by det ermi ni ng the current di st ri but i on
requi red to provi de the desi red f i el d at the surf ace
of t he conduct or. Such a sol ut i on f or t he desi gn of
unscreened gradi ent coi l s, i s aki n to the approach of
i nt roduci ng super conduct i ng surf aces i nt o a magnet i c
f i el d of the requi red t ype [ 13] . Such a general
' super - conduct i ng' sol ut i on coul d be obt ai ned wi t h an
i t erat i ve procedure.
Though no ef f ort has been made to mi ni mi ze the
i nduct ance of t he present desi gn, t hi s syst emproduces
coi l s f or whi ch the i nduct ance di f f ers onl y sl i ght l y
f romt he mi ni mal . I nduct ance mi ni mi zat i on [ 14] can be
i ncorporat ed i nt o the present desi gns, but onl y at
some cost of f i el d opt i mi zat i on.
The present desi gn prot ocol may be of val ue i n
el ect romagnet desi gn ar eas, where ei t her speci f i c
f i el d prof i l i ng or the el i mi nat i on of ext ernal f i el ds
i s desi rabl e. The f ormal i smpresent ed i n t hi s paper
f or the sol ut i on of t he st at i c near f i el d probl emmay
al so f i nd appl i cat i on i n ot her branches of appl i ed
physi cs.
11
21
31
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