Abstract: | ![]() An active resonator system operating at 700 MHz, which can attain a high Q for CW-ESR measurements of a high loss sample, was developed. This system consisted of a loop-gap resonator (LGR), a receiver coil, an excitation coil, and a phase tunable amplifier. A part of the RF power at the LGR was picked up by the receiver coil, amplified, and irradiated to the LGR again by the excitation coil, which made up a feedback circuit. Because the feedback circuit provided the energy that canceled the loss in the resonator, the Q of the active resonator system increased. When a sample tube (inner diameter, 20 mm; axial length, 31 mm) containing a nitroxide radical and physiological saline solution was placed in the resonator, the Q could be varied from 55 to 4000. It was possible to obtain a Q of the active resonator system with sample that was higher than that of the value of the LGR without a sample in a no-feedback condition. The ESR signal intensity increased up to 7 times with the increase in Q. The sensitivity increased up to 50%, which was a much smaller advance than that of the Q, because the noise level also increased with the increase in signal intensity. |