Generating accurate tip angles for NMR outside the rotating-wave approximation

The generation of accurate tip angles is critical for many applications of nuclear magnetic resonance. In low static field, with a linear rather than circular polarized rf field, the rotating-wave approximation may no longer hold and significant deviations from expected trajectories on the Bloch sphere can occur. For rectangular rf pulses, the effects depend strongly on the phase of the rf field and can be further compounded by transients at the start and end of the pulse. The desired terminus can be still be achieved, however, through the application of a phase-dependent Bloch-Siegert shift and appropriate consideration of pulse timings. For suitably shaped rf pulses, the Bloch-Siegert shift is largely phase independent, but its magnitude can vary significantly depending on details of the pulse shape as well as the characteristics of the rf coil circuit. We present numerical simulations and low-field NMR experiments with ¹H and ³He that demonstrate several main consequences and accompanying strategies that one should consider when wanting to generate accurate tip angles outside the validity of the rotating-wave approximation and in low static field.