Patent ID: 7148683

Claim:
A system for making spatially resolved spin-resonance spectroscopic measurements in a material sample, comprising: a first magnetic field source, the first magnetic field source generating a first magnetic field in a sample region, wherein the first magnetic field has a field component along a first direction at a first location in the sample region; a second magnetic field source, the second magnetic field source generating a second magnetic field in the sample region, the second magnetic field having a field component along a second direction in the sample region, the second direction being substantially perpendicular to the first direction, wherein the first and second magnetic fields interact with at least one spin of at least one atomic constituent of a sample at the first location to produce a spin resonance of the at least one spin; and an evanescent wave probe located adjacent to the first location and oriented to detect a signal perpendicular to the first magnetic field, the evanescent wave probe sensing the spin resonance of the at least one spin and generating a spin resonance signal, wherein the spin resonance is nuclear magnetic resonances, and wherein sensing the spin resonance includes making a time-resolved measurement of at least one property of the spin resonance.