Improved Configuration of Halbach Magnets with a Homogeneous Magnetic Field for Portable NMR Device

Halbach array magnets are widely used in portable nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) devices that the homogeneity of the magnetic field generated by the array affects the imaging quality. In this paper, we propose some improvements to the construction of the Halbach magnets to enhance magnetic field uniformity. Using a Halbach array model comprising 16 magnets, all the calculations are based on 3D finite element method (FEM) analysis and optimized using the particle swarm optimization (PSO) algorithm. Comparisons of the results are shown to support the observations that the optimized and improved constructions can generate a more homogeneous magnetic field.