Principles and Applications of Electron Paramagnetic Resonance Spectroscopy

In this course, it is proposed to give a good foundation to the underlying principles and simple applications of Electron Paramagnetic Resonance (EPR) Spectroscopy, along with a detailed exposition of the EPR spectrometer and how to record and analyze simple EPR spectra. First a short historical development will be given which encompasses the discovery the Zeeman effect, the existence of electron spin and Zavoisky observation of electron spin resonance. The hurdles and hostilities that these pioneers faced will be mentioned. Then the phenomenon of magnetic resonance will be discussed in terms of classical mechanics and quantum mechanics. The necessary conditions for experimental observation of the resonance will be elucidated and the experimental techniques will be elaborated. Often the approach will be that of an experimentalist, so that the necessary theoretical concepts will be built from experimentally observed features, and not the other way round. A good part will be devoted to a detailed description of EPR instrumentations, so that one clearly understands how the principles of EPR spectroscopy are implemented in the spectrometers, and also the methods to enhance their sensitivity. (from nptel.ac.in)