Balun (balanced to unbalanced) circuit for interventional MRI and RF coils
Baluns, whose name derives from a contraction of balanced to unbalanced, present a low impedance to the differential mode signal, but high impedance to unwanted common-mode currents. Baluns are required in MRI system to reduce common-mode currents along the conductive wire and outer conductor of the coaxial cables. Without baluns, any device (such as the RF coil and interventional probes) in the MRI scanner poses RF safety issues to the patient, require extra transmit power and have degraded imaging quality.
Our innovative balun designs include the dual-tuned Lattice Balun, LCCC balun, flexible Bazooka balun, printed balun and etc. These projects are well-suited for students with a strong background in electric circuits who are interested in exploring novel circuits.
More details can be found in our publications:
https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/abstract/document/9672129
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1090780723002124