The generalized Ernst angle

Though the Ernst angle concept presented in the original paper introducing Fourier NMR spectroscopy was developed for sensitivity optimization in a time-averaged single-pulse experiment it is shown here that its conclusions may be generalized to complex multidimensional experiments. The salient message is to explore (re-)design of NMR pulse sequences to return some of the magnetization to the z axis at the end, so that they can be performed without a relaxation delay. In favorable cases, such pulse sequences can be concatenated in a synergistic way to further enhance sensitivity.