We present details of a novel RF coil for use in NMR microscopy. This
coil is an inductively coupled surface coil which is built into a stan
dard microscope slide. The coil is highly sensitive and is also design
ed so that the sample to be imaged can be viewed under an optical micr
oscope. This facility allows comparison of optical and NMR micrographs
, as well as accurate sample positioning. Using the slide coil, images
of onion epidermal cells with an in-plane resolution of 4.5 mum have
been produced.