Abstract: An rf surface coil for MRI is described. The surface coil is made of a trace of a high conductivity material having a length, width and thickness and having a surface defined by the length and the width. The coil has a radius and a longitudinal axis at the center of the coil. The trace is arranged in a loop with one end in proximity to the other end with the surface facing the inside of the loop, wherein the surface is substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis of the coil. The ratio of the width of the coil to the radius of the coil is 0.3 or greater and the thickness of the trace is sufficient to provide an rf skin effect. Circuit designs for inductively coupling the decoupling the surface coil from a volume coil during rf excitation are also described.