13,311 research outputs found
Signal modeling of high-purity Ge detectors with a small read-out electrode and application to neutrinoless double beta decay search in Ge-76
The GERDA experiment searches for the neutrinoless double beta decay of Ge-76
using high-purity germanium detectors enriched in Ge-76. The analysis of the
signal time structure provides a powerful tool to identify neutrinoless double
beta decay events and to discriminate them from gamma-ray induced backgrounds.
Enhanced pulse shape discrimination capabilities of "Broad Energy Germanium"
detectors with a small read-out electrode have been recently reported. This
paper describes the full simulation of the response of such a detector,
including the Monte Carlo modeling of radiation interaction and subsequent
signal shape calculation. A pulse shape discrimination method based on the
ratio between the maximum current signal amplitude and the event energy applied
to the simulated data shows quantitative agreement with the experimental data
acquired with calibration sources. The simulation has been used to study the
survival probabilities of the decays which occur inside the detector volume and
are difficult to assess experimentally. Such internal decay events are produced
by the cosmogenic radio-isotopes Ge-68 and Co-60 and the neutrinoless double
beta decay of Ge-76. Fixing the experimental acceptance of the double escape
peak of the 2.614 MeV photon to 90%, the estimated survival probabilities at
Qbb = 2.039 MeV are (86+-3)% for Ge-76 neutrinoless double beta decays,
(4.5+-0.3)% for the Ge-68 daughter Ga-68, and (0.9+0.4-0.2)% for Co-60 decays.Comment: 27 pages, 17 figures. v2: fixed typos and references. Submitted to
JINS
Search for low-mass WIMPs in a 0.6 kg day exposure of the DAMIC experiment at SNOLAB
We present results of a dark matter search performed with a 0.6 kg day
exposure of the DAMIC experiment at the SNOLAB underground laboratory. We
measure the energy spectrum of ionization events in the bulk silicon of
charge-coupled devices down to a signal of 60 eV electron equivalent. The data
are consistent with radiogenic backgrounds, and constraints on the
spin-independent WIMP-nucleon elastic-scattering cross section are accordingly
placed. A region of parameter space relevant to the potential signal from the
CDMS-II Si experiment is excluded using the same target for the first time.
This result obtained with a limited exposure demonstrates the potential to
explore the low-mass WIMP region (<10 GeV/) of the upcoming DAMIC100, a
100 g detector currently being installed in SNOLAB.Comment: 11 pages, 11 figure
Physical limitations to the spatial resolution of solid-state detectors
In this paper we explore the effect of -ray emission, fluctuations in
th e signal deposition on the detection of charged particles in silicon-based
detec tors. We show that these two effects ultimately limit the resolution that
can be achieved by interpolation of the signal in finely segmented
position-sensitive solid-state devices.Comment: 5 page
The effect of the charge pattern on the applicability of a nanopore as a sensor
We investigate a model nanopore sensor that is able to detect analyte ions
that are present in the electrolyte solution in very small concentrations. The
nanopore selectively binds the analyte ions with which the local concentrations
of the ions of the background electrolyte (KCl), and, thus, the ionic current
flowing through the pore is changed. Analyte concentration can be determined
from calibration curves. In our previous study (M\'{a}dai et al. J. Chem.
Phys., 147(24):244702, 2017.), we proposed a symmetric model (surface charge is
negative all along the pore). The mechanism of sensing was a competition
between K and positive analyte ions, so increasing analyte concentration
decreased K current. Here we allow asymmetric charge patterns on the pore
wall (positive/negative/neutral along the pore), thus, gaining an additional
device function, rectification, resulting in a dual responsive device. We find
that a bipolar nanopore is an efficient geometry with Cl ions being the
main charge carriers. The mechanism of sensing is that more positive analyte
ions attract more Cl ions into the pore thus increasing the current. Also
they make the pore less asymmetric and, thus, decrease rectification. We use a
hybrid computer simulation method, where a generalization of the grand
canonical Monte Carlo method to non-equilibrium (Local Equilibrium Monte Carlo)
is coupled to the Nernst-Planck equation with which the flux is computed
Molecular ferroelectric contributions to anomalous hysteresis in hybrid perovskite solar cells
We report a model describing the molecular orientation disorder in
CH3NH3PbI3, solving a classical Hamiltonian parametrised with electronic
structure calculations, with the nature of the motions informed by ab-initio
molecular dynamics. We investigate the temperature and static electric field
dependence of the equilibrium ferroelectric (molecular) domain structure and
resulting polarisability. A rich domain structure of twinned molecular dipoles
is observed, strongly varying as a function of temperature and applied electric
field. We propose that the internal electrical fields associated with
microscopic polarisation domains contribute to hysteretic anomalies in the
current--voltage response of hybrid organic-inorganic perovskite solar cells
due to variations in electron-hole recombination in the bulk.Comment: 10 pages; 4 figures, 2 SI figure
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