Pulse shape discrimination studies with a Broad-Energy Germanium detector for signal identification and background suppression in the GERDA double beta decay experiment

First studies of event discrimination with a Broad-Energy Germanium (BEGe) detector are presented. A novel pulse shape method, exploiting the characteristic electrical field distribution inside BEGe detectors, allows to identify efficiently single-site events and to reject multi-site events. The first are typical for neutrinoless double beta decays (0νββ) and the latter for backgrounds from gamma-ray interactions. The obtained survival probabilities of back­grounds at energies close to Qββ(76Ge) = 2039 keV are (0.93 ± 0.08)% for events from 60Co, (21 ± 3)% from 226Ra and (40 ± 2)% from 228Th. This background suppression is achieved with (89 ± 1)% acceptance of 228Th double escape events, which are dominated by single site inter­actions. Approximately equal acceptance is expected for 0νββ-decay events. Collimated beam and Compton coincidence measurements demonstrate that the discrimination is largely inde­pendent of the interaction location inside the crystal and validate the pulse-shape cut in the energy range of Qββ. The application of BEGe detectors in the GERDA and the Majorana double beta decay experiments is under study

Data analysis of the internal background measurements of 40Ca100MoO4 scintillation crystals

The sensitivity of neutrinoless double beta (02) decay experiments is mainly dependent on the internal background of a detector which, in its turn, is defined by the purity of material and possibility for selection of background events. The AMoRE (Advanced Mo based Rare process Experiment) collaboration plans to use 40Ca100MoO4 scintillation crystals as a detector for search of 02 decay of 100Mo isotope. A purpose of this pa-per is further investigation of internal background of 40Ca100MoO4 scintillation elements with a low background setup at YangYang underground laboratory. We present new approaches for selection of background events from analyzing data and the latest updated values of background index of 40Ca100MoO4 crystals as a result of the new technique application

Application of the Monte-Carlo refractive index matching (MCRIM) technique to the determination of the absolute light yield of a calcium molybdate scintillator

The use of 40Ca100MoO in experimental searches for neutrinoless double beta decay (0νDBD) relies on knowledge of fundamental scintillation properties of the material. In this work we determine the absolute light yield of calcium molybdate using Monte-Carlo refractive index matching technique (MCRIM). The MCRIM technique is a combination of experiment and simulations that allows the absolute light yield of scintillators to be determined by taking into account effects of refraction, scattering and absorption in the material. The light collection efficiency of the scintillator-detector assembly was simulated using the ZEMAX ray-tracing software. By tuning the optical parameters of the scintillation crystal, a model was derived that gives good agreement with the experimental results. It is shown that the light collection efficiency of scintillators increases with transmittance and scattering due to an enhanced probability for photons to escape the crystal volume. Using MCRIM, the absolute light yield for the 40Ca100MoO4 scintillator was found to be 7.5±1.2 ph/keV at room temperature. Comparative measurements using a CaWO4 scintillator as a reference show good agreement with this result. In that way, the study demonstrated the potential of the MCRIM technique as a tool for quantitative characterization of scintillation materials. © 2013 IOP Publishing Ltd and Sissa Medialab srl

Growth and characterization of isotopically enriched 40Ca100MoO4 single crystals for rare event search experiments

Calcium molybdate is considered as a very promising scintillator material for experimental studies of rare processes. This paper reports on the production and characterization of a 40Ca100MoO4 scintillator. Using the Czochralski technique, a crystal of high optical quality with total mass 0.55 kg, 42 mm diameter (minimum) and 53 mm 1ength of the cylindrical section was produced from isotopically enriched raw materials, containing 96.1% of 100Mo and 99.964% of 40Ca. To satisfy the requirement of low intrinsic radioactivity the purity of the materials was monitored at different stages of the production process and it is shown that the concentration of 238U and 232Th in the final crystal does not exceed 0.05 ppb. The scintillation properties of 40Ca 100MoO4 were measured over the 8 - 300 K temperature range and it is found that the light yield of the 40Ca 100MoO4 crystal is very similar to that of the CaMoO 4 reference scintillator. © 2011 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH and Co. KGaA, Weinheim