95 research outputs found
Determining the Drift Time of Charge Carriers in P-Type Point-Contact HPGe Detectors
An algorithm to measure the drift time of charge carriers in p-type point
contact (PPC) high-purity germanium (HPGe) detectors from the signals processed
with a charge-sensitive preamplifier is introduced. It is demonstrated that the
drift times can be used to estimate the distance of charge depositions from the
point contact and to characterize losses due to charge trapping. A correction
for charge trapping effects over a wide range of energies is implemented using
the measured drift times and is shown to improve the energy resolution by up to
30%.Comment: 16 pages, 8 figures, submitted to Nucl. Instrum. Meth.
Astroparticle Physics with a Customized Low-Background Broad Energy Germanium Detector
The MAJORANA Collaboration is building the MAJORANA DEMONSTRATOR, a 60 kg
array of high purity germanium detectors housed in an ultra-low background
shield at the Sanford Underground Laboratory in Lead, SD. The MAJORANA
DEMONSTRATOR will search for neutrinoless double-beta decay of 76Ge while
demonstrating the feasibility of a tonne-scale experiment. It may also carry
out a dark matter search in the 1-10 GeV/c^2 mass range. We have found that
customized Broad Energy Germanium (BEGe) detectors produced by Canberra have
several desirable features for a neutrinoless double-beta decay experiment,
including low electronic noise, excellent pulse shape analysis capabilities,
and simple fabrication. We have deployed a customized BEGe, the MAJORANA
Low-Background BEGe at Kimballton (MALBEK), in a low-background cryostat and
shield at the Kimballton Underground Research Facility in Virginia. This paper
will focus on the detector characteristics and measurements that can be
performed with such a radiation detector in a low-background environment.Comment: Submitted to NIMA Proceedings, SORMA XII. 9 pages, 4 figure
The Majorana Demonstrator: A Search for Neutrinoless Double-beta Decay of 76Ge
Neutrinoless double-beta (0νββ) decay is a hypothesized process where in some even-even nuclei it might be possible for two neutrons to simultaneously decay into two protons and two electrons without emitting neutrinos. This is possible only if neutrinos are Majorana particles, i.e. fermions that are their own antiparticles. Neutrinos being Majorana particles would explicitly violate lepton number conservation, and might play a role in the matter-antimatter asymmetry in the universe. The observation of neutrinoless double-beta decay would also provide complementary information related to neutrino masses. The Majorana Collaboration is constructing the MAJORANA DEMONSTRATOR, with a total of 40-kg Germanium detectors, to search for the 0νββ decay of 76Ge and to demonstrate a background rate at or below 3 counts/(ROI•t•y) in the 4 keV region of interest (ROI) around the 2039 keV Q-value for 76Ge 0νββ decay. In this paper, we discuss the physics of neutrinoless double beta decay and then focus on the MAJORANA DEMONSTRATOR, including its design and approach to achieve ultra-low backgrounds and the status of the experiment
The Majorana Demonstrator readout electronics system
The Majorana Demonstrator comprises two arrays of high-purity germanium detectors constructed to search for neutrinoless double-beta decay in 76Ge and other physics beyond the Standard Model. Its readout electronics were designed to have low electronic noise, and radioactive backgrounds were minimized by using low-mass components and low-radioactivity materials near the detectors. This paper provides a description of all components of the Majorana Demonstrator readout electronics, spanning the front-end electronics and internal cabling, back-end electronics, digitizer, and power supplies, along with the grounding scheme. The spectroscopic performance achieved with these readout electronics is also demonstrated
The MAJORANA experiment: An ultra-low background search for neutrinoless double-beta decay
The observation of neutrinoless double-beta decay would resolve the Majorana nature of the neutrino and could provide information on the absolute scale of the neutrino mass. The initial phase of the MAJORANA experiment, known as the DEMONSTRATOR, will house 40 kg of Ge in an ultra-low background shielded environment at the 4850' level of the Sanford Underground Laboratory in Lead, SD. The objective of the DEMONSTRATOR is to determine whether a future 1-tonne experiment can achieve a background goal of one count per tonne-year in a narrow region of interest around the 76Ge neutrinoless double-beta decay peak
The Majorana Demonstrator: Progress towards showing the feasibility of a tonne-scale 76Ge neutrinoless double-beta decay experiment
The Majorana Demonstrator will search for the neutrinoless double-beta decay (0vββ) of the 76Ge isotope with a mixed array of enriched and natural germanium detectors. The observation of this rare decay would indicate the neutrino is its own anti-particle, demonstrate that lepton number is not conserved, and provide information on the absolute mass-scale of the neutrino. The Demonstrator is being assembled at the 4850 foot level of the Sanford Underground Research Facility in Lead, South Dakota. The array will be contained in a low-background environment and surrounded by passive and active shielding. The goals for the Demonstrator are: demonstrating a background rate less than 3 t-1 y-1 in the 4 keV region of interest (ROI) surrounding the 2039 keV 76Ge endpoint energy; establishing the technology required to build a tonne-scale germanium based double-beta decay experiment; testing the recent claim of observation of 0vββ [1]; and performing a direct search for light WIMPs (3-10 GeV/c2)
Characteristics of signals originating near the lithium-diffused N+ contact of high purity germanium p-type point contact detectors
A study of signals originating near the lithium-diffused n+ contact of p-type point contact (PPC) high purity germanium detectors (HPGe) is presented. The transition region between the active germanium and the fully dead layer of the n+ contact is examined. Energy depositions in this transition region are shown to result in partial charge collection. This provides a mechanism for events with a well defined energy to contribute to the continuum of the energy spectrum at lower energies. A novel technique to quantify the contribution from this source of background is introduced. Experiments that operate germanium detectors with a very low energy threshold may benefit from the methods presented herein
The MAJORANA DEMONSTRATOR for 0νββ: Current Status and Future Plans
The MAJORANA DEMONSTRATOR will search for neutrinoless-double-beta decay (0νββ) in 76Ge, while establishing the feasibility of a future tonne-scale germanium-based 0νββ experiment, and performing searches for new physics beyond the Standard Model. The experiment, currently under construction at the Sanford Underground Research Facility in Lead, SD, will consist of a pair of modular high-purity germanium detector arrays housed inside of a compact copper, lead, and polyethylene shield. Through a combination of strict materials qualifications and assay, low-background design, and powerful background rejection techniques, the Demonstrator aims to achieve a background rate in the 0νββ region of interest (ROI) of no more than 3 counts in the 0νββ-decay ROI per tonne of target isotope per year (cnts/(ROI-t-y)). The current status of the Demonstrator is discussed, as are plans for its completion
A Dark Matter Search with MALBEK
The Majorana Demonstrator is an array of natural and enriched high purity germanium detectors that will search for the neutrinoless double-beta decay of 76Ge and perform a search for weakly interacting massive particles (WIMPs) with masses below 10 GeV. As part of the Majorana research and development efforts, we have deployed a modified, low-background broad energy germanium detector at the Kimballton Underground Research Facility. With its sub-keV energy threshold, this detector is sensitive to potential non-Standard Model physics, including interactions with WIMPs. We discuss the backgrounds present in the WIMP region of interest and explore the impact of slow surface event contamination when searching for a WIMP signal
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