A low-background germanium spectrometer has been installed and is being
operated in an ultra-low background shield (the Gator facility) at the Gran
Sasso underground laboratory in Italy (LNGS). With an integrated rate of ~0.16
events/min in the energy range between 100-2700 keV, the background is
comparable to those of the world's most sensitive germanium detectors. After a
detailed description of the facility, its background sources as well as the
calibration and efficiency measurements are introduced. Two independent
analysis methods are described and compared using examples from selected sample
measurements. The Gator facility is used to screen materials for XENON, GERDA,
and in the context of next-generation astroparticle physics facilities such as
DARWIN.Comment: 14 pages, 6 figures, published versio
