September 2015

Conference Paper

MAJORANA Collaboration’s Experience with Germanium Detectors

By:
Mertens, S.; Abgrall, N.; Avignone, III, F.; Barabash, A.S.; Bertrand, F.; Efremenko, Yuri; Galindo-Uribarri, A; Radford, D.; Romero-Romero, E.; Varner, R.; White, B.; Wilkerson, J.; Yu, C.-H.; Majorana,
Journal Name:
Journal of Physics: Conference Series
Page Number:
012005-012005-11
Volume:
606
Issue Number:
N/A
Publication Date:
September 2015
Conference Name:
2nd Workshop on Germanium Detectors and Technologies
Conference Location:
Vermillion, South Dakota, United States of America
Conference Sponsor:
NSF, South Dakota Governor's Office Economic Development, S. Dakota Board of Regents, Univ. SD
View DOI Listing:
https://doi.org/10.1088/1742-6596/606/1/012005

Abstract

The goal of the Majorana Demonstrator project is to search for 0v beta beta decay in Ge-76. Of all candidate isotopes for 0v beta beta, Ge-76 has some of the most favorable characteristics. Germanium detectors are a well established technology, and in searches for 0v beta beta, the high purity germanium crystal acts simultaneously as source and detector. Furthermore, p-type germanium detectors provide excellent energy resolution and a specially designed point contact geometry allows for sensitive pulse shape discrimination. This paper will summarize the experiences the MAJORANA collaboration made with enriched germanium detectors manufactured by ORTEC (R)(R). The process from production, to characterization and integration in MAJORANA mounting structure will be described. A summary of the performance of all enriched germanium detectors will be given.