Ultra-low noise mechanically cooled germanium detector

Barton, Paul; Amman, M.; Martin, R. D.; Vetter, K.

doi:10.1016/j.nima.2015.12.031

Cited by 24 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 34 publications

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“…an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC). As shown more recently [53], ASICs are indeed very attractive for achieving ultra-low noise levels. They are, however, less reliable in the manufacturing process and more radioactive due to components such as bypass capacitors needed for ASIC voltage supply.…”

Section: Cosmogenic Activation In Ge and Cumentioning

confidence: 88%

Large-size sub-keV sensitive germanium detectors for the CONUS experiment

et al. 2021

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Intense fluxes of reactor antineutrinos offer a unique possibility to probe the fully coherent character of elastic neutrino scattering off atomic nuclei. In this regard, detectors face the challenge to register tiny recoil energies of a few keV at the maximum. The Conus experiment was installed in 17.1 m distance from the reactor core of the nuclear power plant in Brokdorf, Germany, and was designed to detect this neutrino interaction channel by using four 1 kg-sized point contact germanium detectors with sub-keV energy thresholds. This report describes the unique specifications addressed to the design, the research and development, and the final production of these detectors. It demonstrates their excellent electronic performance obtained during commissioning under laboratory conditions as well as during the first 2 years of operation at the reactor site which started on April 1, 2018. It highlights the long-term stability of different detector parameters and the achieved background levels of the germanium detectors inside the Conus shield setup.

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Section: Cosmogenic Activation In Ge and Cumentioning

confidence: 88%

Large-size sub-keV sensitive germanium detectors for the CONUS experiment

et al. 2021

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“…This is equivalent to the number of e-h pairs produced by an electronic recoil with 300 eV energy in Ge assuming the average energy required to generate one e-h pair is 3 eV. Thus, low-noise electronics, as low as 40 eV-FWHM (full width at half maximum), demonstrated by Barton et al [46] would allow us to achieve the ability of measuring a single e-h pair with a GeICA detector. This indicates that the detector leakage current must be minimized since the leakage current mimics the signal and hence becomes a significant source of background.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The impact of the charge barrier height on Germanium (Ge) detectors with amorphous-Ge contacts for light dark matter searches

et al. 2020

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Germanium (Ge) detectors with ability of measuring a single electron-hole (e-h) pair are needed in searching for light dark matter (LDM) down to the MeV scale. We investigate the feasibility of Ge detectors with amorphous-Ge (a-Ge) contacts to achieve the sensitivity of measuring a single e-h pair, which requires extremely low leakage current. Three Ge detectors with a-Ge contacts are used to study the charge barrier height for blocking electrons and holes. Using the measured bulk leakage current and the Döhler-Brodsky model, we obtain the values for charge barrier height and the density of localized energy states near the Fermi energy level for the top and bottom contacts, respectively. We predict that the bulk leakage current is extremely small and can be neglected at helium temperature (∼4 K). Thus, Ge detectors with a-Ge contacts possess the potential to measure a single e-h pair for detecting LDM particles.

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“…One kind of simple detector used solely for spectroscopy of gamma-ray radiation is made of a single piece of HPGe crystal on two opposite surfaces on which two electrical contact layers are fabricated. These electrical contacts are used for the application of bias voltage and signal readout and must be able to block hole and electron injection enough to reduce electronic noise and achieve low leakage current [47][48]. A very reliable and well-established process employed in industry to manufacture such contacts utilizes boron (B) implantation to form an electronblocking contact and lithium (Li) diffusion to form a thick and robust hole-blocking contact [26,[49][50].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Fabrication and characterization of high-purity germanium detectors with amorphous germanium contacts

et al. 2019

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Large, high-purity, germanium (HPGe) detectors are needed for neutrinoless doublebeta decay and dark matter experiments. Currently, large (> 4 inches in diameter) HPGe crystals can be grown at the University of South Dakota (USD). We verify that the quality of the grown crystals is sufficient for use in large detectors by fabricating and characterizing smaller HPGe detectors made from those crystals. We report the results from eight detectors fabricated over six months using crystals grown at USD. Amorphous germanium (a-Ge) contacts are used for blocking both electrons and holes. Two types of geometry were used to fabricate HPGe detectors. As a result, the fabrication process of small planar detectors at USD is discussed in great detail. The impact of the procedure and geometry on the detector performance was analyzed for eight detectors. We characterized the detectors by measuring the leakage current, capacitance, and energy resolution at 662 keV with a Cs-137 source. Four detectors show good performance, which indicates that crystals grown at USD are suitable for making HPGe detectors.

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Ultra-low noise mechanically cooled germanium detector

Cited by 24 publications

References 34 publications

Large-size sub-keV sensitive germanium detectors for the CONUS experiment

Large-size sub-keV sensitive germanium detectors for the CONUS experiment

The impact of the charge barrier height on Germanium (Ge) detectors with amorphous-Ge contacts for light dark matter searches

Fabrication and characterization of high-purity germanium detectors with amorphous germanium contacts

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