Obelix, a new low-background HPGe at Modane Underground Laboratory

An ultra-low background coaxial HPGe detector for gamma-ray spectrometry with a relative efficiency of 160%, corresponding to a 600 cm3 Ge crystal, was installed at the Laboratoire Souterrain de Modane, France (4800 m.w.e). To reduce the instrinsic detector background, all parts involved in the detector cryostat were selected for their low radioactivity contamination. A shielding, composed of an inner layer of roman lead and an external layer of regular lead was installed, together with a system to reduce the Rn level inside the sample chamber. The shielding was designed to allow the measurement of Marinelli-shaped samples. We present the constructional details which lead to a remarkable low detector background of 73 cts/kg·d in [40, 3000] keV. Measured samples showed that sensitivities about 100 μBq/kg in 226Ra and 228Th are reached for samples of some kg and 30 days of lifetime.