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Production and Characterization of 228Th Calibration Sources with Low Neutron Emission for GERDA
- Source :
- JINST
- Publication Year :
- 2015
-
Abstract
- The GERDA experiment at the Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso (LNGS) searches for the neutrinoless double beta decay of 76-Ge. In view of the GERDA Phase II data collection, four new 228-Th radioactive sources for the calibration of the germanium detectors enriched in 76-Ge have been produced with a new technique, leading to a reduced neutron flux from ( alpha; n ) reactions. The gamma activities of the sources were determined with a total uncertainty of 4 percent using an ultra-low background HPGe detector operated underground at LNGS. The emitted neutron flux was determined using a low background LiI(Eu) detector and a 3-He counter at LNGS. In both cases, a reduction of about one order of magnitude with respect to commercially available 228-Th sources was obtained. Additionally, a specific leak test with a sensitivity to leaks down to 10 mBq was developed to investigate the tightness of the stainless steel capsules housing the sources after their use in cryogenic environment.<br />14 pages, 5 figures, 3 tables
- Subjects :
- fast neutrons)
Radiation monitoring
Instrumentation for neutron sources
Physics - Instrumentation and Detectors
Neutron emission
530 Physics
chemistry.chemical_element
FOS: Physical sciences
Germanium
10192 Physics Institute
01 natural sciences
7. Clean energy
thermal
Nuclear physics
Neutron flux
Double beta decay
0103 physical sciences
Calibration
Instrumentation for neutron source
010306 general physics
2610 Mathematical Physics
Instrumentation
Mathematical Physics
Physics
Detection of defect
010308 nuclear & particles physics
3105 Instrumentation
Detector
Instrumentation and Detectors (physics.ins-det)
Neutron detectors (cold
Detection of defects
chemistry
Neutron detectors (cold, thermal, fast neutrons)
Hpge detector
Subjects
Details
- Language :
- English
- Database :
- OpenAIRE
- Journal :
- JINST
- Accession number :
- edsair.doi.dedup.....c56910bf87ec832238f42974368312e7