The GENIUS-test-facility—first results on background from Rn daughters

GENIUS-TF (Nucl. Instr. and Meth. A 511 (2003) 341; Nucl. Instr. and Meth. A 481 (2002) 149.) is a test-facility for the GENIUS project (GENIUS-Proposal, 20 November 1997; Z. Phys. A 359 (1997) 351; CERN Courier, November 1997, 16; J. Phys. G 24 (1998) 483; Z. Phys. A 359 (1997) 361; in: H.V. Klapdor-Kleingrothaus, H. Pas. (Eds.), First International Conference on Particle Physics Beyond the Standard Model, Castle Ringberg, Germany, 8–14 June 1997, IOP Bristol (1998) 485 and in Int. J. Mod. Phys. A 13 (1998) 3953; in: H.V. Klapdor-Kleingrothaus, I.V. Krivosheina (Eds.), Proceedings of the Second International Conference on Particle Physics Beyond the Standard Model BEYOND’ 99, Castle Ringberg, Germany 6–12 June 1999, IOP Bristol (2000) 915), a proposed large scale underground observatory for rare events which is based on operation of naked germanium detectors in liquid nitrogen for an extreme background reduction. Operation of naked Ge crystals in liquid nitrogen has been applied routinely already for more than 20 years by the CANBERRA Company for technical functions tests (CANBERRA Company, private communication, 5 March 2004.), but it never had found entrance into basic research. Only in 1997 first tests of application of this method for nuclear spectroscopy have been performed, successfully, in Heidelberg (Klapdor-Kleingrothaus et al., 1997, 1998; J. Hellmig and H.V. Klapdor-Kleingrothaus, 1997).

On May 5, 2003 the first four naked high-purity germanium detectors (total mass 10.52 kg) were installed in liquid nitrogen in the GENIUS Test Facility at the Gran Sasso underground laboratory. Since then the experiment has been running continuously, testing for the first time the novel technique in an underground laboratory and for a long-lasting period.

In this work, we present the first analysis of the GENIUS-TF background after the completion of the external shielding, which took place in December 2003. We focus especially on the background coming from ²²²Rn daughters. This is found to be at present by a factor of 200 higher than expected from simulation. It is still compatible with the scientific goal of GENIUS-TF, namely to search for cold dark matter by the modulation signal, but on the present level would cause serious problems for a full GENIUS—like experiment using liquid nitrogen.     

Fine Purification of Monoisotopic Silanes 28SiH4 , 29SiH4 , and 30SiH4 via Distillation

High-purity isotopically enriched (99.98% ²⁸Si, 99.57% ²⁹Si, and 99.83% ³⁰Si) silane samples are prepared for the first time. The total hydrocarbon content of the samples is no higher than 0.1–0.3 ppm. The concentration of electroactive impurities in the silicon prepared from the purified monoisotopic silane is below 10¹⁵ cm^–3.     

Preparation and Properties of Er- and Yb-Activated TeO2–WO3 Glasses

TeO₂–WO₃ glasses coactivated with Er³⁺ and Yb³⁺ are prepared. The effect of Yb content on the efficiency of Er photoluminescence (PL) in the visible and IR spectral regions is studied. The highest PL efficiency is achieved at an Er : Yb atomic ratio of 1 : 1. The PL lifetime for the Er^{3+ 4} I _13/2 level is determined to be 7–9 ms.     

Investigation of Metallic and Ceramic Materials by Small-Angle Neutron Scattering

Small-angle neutron scattering measurements on a double-crystal spectrometer with perfect monochromator and analyzer crystals were used to follow microstructural changes in the aluminum alloy VD-17, refractory alloy ZhS-6, and dispersion-hardened zirconia-based ceramics with yttria additions. The measurements were carried out by the Warren method, involving determination of the small-angle neutron attenuation coefficient. The experimentally determined total macroscopic small-angle scattering cross section is correlated with different parameters characterizing external influences on the material: the number of loading cycles, heat-treatment temperature, and fracture stress. The potential of the proposed approach for optimizing processing technologies is discussed.     

Surface Activation of Diamond Particles in the Process of Chemical Coppering

The effect of the composition of sensitizing–activating solutions on the activation efficiency and the chemical coppering of diamond powders is studied. The results demonstrate that stabilizing additives improve the stability of the solutions, influence the average coppering rate, and play a key role in determining the morphology and quality of the resultant coatings. The most effective stabilizing additive is synthamid-10, which ensures the deposition of high-quality copper coatings.