$$$$\alpha $$$$-event characterization and rejection in point-contact HPGe detectors
P-type point contact (PPC) HPGe detectors are a leading technology for rare event searches due to their excellent energy resolution, low thresholds, and multi-site event rejection capabilities. We have characterized a PPC detector’s response to α particles incident on the sensitive passivated and p+ surfaces, a previously poorly-understood source of background. The detector studied is identical to those in the MAJORANA DEMONSTRATOR experiment, a search for neutrinoless double-beta decay (0$$\textit{νββ}$$) in 76Ge. $$\textit{α}$$ decays on most of the passivated surface exhibit significant energy loss due to charge trapping, with waveforms exhibiting a delayed charge recovery (DCR) signature caused by the slow collection of a fraction of the trapped charge. The DCR is found to be complementary to existing methods of $$\textit{α}$$ identification, reliably identifying α background events on the passivated surface of the detector. We demonstrate effective rejection of all surface $$\textit{α}$$ events (to within statistical uncertainty) with a loss of only 0.2% of bulk events by combining the DCR discriminator with previously-used methods. The DCR discriminator has been used to reduce the background rate in the 0$$\textit{νββ}$$ region of interest window by an order of magnitude in the MAJORANA DEMONSTRATOR and will be used in the upcoming LEGEND-200 experiment.
- Research Organization:
- Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States); SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory (SLAC), Menlo Park, CA (United States); Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States). Oak Ridge Leadership Computing Facility (OLCF); University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC (United States); Duke Univ., Durham, NC (United States). Triangle Universities Nuclear Laboratory
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE Office of Science (SC), Nuclear Physics (NP); USDOE Laboratory Directed Research and Development (LDRD) Program; USDOE Office of Science (SC), High Energy Physics (HEP)
- Contributing Organization:
- Majorana Collaboration
- Grant/Contract Number:
- AC02-05CH11231; AC05-00OR22725; AC05-76RL0130; FG02-97ER41020; FG02-97ER41033; FG02-97ER41041; SC0012612; SC0014445; SC0018060; LANLEM77; Los Alamos National Laboratory LDRD Program; Pacific Northwest National Laboratory LDRD Program; AC05-76RL01830; 89233218CNA000001; AC02-76SF00515
- OSTI ID:
- 1854947
- Alternate ID(s):
- OSTI ID: 1670140; OSTI ID: 1862683; OSTI ID: 1864992; OSTI ID: 1867256; OSTI ID: 1870698; OSTI ID: 1887675; OSTI ID: 1896677; OSTI ID: 1907797
- Report Number(s):
- PNNL-SA-153353; LA-UR-20-24209; 226; PII: 10161
- Journal Information:
- European Physical Journal. C, Particles and Fields, Journal Name: European Physical Journal. C, Particles and Fields Vol. 82 Journal Issue: 3; ISSN 1434-6044
- Publisher:
- Springer Science + Business MediaCopyright Statement
- Country of Publication:
- Germany
- Language:
- English
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