Removal of long-lived {sup 222}Rn daughters by electropolishing thin layers of stainless steel
Abstract
Long-lived alpha and beta emitters in the {sup 222}Rn decay chain on detector surfaces may be the limiting background in many experiments attempting to detect dark matter or neutrinoless double beta decay. Removal of tens of microns of material via electropolishing has been shown to be effective at removing radon daughters implanted into material surfaces. Some applications, however, require the removal of uniform and significantly smaller thicknesses. Here, we demonstrate that electropolishing < 1 μm from stainless-steel plates reduces the contamination efficiently, by a factor > 100. Examination of electropolished wires with a scanning electron microscope confirms that the thickness removed is reproducible and reasonably uniform. Together, these tests demonstrate the effectiveness of removal of radon daughters for a proposed low-radiation, multi-wire proportional chamber (the BetaCage), without compromising the screener’s energy resolution. More generally, electropolishing thin layers of stainless steel may effectively remove radon daughters without compromising precision-machined parts.
- Authors:
-
- Department of Physics, Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY 13244 (United States)
- School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455 (United States)
- University of South Dakota, Vermillion, South Dakota 57069 (United States)
- Publication Date:
- OSTI Identifier:
- 22224174
- Resource Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal Name:
- AIP Conference Proceedings
- Additional Journal Information:
- Journal Volume: 1549; Journal Issue: 1; Conference: LRT 2013: 4. international workshop on low radioactivity techniques, Assergi (Italy), 10-12 Apr 2013; Other Information: (c) 2013 AIP Publishing LLC; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); Journal ID: ISSN 0094-243X
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
- Subject:
- 46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY; 37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL AND ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY; CONTAMINATION; DAUGHTER PRODUCTS; DECONTAMINATION; DOUBLE BETA DECAY; ELECTROPOLISHING; ENERGY RESOLUTION; MULTIWIRE PROPORTIONAL CHAMBERS; NONLUMINOUS MATTER; PLATES; RADON; RADON 222; REMOVAL; SCANNING ELECTRON MICROSCOPY; STAINLESS STEELS; SURFACES; THICKNESS; THIN FILMS
Citation Formats
Schnee, R. W., Bowles, M. A., Bunker, R., McCabe, K., White, J., Cushman, P., Pepin, M., and Guiseppe, V. E. Removal of long-lived {sup 222}Rn daughters by electropolishing thin layers of stainless steel. United States: N. p., 2013.
Web. doi:10.1063/1.4818092.
Schnee, R. W., Bowles, M. A., Bunker, R., McCabe, K., White, J., Cushman, P., Pepin, M., & Guiseppe, V. E. Removal of long-lived {sup 222}Rn daughters by electropolishing thin layers of stainless steel. United States. https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4818092
Schnee, R. W., Bowles, M. A., Bunker, R., McCabe, K., White, J., Cushman, P., Pepin, M., and Guiseppe, V. E. 2013.
"Removal of long-lived {sup 222}Rn daughters by electropolishing thin layers of stainless steel". United States. https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4818092.
@article{osti_22224174,
title = {Removal of long-lived {sup 222}Rn daughters by electropolishing thin layers of stainless steel},
author = {Schnee, R. W. and Bowles, M. A. and Bunker, R. and McCabe, K. and White, J. and Cushman, P. and Pepin, M. and Guiseppe, V. E.},
abstractNote = {Long-lived alpha and beta emitters in the {sup 222}Rn decay chain on detector surfaces may be the limiting background in many experiments attempting to detect dark matter or neutrinoless double beta decay. Removal of tens of microns of material via electropolishing has been shown to be effective at removing radon daughters implanted into material surfaces. Some applications, however, require the removal of uniform and significantly smaller thicknesses. Here, we demonstrate that electropolishing < 1 μm from stainless-steel plates reduces the contamination efficiently, by a factor > 100. Examination of electropolished wires with a scanning electron microscope confirms that the thickness removed is reproducible and reasonably uniform. Together, these tests demonstrate the effectiveness of removal of radon daughters for a proposed low-radiation, multi-wire proportional chamber (the BetaCage), without compromising the screener’s energy resolution. More generally, electropolishing thin layers of stainless steel may effectively remove radon daughters without compromising precision-machined parts.},
doi = {10.1063/1.4818092},
url = {https://www.osti.gov/biblio/22224174},
journal = {AIP Conference Proceedings},
issn = {0094-243X},
number = 1,
volume = 1549,
place = {United States},
year = {Thu Aug 08 00:00:00 EDT 2013},
month = {Thu Aug 08 00:00:00 EDT 2013}
}