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Ultra-low radioactivity flexible printed cables

Journal Article · · EPJ Techniques and Instrumentation
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Abstract

Flexible printed cables and circuitry based on copper-polyimide materials are widely used in experiments looking for rare events due to their unique electrical and mechanical characteristics. However, past studies have found copper-polyimide flexible cables to contain 400-4700 pg 238 U/g, 16-3700 pg 232 Th/g, and 170-2100 ng nat K/g, which can be a significant source of radioactive background for many current and next-generation ultralow background detectors. This study presents a comprehensive investigation into the fabrication process of copper-polyimide flexible cables and the development of custom low radioactivity cables for use in rare-event physics applications. A methodical step-by-step approach was developed and informed by ultrasensitive assay to determine the radiopurity in the starting materials and identify the contaminating production steps in the cable fabrication process. Radiopure material alternatives were identified, and cleaner production processes and treatments were developed to significantly reduce the imparted contamination. Through the newly developed radiopure fabrication process, fully-functioning cables were produced with radiocontaminant concentrations of 20-31 pg 238 U/g, 12-13 pg 232 Th/g, and 40-550 ng nat K/g, which is significantly cleaner than cables from previous work and sufficiently radiopure for current and next-generation detectors. This approach, employing witness samples to investigate each step of the fabrication process, can hopefully serve as a template for investigating radiocontaminants in other material production processes.

Research Organization:
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Science (SC), Nuclear Physics (NP)
Grant/Contract Number:
AC05-76RL01830; SC0021547
OSTI ID:
2001029
Alternate ID(s):
OSTI ID: 2007798
Report Number(s):
PNNL-SA--183102; 17; PII: 104
Journal Information:
EPJ Techniques and Instrumentation, Journal Name: EPJ Techniques and Instrumentation Journal Issue: 1 Vol. 10; ISSN 2195-7045
Publisher:
Springer Science + Business MediaCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
Germany
Language:
English

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Related Subjects

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE
Flexible cables
Low background experiments
Polyimide
Radioactivity