Removal of long-lived {sup 222}Rn daughters by electropolishing thin layers of stainless steel

Journal Article · Thu Aug 08 04:00:00 EDT 2013 · AIP Conference Proceedings

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4818092· OSTI ID:22224174

Schnee, R. W.; Bowles, M. A.; Bunker, R.; McCabe, K.; White, J. ^[1]; Cushman, P.; Pepin, M. ^[2]; Guiseppe, V. E. ^[3]

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1. Department of Physics, Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY 13244 (United States)
2. School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455 (United States)
3. University of South Dakota, Vermillion, South Dakota 57069 (United States)

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.

• OSTI ID: 22224174
• Journal Information: AIP Conference Proceedings, Journal Name: AIP Conference Proceedings Journal Issue: 1 Vol. 1549; ISSN 0094-243X; ISSN APCPCS
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY
46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
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