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Abstract:
The GERDA (GERmanium Detector Array) experiment aiming to search
for the neutrinoless double beta decay (0νββ) of 76Ge at
the Laboratori Nazionali Del Gran Sasso (LNGS), Italy, will operate bare
enriched high-purity germanium (HPGe) detectors in liquid argon. GERDA
Phase I will use the enriched diodes from the previous Heidelberg-Moscow
(HDM) and IGEX experiments. With the HPGe detectors mounted in a low-mass
holder, GERDA aims at an excellent energy resolution and extremely low
background. The goal is to check the claim for the 0νββ
evidence in the HDM 76Ge experiment within one year of data taking. Before
dismounting the enriched diodes from their cryostat, the performance
parameters of the HDM and the IGEX detectors have been measured. The
diodes have been removed from their cryostats, their dimensions measured
and they have been put under vacuum in a transportation container. They
are now being refurbished for GERDA Phase I at Canberra Semiconductor NV.
Before operating the enriched diodes, a non-enriched HPGe p-type detector
mounted in a low-mass holder is operated in the liquid argon test facility
of the GERDA Detector Laboratory (GDL) at LNGS. Since January 2006, the
testing of the prototype detector is being carried out in the GDL as well
as at the site of the detector manufacturer.
