Eur. Phys. J. C (2016) 76: 364
https://doi.org/10.1140/epjc/s10052-016-4223-5

Regular Article - Experimental Physics

First array of enriched ZnSe bolometers to search for double beta decay

¹ INFN-Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso, 67010, Assergi (L’Aquila), Italy
² Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC, 29208, USA
³ Dipartimento di Fisica, Sapienza Università di Roma, 00185, Rome, Italy
⁴ INFN-Sezione di Roma, 00185, Rome, Italy
⁵ Materials Science Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, 94720, USA
⁶ Dipartimento di Fisica, Università di Milano-Bicocca, 20126, Milan, Italy
⁷ INFN-Sezione di Milano Bicocca, 20126, Milan, Italy
⁸ INFN-Laboratori Nazionali di Legnaro, 35020, Legnaro (Padova), Italy
⁹ Physics Department- Princeton University, Washington Road, Princeton, NJ, 08544, USA
¹⁰ Dipartimento di Fisica, Università di Genova, 16146, Genova, Italy
¹¹ INFN-Sezione di Genova, 16146, Genova, Italy
¹² CSNSM, Univ. Paris-Sud, CNRS/IN2P3, Université Paris-Saclay, 91405, Orsay, France
¹³ DiSAT, Università dell’Insubria, 22100, Como, Italy
¹⁴ CEA-Saclay, DSM/IRFU, 91191, Gif-sur-Yvette Cedex, France
¹⁵ INFN - Gran Sasso Science Institute, 67100, L’Aquila, Italy
¹⁶ Max-Planck-Institut für Physik, 80805, Munich, Germany

^* e-mail: laura.cardani@roma1.infn.it

Received: 19 May 2016
Accepted: 16 June 2016
Published online: 1 July 2016

Abstract

The R&D activity performed during the last years proved the potential of ZnSe scintillating bolometers to the search for neutrino-less double beta decay, motivating the realization of the first large-mass experiment based on this technology: CUPID-0. The isotopic enrichment in Se, the ZnSe crystals growth, as well as the light detectors production have been accomplished, and the experiment is now in construction at Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso (Italy). In this paper we present the results obtained testing the first three ZnSe crystals operated as scintillating bolometers, and we prove that their performance in terms of energy resolution, background rejection capability and intrinsic radio-purity complies with the requirements of CUPID-0.