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High-Purity Zinc for Low-Background Experiments

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Abstract—

A process has been developed for the preparation of high-purity granulated zinc for the growth of Zn82Se scintillator crystals intended for investigation of neutrinoless double beta decay, 2β(0ν), of the 82Se isotope in the CUPID-0 experiment. We have determined the chemical and isotopic compositions of high-purity zinc prepared by this process and assessed its radionuclide purity. The background spectrum of the high-purity zinc, measured with a germanium detector, showed no peaks of natural 40K, 60Co, or 137Cs radionuclides or ones from the uranium–thorium decay series. We have noticed an increased activity of the 54Mn, 56Со, 57Со, 58Co, and 65Zn nuclides, resulting mainly from the exposure to cosmic rays.

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

We are deeply grateful to our colleagues at the Gran Sasso National Laboratory (LNGS, Assergi, Italy) for performing the measurements and providing data on the isotopic composition and radionuclide content of the high-purity zinc.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Kharkiv Institute of Physics and Technology National Scientific Center, Akademicheskaya vul. 1, 61108, Kharkiv, Ukraine

    G. P. Kovtun, A. P. Shcherban’, D. A. Solopikhin, V. D. Virich & Yu. V. Gorbenko

  2. Karazin National University, pl. Svobody 4, 61022, Kharkiv, Ukraine

    G. P. Kovtun

Authors
  1. G. P. Kovtun
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  2. A. P. Shcherban’
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  3. D. A. Solopikhin
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  4. V. D. Virich
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  5. Yu. V. Gorbenko
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Correspondence to G. P. Kovtun.

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Translated by O. Tsarev

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Kovtun, G.P., Shcherban’, A.P., Solopikhin, D.A. et al. High-Purity Zinc for Low-Background Experiments. Inorg Mater 56, 178–181 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1134/S0020168520010082

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1134/S0020168520010082

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