Large mass bolometric detectors for double-beta decay experiments

The authors have developed bolometric detectors with masses of 5.5 g, 20.9 g, and 34 g using TeO₂ crystals for the investigation of ¹³⁰Te, and are developing CaF₂ detectors for double-beta decay search in ⁴⁸Ca, using the luminescence properties of the crystal to improve background rejection. Scintillation of a CaF₂ crystal with 0.03% of Eu doping was observed at 20 mK. A 2.1-g, 0.01%-Eu-doped crystal was used as a bolometer, and a resolution of 50 keV for the double escape peak of ²³²Th was obtained at 60 mK, showing a negligible contribution of the Eu atoms to the crystal heat capacity. Simultaneous detection of light and phonons will allow an efficient background rejection of the ²³⁸U to ²³⁴Th α decay from the ²³⁸U natural series occurring at almost the same energy of the ⁴⁸Ca transition. Background rejection is necessary as even uranium contamination as low as 10^m-10 g/g would make the search impossible