Process Development and First Cryogenic Operation of Compact Germanium Ring-Contact HPGe Prototypes
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| Format: | Preprint |
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2026
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| _version_ | 1866914431716294656 |
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| author | Dong, Kunming Panamaldeniya, Shasika Mei, Dongming |
| author_facet | Dong, Kunming Panamaldeniya, Shasika Mei, Dongming |
| contents | Rare-event experiments such as LEGEND-1000 require high-purity germanium (HPGe) detectors with excellent energy resolution, low electronic noise, and scalable low-background packaging. The germanium ring-contact (GeRC) concept addresses this need through a recessed ring-and-groove electrode geometry intended to preserve point-contact-like low-capacitance signal formation in larger crystals. However, reliable GeRC fabrication has remained unproven because the non-planar groove geometry complicates machining, surface recovery, conformal passivation, and especially the eventual formation of a robust lithium-diffused outer contact.
We report the fabrication and first cryogenic operation of two compact n-type GeRC process-validation prototypes produced from in-house HPGe crystals at the University of South Dakota. An optimized workflow was developed for core drilling, groove cutting, non-planar polishing, conformal amorphous-germanium (a-Ge) encapsulation, Al patterning, and GeRC-specific cryogenic mounting. Two independent sputtering systems were used to test whether the thin-film sequence remains operable across substantially different deposition environments. At 77~K, both devices biased stably, showed an inferred depletion onset near 340~V from a pulser-based capacitance proxy consistent with electrostatic modeling, and produced identifiable full-energy peaks from $^{241}\mathrm{Am}$ and $^{137}\mathrm{Cs}$. These results establish a proof-of-principle process and readout baseline for geometry-specific GeRC development. They do not yet constitute a deployment-ready large-mass GeRC technology, but they define the foundation for the next step: integrating conformal lithium-paint deposition and controlled diffusion on the ring-and-groove topology. |
| format | Preprint |
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arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2603_28505 |
| institution | arXiv |
| publishDate | 2026 |
| record_format | arxiv |
| spellingShingle | Process Development and First Cryogenic Operation of Compact Germanium Ring-Contact HPGe Prototypes Dong, Kunming Panamaldeniya, Shasika Mei, Dongming Instrumentation and Detectors High Energy Physics - Experiment Nuclear Experiment Rare-event experiments such as LEGEND-1000 require high-purity germanium (HPGe) detectors with excellent energy resolution, low electronic noise, and scalable low-background packaging. The germanium ring-contact (GeRC) concept addresses this need through a recessed ring-and-groove electrode geometry intended to preserve point-contact-like low-capacitance signal formation in larger crystals. However, reliable GeRC fabrication has remained unproven because the non-planar groove geometry complicates machining, surface recovery, conformal passivation, and especially the eventual formation of a robust lithium-diffused outer contact. We report the fabrication and first cryogenic operation of two compact n-type GeRC process-validation prototypes produced from in-house HPGe crystals at the University of South Dakota. An optimized workflow was developed for core drilling, groove cutting, non-planar polishing, conformal amorphous-germanium (a-Ge) encapsulation, Al patterning, and GeRC-specific cryogenic mounting. Two independent sputtering systems were used to test whether the thin-film sequence remains operable across substantially different deposition environments. At 77~K, both devices biased stably, showed an inferred depletion onset near 340~V from a pulser-based capacitance proxy consistent with electrostatic modeling, and produced identifiable full-energy peaks from $^{241}\mathrm{Am}$ and $^{137}\mathrm{Cs}$. These results establish a proof-of-principle process and readout baseline for geometry-specific GeRC development. They do not yet constitute a deployment-ready large-mass GeRC technology, but they define the foundation for the next step: integrating conformal lithium-paint deposition and controlled diffusion on the ring-and-groove topology. |
| title | Process Development and First Cryogenic Operation of Compact Germanium Ring-Contact HPGe Prototypes |
| topic | Instrumentation and Detectors High Energy Physics - Experiment Nuclear Experiment |
| url | https://arxiv.org/abs/2603.28505 |