Paper detail

GIOVE - A New Detector Setup for High Sensitivity Germanium Spectroscopy At Shallow Depth

We report on the development and construction of the high-purity germanium spectrometer setup GIOVE (Germanium Inner Outer Veto), recently built and now operated at the shallow underground laboratory of the Max-Planck-Institut für Kernphysik, Heidelberg. Particular attention was paid to the design of a novel passive and active shield, aiming at efficient rejection of environmental and muon induced radiation backgrounds. The achieved sensitivity level of <100 μBq/kg for primordial radionuclides from U and Th in typical γ ray sample screening measurements is unique among instruments located at comparably shallow depths and can compete with instruments at far deeper underground sites.