New studies on the radiopurity and performances of Cs₂ZrCl₆ crystal scintillators

Abstract

In this work, we present new studies by using different materials and procedures to improve the performances and radiopurity of Cs2ZrCl6 (CZC) crystal scintillators. In particular, measurements of three new CZC crystals as scintillators were performed over 97.7 days live-time in the low-background DAMA/CRYS set-up deep underground at the Gran Sasso National Laboratory (LNGS) of the I.N.F.N. They allow us to derive elements for improvements towards a possible future use of this kind of detectors in the search for neutrino-less double beta decay of 94,96Zr and rare single beta decay of 96Zr.