Modifying Semi-Coaxial Ge Detectors for Use in 0𝜈𝛽𝛽&[nu]ββ Experiments*

The next generation of experimental searches for 0𝜈𝛽𝛽νββ, such as the Large Enriched Germanium Experiment for Neutrinoless Double Beta Decay (LEGEND), will require low backgrounds and large exposure to reach half life sensitivities greater than 10²⁷ years. Germanium-based 0𝜈𝛽𝛽νββ experiments realize significant background reduction through pulse shape discrimination, typically made possible by point contact detector technology. This presentation discusses a project studying the feasibility of converting conventional semi-coaxial Ge detectors into coaxial detectors with a ring-shaped p+ contact on the outer surface. If this design demonstrates improved pulse shape discrimination, five ⁷⁶Ge enriched coaxial detectors originally used in the Heidelberg-Moscow experiment that are currently running in GERDA could potentially be converted with minimal loss of mass. Simulations of the weighting potential and electric fields in a detector of the modified design are being performed to study the design’s feasibility and suitability for use in a 0ν𝜈𝛽𝛽ββ search.