Characterization of BEGe detectors in the HADES underground laboratory

This paper describes the characterization of newly produced Broad Energy Germanium (BEGe) detectors, enriched in the isotope 76Ge. These detectors have been produced in the frame of the GERDA experiment. The aim of the characterization campaign consists in the determination of all the important operational parameters (active volume, dead layer thickness and uniformity, energy resolution, detector stability in time, quality of pulse shape discrimination). A protocol test procedure and devoted set-ups, partially automated, have been developed in view of the large number ( ∼ 25 ) of BEGeʹs detectors to be tested. The characterization is carried out in the HADES underground laboratory, located 225 m below ground ( ∼ 500 m water equivalent) in Mol, Belgium.