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Cosmic Ray Events and Natural Radioactivity in CCD Cryostats

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  07 August 2017

Ralph Florentin-Nielsen
Affiliation:
Niels Bohr Institute for Astronomy, Physics and Geophysics, Copenhagen University Observatory
Michael I. Andersen
Affiliation:
Niels Bohr Institute for Astronomy, Physics and Geophysics, Copenhagen University Observatory
Sven P. Nielsen
Affiliation:
Risc National Laboratory, Denmark

Abstract

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We have found that many materials that are most commonly used in CCD cryostats are weakly radioactive and therefore contribute to what is rather liberally labelled as Cosmic Ray Events. Some standard optical glasses that are extensively used for lenses and optically flat windows such as UBK-7 contain large amounts of potassium 40, which renders them useless as windows in CCD dewars. Cobalt 60 is sometimes found in excessive amounts in some steel alloys, even in Covar used as a thermal match to silicon. The choice of materials that emit a minimum of ionizing radiation is discussed.

Type
Section I — Review Papers
Copyright
Copyright © Kluwer 1995