First Production Detectors for the MAJORANA Experiment

The M{\sc ajorana} experiment is a next-generation search for 0$\nu\beta\beta$ in $^{76}$Ge. The M{\sc ajorana} collaboration is focused on fielding 60 kg of HPGe detectors as research and development (particularly the demonstration background levels) for a 1000-kilogram search. To this end, the M{\sc ajorana} collaboration has purchased the first eighteen detectors for its D{\sc emonstrator} phase from Canberra. The detectors are based on ``Broad Energy Germanium'' (BEGe) detectors, made from $^{\mbox{nat}}$Ge and are roughly 600 grams each. BEGes have low electronic noise, which leads to excellent energy resolution and sub-keV energy threshold. BEGes also require that electron-hole pairs drift over much longer distances than in semi-coaxial HPGe detectors. Long drift times lead to reliable separation of single-site signals from multi-site backgrounds with pulse shape analysis. The performance of BEGe detectors make them a powerful technology in the search for 0$\nu\beta\beta$. We plan to populate half of the D{\sc emonstrator} array with natural germanium detectors, and the other half with germanium enriched to 86\% in $^{76}$Ge. Here, we will present acceptance and characterization tests performed on these first eighteen detectors. In particular, we will focus on: energy resolution,leakage current, capacitance, charge collection and pulse shapes from single and multi-site events.