Characterization of HPGe Detectors for Materials Screening

The study of background radiation is crucial for rare event experiments, such as those searching for neutrinoless double beta decay. Naturally occurring isotopes in the materials used to construct these experiments contribute to the background events. Therefore, screening materials to ensure their sustainability for use in low-background detectors is essential for the success of rare event searches. High-purity germanium (HPGe) detectors are commonly used for this purpose due to their excellent sensitivity. In this talk, we will report on the use of a pair of HPGe detectors at Virginia Tech for pre screening materials for the CUPID experiment. We will discuss the characterization measurements of these detectors and the benchmarking of GEANT4 simulation tools used to estimate the absolute detection efficiency for arbitrary sample geometries.