Material screening at Boulby Underground Laboratory
The Boulby UnderGround Screening (BUGS) programme is the lab’s material assay capability, spanning four different screening techniques – three in the underground lab and one in the surface cleanroom.
Our internationally-recognised material assay programme supports low-background research across a multitude of pure and applied multidisciplinary science – including dark matter detection, antineutrino detector R&D, and geological characterisation.
The BUGS programme is comprised of four material screening techniques – eight germanium detectors, two UltraLo-1800 XIA detectors, two radon emanation detectors, and one ICP-MS.
Germanium suite
The BUGS facility hosts a total of eight germanium detectors, including two BeGe (Broad Energy Germanium detectors), three COAX (semi-coaxial detectors), one SAGe (Well detector) and our recently added twin system. Housed in ultra-low background lead and copper shields, our detectors achieve world leading sensitivities to provide gamma spectroscopy for experiments such as LZ, LEGEND, Super-K, DarkSide, QUEST-DMC and XLZD.
UltraLo-1800 XIA
Our two XIA UltraLo-1800 detectors are our alpha particle detectors, which reach background rates to <0.001 alphas/cm²/hour, making them capable of detecting radioisotopes at very low levels. The electronic background suppression enables it to distinguish between particles emitted from the sample surface, bulk, and from the detector components itself, increasing detector accuracy.
Radon emanation
Radon emanation is a radio-assay technique that measures the amount of radon gas emanating from a sample due to the decay of trace amounts of radium. Samples are sealed in stainless steel chambers and left to emanate for at least thirty days before being flushed into a detector – the data from which allows us to determine the amount of radon present in the sample gas.
The radon emanation facility at Boulby Underground Laboratory includes two detectors and four emanation chambers (two 3-litre chambers and two 5-litre chambers).
ICP-MS
The Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometer (ICP-MS) is a device used to count uranium and thorium ions within a sample of material through the use of a high-temperature plasma. Samples are dissolved in acid, aerosolised, ionized in a high-temperature plasma, and separated by their mass-to-charge ratio, causing any uranium and thorium present in the material to appear separate in the analysis.
Boulby Underground Laboratory’s ICP-MS is the only material screening technique in our BUGS programme that does not require a low-background environment, hence it is located in our surface cleanroom.
Requesting time on a detector
To request time on any of our BUGS detectors, please complete the sample request form on the BUGS database and a member of our team will be in touch. For enquiries about our material screening programme and the support we can offer, please get in touch using the contact details below.
BOULBY-BUGS@stfc.ac.uk
FAQs
What is the purpose of hosting particle physics projects deep underground?
Ultra-sensitive particle physics experiments (such as dark matter detectors) require an environment with minimal interference from cosmic radiation. Deep underground science facilities like Boulby Underground Laboratory act as a ‘quiet place in the Universe’, experiencing one million times fewer cosmic particles than the surface of the Earth, making them the ideal place to hold ultra-sensitive particle physics experiments.
How do I request time on one of the BUGS detectors?
To request time on one of our BUGS detectors, please complete the sample request form linked here and a member of our team will be in touch. For more general enquiries, please use the contact details below.
BOULBY-BUGS@stfc.ac.uk
Interested in our capabilities?
To enquire about developing a new experiment or proposal at Boulby Underground Laboratory, or to enquire about the support and services available at our lab, please get in touch using the contact details below.
BOULBY@stfc.ac.uk
