Development of a Li2MoO4scintillating bolometer for low background physics

We present the performance of a 33 g Li2MoO4 crystal working as a scintillating bolometer. The crystal was tested for more than 400 h in a dilution refrigerator installed in the underground laboratory of Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso (Italy). This compound shows promising features in the frame of neutron detection, dark matter search (solar axions) and neutrinoless double-beta decay physics. Low temperature scintillating properties were investigated by means of different α, β/γ and neutron sources, and for the first time the Light Yield for different types of interacting particle is estimated. The detector shows great ability of tagging fast neutron interactions and high intrinsic radiopurity levels ( < 90 μBq/kg for 238U and < 110 μBq/kg for 232Th). © 2013 IOP Publishing Ltd and Sissa Medialab srl.