Study of neutron-induced background and its effect on the search of 0[nu][beta][beta] decay in super(124) Sn

Neutron-induced background has been studied in various components of the TIN.TIN detector, which is under development for the search of Neutrinoless Double Beta Decay in super(124) Sn. Fast neutron flux ~10 super(6) n cm super(-2) s super(-1) covering a broad energy range ~0.1 to ( ~18 MeV) was generated using super(9) Be(p,n) super(9) B reaction. In addition, reactions with quasi-monoenergetic neutrons were also studied using super(7) Li(p,n) super(7) Be reaction. Among the different cryogenic support structures studied, Teflon is found to be preferable compared to Torlon as there is no high energy gamma background E sub([gamma])> 1 MeV) . Contribution of neutron-induced reactions in super(nat, 124) Sn from other Sn isotopes (A = 112-122) in the energy region of interest, namely, around the Q sub([beta][beta]) of super(124) Sn (E~ 2.293 MeV), is also investigated.