Neutrinoless Double Beta Decay Experiments

The study of neutrinoless double beta decay is of outmost importance for neutrino physics. It is considered to be the gold plated channel to probe the fundamental character of neutrinos and to determine the neutrino mass. From the experimental point about nine different isotopes are explored for the search. After a general introduction follows a short discussion on nuclear matrix element calculations and supportive measurements. The current experimental status of double beta searches is presented followed by a short discussion of the ideas and proposals for large scale experiments. (author)