Experiment TGV II: results on double electron capture in 106Cd

The TGV II (Telescope Germanium Vertical) facility is a low background spectrometer operated in Modane Underground Laboratory. It aims at the study of double electron capture of 106Cd. The spectrometer is composed of 32 HPGe planar detectors interleaved with thin-foil samples made of 106Cd enriched to 75%. In 2006, the main run of phase I (1 year duration) was terminated yielding a new limit on half-life for two-neutrino double electron capture in 106Cd as 2.0x1020y. The new limit is significantly higher (by almost three orders of magnitude) than those already published