Design, Fabrication and Performance of the Transition-Edge Sensor Array for SPT-3G Experiment

The cosmic microwave background (CMB) is remnant radiation from the early universe that provides a wealth of information leading to many breakthroughs in our theory of cosmology. Current and future CMB experiments aim to measure the CMB polarization precisely with the goal of exploring inflation physics and neutrino mass. In order to precisely measure the CMB polarization, especially the parity violating B-mode polarization pattern, a focal plane with approximately 16,000 transition-edge sensor (TES) bolometers has been designed and fabricated. In this work, the design, fabrication and performance of the focal plane will be presented. In addition, we will discuss how the properties of the detector key components, i. e. the dielectric layer, the microstrip in-line filters, the TES film configurations and the detector thermal links can be extracted and investigated basing on the testing results. The focal plane has been installed in the South Pole Telescope at the end of 2016 for the latest generation of CMB experiment (SPT-3G).