UC San Diego

Measurements of the polarization of the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) have the potential to provide very strong evidence for cosmic inflation. However, the polarization signal that is expected to have been created by inflation is extremely small. This has motivated the construction of extremely sensitive instruments with thousands of cryogenic detectors.

Simons Array is a CMB polarization experiment comprised of three telescopes located in northern Chile and each containing a cryogenic receiver. The Simons Array will observe in four frequency bands in order to measure the CMB signal as well as polarized foreground signals. The design of the detectors and readout system has been optimized to provide a low noise measurement and an experiment that can observe in varying weather conditions. Characterizing the detectors and readout system has been a crucial part of the development of the Simons Array receivers.

This dissertation describes the development and deployment of the Simons Array experiment with a focus on characterization of the cryogenic detector and readout electronics.