The Polarbear Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) polarization experiment is currently observing from the Atacama Desert in Northern Chile. It will characterize the expected B-mode polarization due to gravitational lensing of the CMB, and search for the possible B-mode signature of inflationary gravitational waves. Its 250 mK focal plane detector array consists of 1,274 polarization-sensitive antenna-coupled bolometers, each with an associated lithographed band-defining filter. Each detectors planar antenna structure is coupled to the telescopes optical system through a contacting dielectric lenslet, an architecture unique in current CMB experiments. We present the initial characterization of this focal plane.
تحميل البحث