Understanding TES microcalorimeter noise and energy resolution

We have performed numerical calculations of the noise in voltage-biased superconducting transition edge-based X-ray microcalorimeters, using a finite-element model. Details of the model are discussed, as well as results for different absorber geometries. The results are in agreement with an analytical model and show that the amount of internal thermal fluctuation noise can be reduced by using a segmented absorber. The simulation also agrees well with experimental data, which, for our detectors, contain no major unidentified noise sources. Furthermore, the discrepancy between the (small-signal) theoretical and the measured energy resolutions for 5.9 keV X-rays, for our sensors typically a factor of 2, is explained by a more accurate modelling of the sensor responsivity, taking into account the large signal behaviour.