CUORE-0 detector: design, construction and operation

The CUORE experiment will search for neutrinoless double-beta decay of$^{130}$Te with an array of 988 TeO$_2$ bolometers arranged in 19 towers.CUORE-0, the first tower assembled according to the CUORE procedures, was builtand commissioned at Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso, and took data fromMarch 2013 to March 2015. In this paper we describe the design, constructionand operation of the CUORE-0 experiment, with an emphasis on the improvementsmade over a predecessor experiment, Cuoricino. In particular, we demonstratewith CUORE-0 data that the design goals of CUORE are within reach