Abstract We present Qibosoq , an open-source server-side software package designed for radio frequency system on chip (RFSoC) for executing arbitrary pulse sequences and algorithms on self-hosted quantum processing units using only open-source software. Qibosoq connects the RFSoC firmware provided by Qick , a Quantum Instrumentation Control Kit, with Qibo , a quantum computing middleware framework that enables both experimental and gate-based applications. It simplifies the work of experimentalists and developers by managing client-server communication protocols, implementing tests, and validation procedures, thereby reducing the complexity of experimental setups. The client-side integration is achieved with dedicated drivers implemented in Qibolab , the specialized software module of Qibo for quantum hardware control. Therefore, this setup provides a seamless mechanism to deploy circuit-based algorithms on custom self-hosted quantum hardware platforms controlled by RFSoC electronics.
Abstract We present Qibosoq , an open-source server-side software package designed for radio frequency system on chip (RFSoC) for executing arbitrary pulse sequences and algorithms on self-hosted quantum processing units using only open-source software. Qibosoq connects the RFSoC firmware provided by Qick , a Quantum Instrumentation Control Kit, with Qibo , a quantum computing middleware framework that enables both experimental and gate-based applications. It simplifies the work of experimentalists and developers by managing client-server communication protocols, implementing tests, and validation procedures, thereby reducing the complexity of experimental setups. The client-side integration is achieved with dedicated drivers implemented in Qibolab , the specialized software module of Qibo for quantum hardware control. Therefore, this setup provides a seamless mechanism to deploy circuit-based algorithms on custom self-hosted quantum hardware platforms controlled by RFSoC electronics.
<!--HTML-->The control of superconducting qubits, central to quantum computing, demands precise manipulation of fast microwave pulses. FPGAs offer ideal versatility for this task. However, due to FPGA complexity, institutions often opt for costly, pre-made solutions, limiting customization. We therefore presented Qibosoq, an open-source software package designed for radio frequency system on chip (RFSoC) platforms. Qibosoq bridges the RFSoC firmware provided by QICK, a Quantum Instrumentation Control Kit, with Qibo, an open-source quantum computing framework. By using RFSoC boards, it is possible to significantly lower the cost of a qubit-control hardware, while also maintaining high development flexibility. We present the Qibosoq software package, as well as the result of testing it with multiple qubits both as a characterization platform and as an algorithm executor, where we demonstrated the capability of the RFSoC board to accurately perform Quantum Machine Learning applications.
We present Qibolab , an open-source software library for quantum hardware control integrated with the Qibo quantum computing middleware framework. Qibolab provides the software layer required to automatically execute circuit-based algorithms on custom self-hosted quantum hardware platforms. We introduce a set of objects designed to provide programmatic access to quantum control through pulses-oriented drivers for instruments, transpilers and optimization algorithms. Qibolab enables experimentalists and developers to delegate all complex aspects of hardware implementation to the library so they can standardize the deployment of quantum computing algorithms in a extensible hardware-agnostic way, using superconducting qubits as the first officially supported quantum technology. We first describe the status of all components of the library, then we show examples of control setup for superconducting qubits platforms. Finally, we present successful application results related to circuit-based algorithms.
We present FIREQ (FPGA Instrumentation for Readout and Qubit control), an open-source RFSoC-based framework for the control and readout of superconducting qubits. FIREQ combines a modular AXI-compliant firmware architecture with a PYNQ-based software stack designed to support extensible hardware integration, deterministic experiment timing, and low-overhead execution of repeated calibration and characterization workflows. The firmware implements direct RF synthesis and acquisition, trigger-based sequencing, programmable pulse generation, frequency-multiplexed readout, and memory-efficient acquisition and waveform buffering. The software adopts a client-server architecture with streamed data transfer and dependency-aware configuration updates to reduce host-device and reconfiguration overhead during parameter sweeps. On an AMD Zynq UltraScale+ RFSoC ZCU216, FIREQ generates RF pulses up to 9.3 GHz with a pulse-duration resolution of 107 ps and an event-timing resolution of 1.7 ns. FPGA resource utilization is compared with representative open-source RFSoC control frameworks, showing a low BRAM footprint while retaining full-rate I/Q generation and acquisition. The RF output is characterized in terms of phase noise, noise spectral density, and inter-channel timing skew. End-to-end operation is validated on a superconducting qubit through resonator spectroscopy, Rabi, Ramsey, and relaxation measurements, yielding T1 = 6.94 us and T2* = 13.50 us. FIREQ can therefore be used both as a qubit-control platform and as an experimental environment for evaluating alternative control and readout IP architectures.
The development of quantum computers needs reliable quantum hardware and tailored software for controlling electronics specific to various quantum platforms. Middleware is a type of computer software program that aims to provide standardized software tools across the entire pipeline, from high level execution of quantum computing algorithms to low level driver instructions tailored to specific experimental setups, including instruments. This paper presents updates to Qibolab, a software library that leverages Qibo capabilities to execute quantum algorithms on self hosted quantum hardware platforms. Qibolab offers an application programming interface (API) for instrument control through arbitrary pulses and driver operations including sweepers. This paper offers an overview of the new features implemented in Qibolab, including the redefined boundaries between platform and channel classes, the integration of an emulator for simulating quantum hardware behaviour, and it shows updated execution times benchmarks for superconducting single qubit calibration routines.
The QICK (Quantum Instrumentation Control Kit), first introduced in 2022, is a standalone open source control system for quantum information science. Since then, QICK has been migrated to new hardware platforms, expanded its functionality for applications with different types of qubits (superconducting, atomic, ion-trapped, and spin defects), as well as quantum sensors, and quantum networks. QICK is a highly optimized control kit, with a library of functions that can be used for more than one application. In particular, the software and firmware are customized to minimize latency and maximize control performance and throughput. In this white paper, we describe hardware details and performance of the QICK Box. The QICK Box features up to 16 outputs, up to 8 inputs, and 8 20-bit DC biases. Modular output and input daughtercards give the choice of signal chains optimized for fast DC-coupled signals or RF signals up to 10 GHz. Power levels, step attenuation, and bandpass filtering are controlled by software. We demonstrate the system's performance through single-shot readout measurements of a six-transmon device at the Quantum Underground Instrumentation Experimental Testbed (QUIET) at Fermilab, achieving (91.7 +/- 0.4)% readout fidelity limited by T1 decay during the readout. The single shot readout signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) is 4.4 +/- 0.1 without a quantum amplifier, confirming that the QICK Box is suitable for high-fidelity quantum control and measurement applications. Advances in firmware and software will be described in a separate paper.
We introduce a Xilinx RF System-on-Chip (RFSoC)-based qubit controller (called the Quantum Instrumentation Control Kit, or QICK for short), which supports the direct synthesis of control pulses with carrier frequencies of up to 6 GHz. The QICK can control multiple qubits or other quantum devices. The QICK consists of a digital board hosting an RFSoC field-programmable gate array, custom firmware, and software and an optional companion custom-designed analog front-end board. We characterize the analog performance of the system as well as its digital latency, important for quantum error correction and feedback protocols. We benchmark the controller by performing standard characterizations of a transmon qubit. We achieve an average gate fidelity of Favg=99.93%. All of the schematics, firmware, and software are open-source.