Ion trap quantum computers are complex optoelectronic systems that require several electronic subsystems orchestrated to sub-1ns precision, both low-noise and high speed. WUT developed a modular control system in EEM/DIOT form factor called SINARA (Standardised Instrumentation Architecture for Research Applications) [1]. SINARA became the de facto standard in atomic and Molecular laboratories worldwide; a few leading quantum computer manufacturers also use it. Its success, which can be attributed to the open-source, open-hardware licensing model, has significantly advanced the field of quantum computing by providing a reliable and adaptable control system. SINARA was primarily developed for lab applications but recently has been transformed into an industrial form factor (DIOT [5]) because many lab projects have turned into spin-offs and startups.The scaling of quantum computers creates several technological issues. Most topologies are enclosed in a vacuum and use cryogenic temperatures. Future quantum computer architectures need to implement electronic control systems capable of steering hundreds of thousands of electrodes with high precision and relatively high voltage of a few dozen V. Within the framework of the Quantera SIQCI [3] project, a collaborative effort aimed at advancing the field of quantum computing, we are building a demonstrator of such a scalable control system. An essential step of the design process is characterising a standard 180nm high voltage process at temperatures below 10 K. The next step is updating the process PDK and designing the test structures using updated models. This paper presents the requirements for such a control system, the first results of the measurements and the design methodology.Furthermore, this talk will unveil the first coherent operations results performed on ions trapped in the WUT labs using the SINARA system, marking a significant milestone in our system’s practical applications.
Ion trap quantum computers are complex optoelectronic systems that require several electronic subsystems orchestrated to sub-1ns precision, both low-noise and high speed. WUT developed a modular control system in EEM/DIOT form factor called SINARA (Standardised Instrumentation Architecture for Research Applications) [1]. SINARA became the de facto standard in atomic and Molecular laboratories worldwide; a few leading quantum computer manufacturers also use it. Its success, which can be attributed to the open-source, open-hardware licensing model, has significantly advanced the field of quantum computing by providing a reliable and adaptable control system. SINARA was primarily developed for lab applications but recently has been transformed into an industrial form factor (DIOT [5]) because many lab projects have turned into spin-offs and startups.The scaling of quantum computers creates several technological issues. Most topologies are enclosed in a vacuum and use cryogenic temperatures. Future quantum computer architectures need to implement electronic control systems capable of steering hundreds of thousands of electrodes with high precision and relatively high voltage of a few dozen V. Within the framework of the Quantera SIQCI [3] project, a collaborative effort aimed at advancing the field of quantum computing, we are building a demonstrator of such a scalable control system. An essential step of the design process is characterising a standard 180nm high voltage process at temperatures below 10 K. The next step is updating the process PDK and designing the test structures using updated models. This paper presents the requirements for such a control system, the first results of the measurements and the design methodology.Furthermore, this talk will unveil the first coherent operations results performed on ions trapped in the WUT labs using the SINARA system, marking a significant milestone in our system’s practical applications.
Sinara, an open-source hardware ecosystem, has been designed to facilitate quantum experiments' efficient man-agement. Abiding by the CERN Open Hardware License, Sinara comprises over 50 modules, most of which are commercially available, representing a broad spectrum of capabilities. A crucial element of Sinara is its integration with the Advanced Real-Time Infrastructure for Quantum physics (ARTIQ) control system. This combination provides researchers with a robust toolkit with capabilities such as 1 ns timing resolution. It also includes a comprehensive suite of tools designed to manage experiment scheduling, versioning, results storage, and hardware management, enhancing the efficiency of quantum experiment workflows. The poster presents proposed development of Sinara based control system for a commercially available ion trap solution, with a systematic strategy to replace components of the control system with Sinara modules. This method affords valuable hands-on experience that will help in the design of future modules and the enhancement of existing ones. Proposed Sinara control system is to be made up of several subsystems, including high voltage controls, electrical controls, shuttling and readout, and laser controls. Each subsystem is managed through a PC and operated via ARTIQ or MQTT protocol, providing a structured framework for management. The subsystems utilize several advanced hardware components, including the Kasli v2 controller, Shuttler DAC, and DIOT STM Controller, among others.
The complexity of quantum experimentation setups generates demand for a hardware platform that ensures means of standardization of the equipment used as well as setup repeatability.Sinara Hardware is an open-source answer to those challenges. It offers a modular architecture and well over 50 different modules. While originating from ion trapping experiments, it provides an ecosystem that can meet a wide range of quantum experimentation needs. Accompanied by researchers and engineers from different universities and private companies, Sinara Hardware is not only a hardware platform but also a vibrant community.Sinara Hardware is developed along with an open-source control system - ARTIQ. ARTIQ provides a high-level programming interface along with experiment management tools. It offers nanosecond timing accuracy, sub-microsecond latency and means of timing distribution across several controller modules.This poster covers the developments from the last 2 years in the Sinara Hardware project. The most interesting novelties are: CERN Distributed IO Tier (DIOT) integration that will introduce backplane for communication and will enable use of DIOT Zynq UltraScale+ based controller; Artix-7 based FMC (FPGA Mezzanine Card) carrier along with two Sinara-dedicated FMCs: Shuttler - 125 MSPS 16 ch. 16-bit DAC (Digital to Analog Converter), with separate analog front end for application versatility and Waver - 1.5 GSPS 4 ch. 16-bit DAC; Unified Arbitrary Waveform Generator Framework as a common firmware platform for Sinara DAC applications as well as Xilinx RFSoC-based high bandwidth signal generator. Additionally, an overview of what is to be expected in future developments is shown.
Abstract The future of quantum information processing requires a stable hardware platform to execute quantum circuits reliably and with low error rates, such that solutions for industrial applications can be built on top of it. Trapped-ion quantum computing, among other platforms, currently proves to be very suitable for the transition from tabletop, lab-based experiments to rack-mounted, on-premise systems which allow operation in data center environments. Several technical challenges need to be solved and controlling many degrees of freedom needs to be optimized and automated, before industrial applications can be successfully implemented on quantum computers situated within data centers. These necessary developments range from the architecture of an ion trap that fundamentally defines the supported instruction sets, over the control electronics and laser systems, which limit the quality of qubit operations, to the optimized compilation of quantum circuits based on qubit properties and gate fidelities. In this chapter, we give an introduction to the ion-trap quantum computing platform, present the current technical state of the art of Alpine Quantum Technologies’ ion-trapping hardware and rack-based quantum computing systems, and highlight parts of the execution stack.
<!--HTML-->The current status of trapped ions quantum computer development in Europe will be presented from the industry perspective, with focus on main challenges for the next few years. A brief overview of practical aspects related to scaling the number of qubits and improving the performance of quantum computers will be given. Special attention will be devoted to qubit control electronics and a related international initiative ARTIQ/Sinara, which was and continues to be inspired by CERN activities. Examples of industry-academia collaboration on quantum computing development as part of the Quantum Flagship and EuroHPC JU will be mentioned.
Modern experiments with cold molecular ions have reached a high degree of complexity requiring frequent sample preparation, state initialization, and protocol execution while demanding precise control over multiple devices and laser sources. To maintain a high experimental duty cycle and robust measurement conditions, automation becomes essential. We present a fully automated control system for the preparation of trapped state-selected molecular ions and subsequent quantum logic-based experiments. Adaptive feedback routines based on real-time image analysis introduce and identify single molecular ions in atomic-ion Coulomb crystals. By appropriate manipulation of the trapping potentials, excess atomic ions are released from the trap to produce dual-species two-ion strings, specifically Ca+-N2+. After mass and state identification of the molecular ion, nanosecond-level synchronization of laser pulses employing the Sinara/ARTIQ framework and real-time data analysis enable quantum-logic-spectroscopic measurements. The present automated control system enables robust, unsupervised operation over extended periods resulting in an increase in the number of experimentation cycles by about a factor of ten compared to manual operation and a factor of about eight in loaded molecules in typical practical situations. The modular, distributed design of the system provides a scalable blueprint for similar molecular-ion experiments.
Quantum computers based on trapped ions have approached the point of executing interesting near-term algorithms, but scaling beyond tens of ion qubits will require either increasingly large experiments or integration of control technology. This article presents the design and implementation of a cryogenically compatible dc voltage source incorporated into the substrate beneath the electrodes of an ion trap. An analog switch enables the integrated circuit to reach noise levels similar to those in much larger commercial electronics. These results herald the application of similar designs in future experiments focused on creating scalable or deployable quantum systems.