Building a Precision Voltage Controller for a Quantum Computing Experiment
May 22, 2025HRL Laboratories Engineering, 2024–25
Liaison(s): Abbie Wessels, Andrew Oriani, Paul Jerger ’15
Advisor(s): Joshua Brake
Students(s): Zoe Worrall (TL-S), Ellie Sundheim (TL-F), Jackson Philion, Natalie Arce (S), Cameron Hernandez (S), Jessica Liu (S), Bella Hottenrott (F), Lucas Lemos (F)
Researchers at HRL Laboratories have successfully developed FPGA-based experimental control for manipulating spin-qubits using off-the-shelf hardware and open-source software and firmware systems. The system requires low-frequency voltage control that is high-precision and low-noise, which they currently get from an external unit containing digital-to-analog converters (DACs). The Clinic team is developing a low-cost, open-source, multi-channel alternative to the current HRL system to integrate DAC control directly onto the FPGA so that it performs measurements and calibrations more efficiently and with better timing control than previously possible.