QICK (Quantum Instrumentation Control Kit): Progress on an open-source qubit controller*

The latest improvements to QICK (Quantum Instrumentation Control Kit) leverage the success of the open-source QICK qubit controller introduced in April 2022. QICK now supports three off-the-shelf Xilinx RFSoC boards, with up to 16 output channels per board capable of direct digital synthesis of control pulses with carrier frequencies of up to 10 GHz. The companion RF board can be used to replace the rest of the warm electronics used for qubit control. We show how multiple QICK boards can be synchronized by a sub-picosecond phase lock and ultra-fast communication links. The latest QICK's new timed processor speeds up pulse generation, reduces latency and increases feedback capabilities. We demonstrate these new features with one and two-qubit randomized benchmarking examples at U. Chicago (Schuster Lab) and Princeton (Houck Lab). The Advanced Quantum Testbed (AQT) at LBNL collaborated with the QICK team on the development and testing of QICK as an AQT user project, including contributions to multiplexed readout, software integration, motherboard and daughterboard design, and cold-qubit tests.