Zurich Instruments unveils Pump Controller to ease parametric amplification process
Zurich Instruments has steadily been augmenting its family of quantum research tools. The company already offers its SHFQA Quantum Analyzer or SHFQC Qubit Controller, the latter of which was launched last fall. Now, it is adding the SHFPPC Parametric Pump Controller to the mix to give researchers an automated off-the-shelf tool for controlling parametric amplifiers to enable high-fidelity qubit readout at the quantum limit.
It’s being done in the name of improving quantum error correction and enabling high-fidelity qubits. The SHFPPC Pump Controller can work with Zurich’s other products in new or existing set-ups, for example helping leverage the dedicated signal processing capabilities of the SHFQA Quantum Analyzer or SHFQC Qubit Controller.
By providing an off-the-shelf product, Zurich Instruments is helping researchers make quicker work of parametric amplification, a process that often sees researchers spending time and money crafting home-built solutions for tuning the amplitude and phase of a microwave tone. Home-built solutions also can be susceptible to temperature and other issues.
A Zurich Instruments press release stated, “High fidelity and fast qubit readout are critical for feedback operations in quantum computing. Near quantum limited parametric amplification is the state of the art technology to maximize performance in these parameters, without compromising on quantum processor or algorithm design.”
The release stated that the new SHFPPC “features high power and low phase noise microwave sources to generate the pump tone from 1 to 12 GHz. An automatic leveling control unit ensures stable operating conditions over long periods of time. The signal conditioning units feature and operating frequency band from 5 to 10 gigahertz and an automatic self-cancellation of the pump tone at the touch of a button for rapid tune-up characterization. For performance monitoring, it is possible to generate a probe tone signal together with a pump tone signal on a single output port.”
Zurich Instruments is a Silver Sponsor of the IQT Quantum Cybersecurity event in New York City this October.
