Scientists at Fermilab have developed a customizable quantum control toolkit, known as QICK, which is now ready for commercial production. This lab-in-a-box system enables researchers to easily increase signal-to-noise ratio and qubit control by strengthening the amplification and filtering of incoming and outgoing signals.
Led by Sho Uemura, the lead software developer, and Gustavo Cancelo, who leads the QICK development and commercialization teams, the Fermilab engineers created a compact and cost-effective system that is also flexible, allowing scientists to tailor it to their needs. The QICK box includes a custom front end with all the electronics and cabling, making it easy to use and optimized for quantum control.
With over 350 registered users worldwide, this technology has the potential to enable future discoveries in science and quantum information science research. Companies interested in commercializing the technology can contact Fermilab’s Office of Partnerships and Technology Transfer.
Customizable Quantum Control Systems: A Game-Changer for Quantum Research
The development of quantum control systems has been crucial to advancing quantum research. The Fermilab team has recently made significant strides in creating a customizable quantum control system known as QICK (Quantum Information and Computing Kit). This innovative system can potentially revolutionize the field of quantum information science by providing researchers with a flexible and adaptable platform for their experiments.
The Evolution of QICK
QICK was first developed in 2020 as a collaboration between Fermilab and University of Chicago researchers. The initial goal was to create a controller based on a commercial FPGA (Field-Programmable Gate Array) board, which is commonly used in scientific experiments and quantum computing research. Over the past four years, QICK has evolved from a system used by a few scientists for one specific purpose to a platform utilized by hundreds worldwide for various applications.
The Power of Customizability
What sets QICK apart from other quantum control systems is its customizability. The Fermilab team worked closely with the scientific and quantum information science (QIS) research communities to solve specific and challenging problems at their labs. This collaboration has enabled QICK to be tailored to meet the unique needs of each researcher, providing a high degree of flexibility in how the hardware is used.
According to Travis Humble, director of Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s Quantum Science Center, “QICK is very powerful because the field of quantum right now is changing so rapidly. I think QICK is entering that research space where we expect there to be a lot of fluctuation in the hardware design, whereas the other companies are not making the radical changes to development we know the QICK box is capable of.”
The QICK Box: A Breakthrough in Quantum Control
The latest addition to the QICK family is the customizable QICK box. This innovative system has been designed to provide researchers with a platform that can be easily adapted to meet their specific needs. With its modular design, the QICK box allows users to add or remove components as needed, making it an ideal solution for a wide range of quantum applications.
Real-World Applications
Researchers from institutions including Yale University, Stanford, and Princeton Universities are already utilizing QICK to explore new ways of applying quantum techniques. For example, Professor Michael Hatridge and his students at Yale University are using QICK to develop models that can scale up from simple experiments to larger machines.
“We’re using QICK to be a really high-performance, inexpensive platform that we can add to as needed and to push forward control electronics capabilities for more complicated experiments,” said Hatridge.
Thinking Outside the Box
The Fermilab team’s approach to designing QICK has been centered around thinking ahead and anticipating the needs of future users. According to Gustavo Cancelo, who leads the QICK development and commercialization teams, “We are trying to commercialize a product for users that develop new ideas every day. When you design a car or a TV, you want most people to use it and like it. So, with QICK, we try hard to think ahead and put in functionality we think users will need in the future.”
The Future of Quantum Research
The development of QICK has the potential to significantly accelerate progress in quantum research. With its customizability, flexibility, and adaptability, QICK is poised to become a game-changer for researchers working on quantum information science projects. As the field continues to evolve, it will be exciting to see how QICK enables new discoveries and breakthroughs.
Companies interested in commercializing the technology should contact Fermilab’s Office of Partnerships and Technology Transfer at optt@fnal.gov. The development of QICK at Fermilab is supported primarily through the lab’s key partnership in the Quantum Science Center, a DOE National Quantum Initiative Science Research Center headquartered at Oak Ridge National Laboratory.
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