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arXiv · 2208.10523

SLAC Microresonator RF (SMuRF) Electronics: A tone-tracking readout system for superconducting microwave resonator arrays

Cyndia Yu·Zeeshan Ahmed·Josef C. Frisch·Shawn W. Henderson·Max Silva-Feaver·Kam Arnold·David Brown·Jake Connors·Ari J. Cukierman·J. Mitch D'Ewart·Bradley J. Dober·John E. Dusatko·Gunther Haller·Ryan Herbst·Gene C. Hilton·Johannes Hubmayr·Kent D. Irwin·Chao-Lin Kuo·John A. B. Mates·Larry Ruckman·Joel Ullom·Leila Vale·Daniel D. Van Winkle·Jesus Vasquez·Edward Young
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Abstract

We describe the newest generation of the SLAC Microresonator RF (SMuRF) electronics, a warm digital control and readout system for microwave-frequency resonator-based cryogenic detector and multiplexer systems such as microwave SQUID multiplexers ($μ$mux) or microwave kinetic inductance detectors (MKIDs). Ultra-sensitive measurements in particle physics and astronomy increasingly rely on large arrays of cryogenic sensors, which in turn necessitate highly multiplexed readout and accompanying room-temperature electronics. Microwave-frequency resonators are a popular tool for cryogenic multiplexing, with the potential to multiplex thousands of detector channels on one readout line. The SMuRF system provides the capability for reading out up to 3328 channels across a 4-8 GHz bandwidth. Notably, the SMuRF system is unique in its implementation of a closed-loop tone-tracking algorithm that minimizes RF power transmitted to the cold amplifier, substantially relaxing system linearity requirements and effective noise from intermodulation products. Here we present a description of the hardware, firmware, and software systems of the SMuRF electronics, comparing achieved performance with science-driven design requirements. We focus in particular on the case of large channel count, low bandwidth applications, but the system has been easily reconfigured for high bandwidth applications. The system described here has been successfully deployed in lab settings and field sites around the world and is baselined for use on upcoming large-scale observatories.

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Cyndia Yu, Zeeshan Ahmed, Josef C. Frisch, Shawn W. Henderson, Max Silva-Feaver, Kam Arnold, David Brown, Jake Connors, Ari J. Cukierman, J. Mitch D'Ewart, Bradley J. Dober, John E. Dusatko, Gunther Haller, Ryan Herbst, Gene C. Hilton, Johannes Hubmayr, Kent D. Irwin, Chao-Lin Kuo, John A. B. Mates, Larry Ruckman, Joel Ullom, Leila Vale, Daniel D. Van Winkle, Jesus Vasquez, Edward Young. 2022-08-22. SLAC Microresonator RF (SMuRF) Electronics: A tone-tracking readout system for superconducting microwave resonator arrays. https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0125084

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