A low-cost modular FPGA-based control system for neutral atom tweezer arrays

Zeyu Ye; Varun Jorapur; Francesco Granato; Wanda Lindquist; David Peana; Isaac Both; Mouhamed Mbengue; Peter Mueller; Michael Bishof

arXiv · 2609.25456

A low-cost modular FPGA-based control system for neutral atom tweezer arrays

Zeyu Ye·Varun Jorapur·Francesco Granato·Wanda Lindquist·David Peana·Isaac Both·Mouhamed Mbengue·Peter Mueller·Michael Bishof

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Abstract

We present the Quantum Atom Control Kit (QuACK), a low-cost FPGA-based control system that provides memory-efficient precise signal timing and low-delay measurement-based decision making for operating neutral atom optical tweezer array experiments. The system consists of an FPGA module connected to a host computer via USB 3.0 and multiple cable-connected modular daughterboards enabling a myriad of configurable I/O formats. In this work, digital input and output as well as analog outputs are demonstrated. Multiple experimental sequence segments can be encoded with 5 ns timing resolution. On-chip condition kernels enable fast branching between segments based on digital inputs, eliminating host intervention for time-critical decisions, while high-speed USB communication allows rapid sequence updates and host-level orchestration. We demonstrate initial system loading and rearranging neutral ytterbium-171 atoms in optical tweezers. The combination of high-resolution timing, on-chip logic, and distributed orchestration architecture makes this system well suited for atomic, molecular, and optical (AMO) experiments pursuing applications in quantum information science.

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Zeyu Ye, Varun Jorapur, Francesco Granato, Wanda Lindquist, David Peana, Isaac Both, Mouhamed Mbengue, Peter Mueller, Michael Bishof. 2026-09-21. A low-cost modular FPGA-based control system for neutral atom tweezer arrays. https://arxiv.org/abs/2609.25456

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