Francesco Granato | Search arXiv

arXiv2026

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

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.

physics.atom-ph↗

arXiv2025

The Auger-Meitner Radioisotope Microscope: an instrument for characterization of Auger electron multiplicities and energy distributions

We describe a new instrument, the Argonne Auger Radioisotope Microscope (ARM), capable of characterizing the Auger electron emission of radionuclides, including candidates relevant in nuclear medicine. Our approach relies on event-by-event ion-electron coincidence, time-of-flight, and spatial readout measurement to determine correlated electron multiplicity and energy distributions of Auger decays. We present a proof-of-principle measurement with the ARM using X-ray photoionization of stable krypton beyond the K-edge and identify a bifurcation in the electron multiplicity distribution depending on the emission of K-LX electrons. Extension of the ARM to the characterization of radioactive sources of Auger electron emissions is enabled by the combination of two recent developments: (1) cryogenic buffer gas beam technology to introduce Auger emitters into the detection region with well-defined initial conditions, and (2) large-area micro-channel plate detectors with multi-hit detection capabilities to simultaneously detect multiple electrons emitted in a single decay. The ARM will generate new experimental data on Auger multiplicities that can be used to benchmark atomic relaxation and decay models. This data will provide insight into the low-energy regime of Auger electrons where intensity calculations are most challenging and experimental data is limited. In particular, accurate multiplicity data of the low-energy regime can be used to inform oncological dosimetry models, where electron energies less than 500 eV are known to be most effective in damaging DNA and cell membranes.

physics.ins-det↗