Recent interface changes

Unreleased: Long waveform support

The instruction_generated_pulses_enabled option (see Cluster and Pulsar user guides) is deprecated and will be removed in a future version. Long square pulses, staircase pulses and long ramps can be generated with the newly introduced helper functions long_square_pulse, staircase_pulse and long_ramp_pulse. More complex long waveforms can now also be created from the StitchedPulseBuilder, which generates a StitchedPulse. For more information, see Long waveform support.

0.12.0: Marker behavior for RF modules; Custom Qblox downconverter

1. For the Qblox QCM-RF and QRM-RF modules, the marker override QCoDeS parameter marker_ovr_en is now always set to False before the execution of a schedule. This way, the markers behave as expected, even if they were previously overridden. Please refer to the qblox-instruments documentation for more information about the marker_ovr_en and marker_ovr_value parameters.

2. For deactivating the custom Qblox downconverter, set downconverter_freq to null (json) or None (instead of 0 before).

   Note

   Using downconverter_freq requires custom Qblox hardware, do not use otherwise.

0.11.1: Input attenuation parameter both for input and output

Ability to set input_att parameter for both complex_input_0 and complex_output_0 on QRM-RF. To make sure that you can use the same sequencer for both input and output on QRM-RF with input modulation and input attenuation, you can set input_att on either input or output, but not on both in the same module at the same time.

0.11.0: Gain and attenuation parameters

Ability to set input/output gain/attenuation parameters via the Qblox hardware configuration file.

Note

input_gain introduced in version 0.9.0 is now renamed to input_gain_<n>.

The following parameters are available per device type:

• QRM (baseband)

  • input_gain_I (for complex_output_0) or input_gain_0 (for real_output_0)

  • input_gain_Q (for complex_output_0) or input_gain_1 (for real_output_1)

• QRM-RF

  • output_att (for complex_output_0)

  • input_att (for complex_input_0)

• QCM-RF

  • output_att (for complex_output_0)

  • output_att (for complex_output_1)

See quantify_scheduler/schemas/examples/qblox_test_mapping.json for concrete examples (see Usage of the backend).

0.8.0: Dynamic Sequencer Allocation

The Qblox backend now dynamically allocates sequencers to port-clock combinations as required. This enables the user to target an arbitrary number of port-clock combinations using the same module, as long as they are not being simultaneously targeted. Given that Qblox instruments have 6 sequencers, up to 6 port-clock combinations may be simultaneously targeted.

This change has introduced a new syntax for the hardware configuration file:

1. We now specify a list of portclock_configs instead of sequencers.

2. Furthermore, we moved latency correction to top-level key latency_corrections

3. We provide a helper function that may be used to convert from old to new syntax:

   • convert_hw_config_to_portclock_configs_spec()

   • Temporarily, this method is called by the Qblox backend before compilation.

The old syntax:

hardware_cfg = {
    "backend": "quantify_scheduler.backends.qblox_backend.hardware_compile",
    "qcm0": {
        "instrument_type": "Pulsar_QCM",
        "ref": "internal",
        "complex_output_0": {
            "lo_name": "lo0",
            "seq0": {
                "port": "q0:mw",
                "clock": "q0.01",
                "interm_freq": 50e6,
                "latency_correction" : 4e-9
            },
            "seq1": {
                "port": "q1:mw",
                "clock": "q1.01",
                "interm_freq": 100e6
            }
        },
        "complex_output_1": {
            "lo_name": "lo1",
            "seq2": {
                "port": "q2:mw",
                "clock": "q2.01",
                "interm_freq": None
            }
        }
    },
    "lo0": {"instrument_type": "LocalOscillator", "frequency": None, "power": 20},
    "lo1": {"instrument_type": "LocalOscillator", "frequency": 7.2e9, "power": 20}
}

The new syntax:

hardware_cfg = {
    "backend": "quantify_scheduler.backends.qblox_backend.hardware_compile",
    "latency_corrections": {
        "q0:mw-q0.01": 4e-9
    },
    "qcm0": {
        "instrument_type": "Pulsar_QCM",
        "ref": "internal",
        "complex_output_0": {
            "lo_name": "lo0",
            "portclock_configs": [
                {
                    "port": "q0:mw",
                    "clock": "q0.01",
                    "interm_freq": 50e6
                },
                {
                    "port": "q1:mw",
                    "clock": "q1.01",
                    "interm_freq": 100e6
                }
            ]
        },
        "complex_output_1": {
            "lo_name": "lo1",
            "portclock_configs": [
                {
                    "port": "q2:mw",
                    "clock": "q2.01",
                    "interm_freq": None
                }
            ]
        }
    },
    "lo0": {"instrument_type": "LocalOscillator", "frequency": None, "power": 20},
    "lo1": {"instrument_type": "LocalOscillator", "frequency": 7.2e9, "power": 20}
}