Analog/Mixed-Signal Integrated Circuits for Quantum Computing

Future error-corrected quantum computers will require analog/mixed-signal control systems capable of providing a million or more high-precision analog waveforms. In this article, we begin by introducing the reader to superconducting transmon qubit technology and then explain how the state of a quantum processor implemented in this technology is controlled. By example, we then show how one can implement one part of the quantum control system as a cryogenic integrated circuit and review experimental results from the characterization of such an IC. The article concludes with a discussion of analog/mixed-signal design challenges that must be overcome in order to build the system required to control a million-qubit quantum computer.