Fraunhofer Institute for Integrated Circuits – Communication Systems Division

Role in the consortium

Our focus is on the development and integration of micro-electronic modules to drive optical modulators for the control of laser signals. These laser signals are a core component for manipulating and reading-out qubit states of the quantum processors for MUNIQC-Atoms. The modulation of the lasers is accomplished using individual, cascaded or arrays of AOM (acousto-optic modulator) and EOM (electro-optic modulator) components. The partners' quantum processors are based on neutral atoms trapped in optical tweezers. Short laser pulses are used to control and read-out the individual qubit states. The fidelity (quality) achievable with the qubits depends to a large extent on the temporal coherence of the laser pulses as well as on the exact power of the pulses.

What are the goals?

We are contributing to the project’s main goal: "Development of fast optical modulators for the agile control of amplitude and phase of laser light fields".

Develop multi-channel arbitrary waveform generators to increase the number of parallel processing channels for the QC
Develop digital feedback and control loops to improve the quality of the signals and the fidelity of the quantum operations
Design control algorithms for AOM and EOM based systems to improve the overall agility and quality of cascaded optical modulators
Develop control electronics for optical multi-channel switches to massively scale up the number of controllable quantum operations in parallel

Team

The activities of the communication systems division at Fraunhofer Institute for Integrated Circuits IIS revolve around the design, specification and implementation of wireless communication systems. Our expertise extends to the lower three levels of the OSI Model, with a focus on the physical layer. This allows us to meet the transmission requirements associated with specific applications in the areas of Automotive, Artificial Intelligence, Internet of Things, Mobile Broadband, Public Safety and Satellite Communication.

We are knowledgeable about all stages of the signal processing chain, from air interface to application software and have all the skills involved in system development. We are particularly well versed in channel measurement and modeling, waveform development, software defined radio and FPGA design and we handle the challenges of system integration.

We offer solutions relating to all steps of the product development process, from the initial concept to the finished product. Our services range from feasibility analysis and system specification to the provision of technology demonstrators and the creation of turnkey commercial systems. Furthermore we develop individual components like professional test equipment, antennas and transceiver software.