Calibration Properties

In this chapter, we give a short overview of all possible calibration properties that may be defined on a SignalCalibration and explain possible settings.

For a more in-depth introduction to how Calibration is used, please refer to the Instrument Calibration and Experiment Calibration chapters.

Oscillators

Table 1. Oscillator Calibration Properties
Property relevant for accepted values short description

oscillator

HDAWG, UHFQA, SHFQA, SHFSG, SHFQC

Oscillator object with frequency and modulation_type specified

Defines the modulation frequency with which all waveforms played on this signal are modulated. Also determines if the modulation is done through a hardware feature or in software.

local_oscillator

SHFQA, SHFSG, SHFQC

Oscillator object with frequency specified

Defines center frequency of a pair of signal channels

On the SHFSG and SHFQC, pairs of physical output channels may share the same local oscillator

Delays

Table 2. Delay Calibration Properties
Property relevant for accepted values short description

port_delay

HDAWG, UHFQA (input lines only), SHFQA, SHFSG, SHFQC

times in seconds

For output lines: defines a delay for signals played on this channel

For input lines: defines a delay between the start of the readout pulse playback and the start of the integration

Implemented through hardware settings, has no effect on the pulse sheet.

signal_delay

HDAWG, UHFQA, SHFQA, SHFSG, SHFQC

times in seconds

Same as port_delay but implemented through shifting the playback in software. Will be visible in the pulse sheet

Mixer Calibration

Table 3. Mixer Calibration Property
Property relevant for accepted values short description

mixer_calibration

HDAWG (iq_signals only)

MixerCalibration object, which takes a list of voltage_offsets and a mixer correction_matrix

Sets offsets and a calibration matrix to compensate for imperfections in the up-conversion setup

Range

Table 4. Range Calibration Property
Property relevant for accepted values short description

range

SHFQA, SHFSG, SHFQC

Power value in dBm

Sets the power range of the channel

Threshold

Table 5. Threshold Calibration Property
Property relevant for accepted values short description

threshold

UHFQA (input lines only), SHFQA (input lines only)

real number

Sets the state discrimination threshold when using IntegrationMode.DISCRIMINATION

Port Mode

Table 6. Port Mode Calibration Property
Property relevant for accepted values short description

port_mode

SHFSG, SHFQC (output lines only)

Keyword 'RF' or 'LF'

Enables ('LF') or disables ('RF') the low frequency path on the up-conversion units

Real-time Precompensation

The real-time precompensation is available on HDAWG instruments with enabled HDAWG-PC option. It provides four different filters that can be configured in order to compensate for pulse distortions:

  • Exponential filters

  • Bounce compensation

  • High-pass compensation

  • FIR filter

For more information on the different filters, please refer to the corresponding chapter in the HDAWG manual.

In LabOne Q, the precompensation is enabled in the setup calibration by adding the following lines to the Calibration object:

precompensation = Precompensation(
    exponential= [
                ExponentialCompensation(timeconstant = 200e-9, amplitude = 0.5),
                ExponentialCompensation(timeconstant = 33e-9, amplitude = 0.7),
                # ...
                # up to 8 different filters
                ],
    high_pass = HighPassCompensation(timeconstant = 300e-9),
    bounce = BounceCompensation(delay = 5e-9, amplitude = 0.4),
    FIR = FIRCompensation(coefficients = fir_coefs) # fir_coefs is an array containing all 40 coefficients
)
Table 7. Precompensation Calibration Property
Property relevant for accepted values short description

precompensation

HDAWG (with PC option enabled)

Precompensation object

Contains the various filters (exponential, high_pass, bounce, FIR) with the corresponding properties such as time constants, amplitudes and coefficients.

Precompensation filters can be enabled on signal lines of type iq_signal and rf_signal. In order to preserve the correct pulse timing, the high-pass compensation can only be enabled pair-wise on signal lines of type rf_signal that are mapped to the same AWG core.

Clearing the high-pass filter

The infinite high-pass filter requires regular clearing to avoid an output overflow. Typically, the clearing is done in between quantum experiments so the occurring voltage jump on the affected signal output does not interfere with the qubit. In LabOne Q, the high-pass filter can be cleared during a delay instruction, for example while the experiment is waiting for the readout resonator to relax. The delay time must be at least 32 samples (13.33 ns or 16 ns depending on the sampling rate):

exp.delay(signal="flux_line", time=500e-9, precompensation_clear=True)

Note, that the clearing of the high-pass filter is a control element, thus the containing section is padded to the sequencer grid (see the timing rules).