RISC-Q: A Generator for Real-Time Quantum Control System-on-Chips Compatible with RISC-V

2025-05-20

AI Summary

Quantum computing demands real-time control with microsecond-scale feedback latency and nanosecond-scale timing precision—far exceeding the capabilities of general-purpose real-time systems. Existing custom solutions suffer from fragmented toolchains and insufficient design automation, hindering scalability. This paper introduces an open-source, configurable framework for automatic generation of quantum control system-on-chip (QCSoC) architectures. It features the first RISC-V–compatible, parameterized QCSoC generator, overcoming hardware fragmentation and scalability bottlenecks. Implemented in SpinalHDL, the framework employs a modular, highly parameterized architecture with RISC-V–compliant instruction set interfaces and fully automated synthesis flows, enabling agile co-exploration of software-hardware design spaces. Experimental evaluation demonstrates that the framework reproduces the performance of state-of-the-art QCSoCs while substantially reducing development effort, and has been successfully validated across diverse quantum hardware control scenarios.

Technology Category

• Machine Learning: Quantum Machine Learning
• Planning, Routing, and Scheduling: Optimization of Spatio-temporal Systems
• Cognitive Modeling & Cognitive Systems: Agent Architectures

Application Category

• Economics, Online Markets and Human Computation: Economic ramifications for generative AI infrastructure and applications
• Systems and Infrastructure for Web, Mobile and WoT: Experiences and lessons learnt from Web-based algorithms and system deployments
• Search and Retrieval-Augmented AI: Efficiency and scalability of Web search engines

Abstract

Quantum computing imposes stringent requirements for the precise control of large-scale qubit systems, including, for example, microsecond-latency feedback and nanosecond-precision timing of gigahertz signals -- demands that far exceed the capabilities of conventional real-time systems. The rapidly evolving and highly diverse nature of quantum control necessitates the development of specialized hardware accelerators. While a few custom real-time systems have been developed to meet the tight timing constraints of specific quantum platforms, they face major challenges in scaling and adapting to increasingly complex control demands -- largely due to fragmented toolchains and limited support for design automation. To address these limitations, we present RISC-Q -- an open-source flexible generator for Quantum Control System-on-Chip (QCSoC) designs, featuring a programming interface compatible with the RISC-V ecosystem. Developed using SpinalHDL, RISC-Q enables efficient automation of highly parameterized and modular QCSoC architectures, supporting agile and iterative development to meet the evolving demands of quantum control. We demonstrate that RISC-Q can replicate the performance of existing QCSoCs with significantly reduced development effort, facilitating efficient exploration of the hardware-software co-design space for rapid prototyping and customization.

Problem

• Precise real-time control of large-scale qubit systems
• Scaling and adapting to complex quantum control demands
• Fragmented toolchains and limited design automation support

Innovation

• Open-source RISC-V compatible quantum control generator
• Automated modular QCSoC design using SpinalHDL
• Agile hardware-software co-design for rapid prototyping