Impact of Classical Control Electronics on Qubit Fidelity

A quantum computer comprises both qubits and their classical electronic interface. While much research is currently devoted solely to qubits, an efficient electronic controller is also urgently needed for a scalable quantum computer. This study uses analytical techniques to expose the effect of nonideal circuit blocks in a classical controller on qubit fidelity, for all required operations, and how fidelity is affected by the limited performance of the general-purpose, room-temperature equipment typically used with the few qubits types available today. Tailor-made controllers can achieve significantly lower cost, power consumption, and size, as required for scaling up.