A flexible GPU-accelerated radio-frequency readout for superconducting detectors

TL;DR

This paper presents a versatile, GPU-accelerated radio-frequency readout system for superconducting detectors, utilizing commercial hardware and flexible software to enhance adaptability and testing of various cryogenic detector schemes.

Contribution

The authors introduce a flexible, GPU-based RF readout system that replaces custom FPGA solutions, enabling rapid implementation of diverse algorithms for superconducting detector readouts.

Findings

Compatible with multiple superconducting detectors like KIDs, TKIDs, and QCDs

Uses commercial hardware and C++/CUDA for flexibility

Facilitates testing of new data acquisition schemes

Abstract

We have developed a flexible radio-frequency readout system suitable for a variety of superconducting detectors commonly used in millimeter and submillimeter astrophysics, including Kinetic Inductance detectors (KIDs), Thermal KID bolometers (TKIDs), and Quantum Capacitance Detectors (QCDs). Our system avoids custom FPGA-based readouts and instead uses commercially available software radio hardware for ADC/DAC and a GPU to handle real time signal processing. Because this system is written in common C++/CUDA, the range of different algorithms that can be quickly implemented make it suitable for the readout of many others cryogenic detectors and for the testing of different and possibly more effective data acquisition schemes.