A simulation suite for readout with SMuRF tone-tracking electronics

TL;DR

This paper introduces a Python-based simulation suite that models the SMuRF readout electronics for superconducting microwave resonator detectors, aiding in understanding and optimizing the readout process for experiments like BICEP/Keck and the Simons Observatory.

Contribution

The paper provides a detailed software simulation tool that replicates SMuRF electronics behavior, including calibration and tone tracking algorithms, for offline analysis and system optimization.

Findings

Simulation accurately models detector readout outputs.

Enables analysis of readout parameter impacts on data quality.

Supports offline study of potential biases and errors.

Abstract

We present the details of a simulation suite for modeling the effects of readout with SLAC Microresonator RF (SMuRF) electronics. The SMuRF electronics are a warm readout and control system for use with superconducting microwave resonator-based detector systems. The system has been used with the BICEP/Keck program and will be used on the upcoming Simons Observatory and BICEP Array experiments. This simulation suite is a software implementation of the main SMuRF algorithms for offline analysis, modeling, and study. The firmware-implemented algorithms for calibration, resonator frequency estimation, and tone tracking present sources of potential bias or errors if not modeled properly. The simulator takes as input true detector signal, realistic resonator properties, and SMuRF-related user-controlled readout settings. It returns the final flux ramp-demodulated output of a detector timestream as would be passed to the experiment data acquisition system, enabling the analysis of the impact of readout-related parameters on the final science data. It is publicly available in Python with accompanying Jupyter notebooks for user tutorials.