  Scatter-gather dynamic-memory-access (SG-DMA) is utilized in applications
that require high bandwidth and low latency data transfers between memory and
peripherals, where data blocks, described using buffer descriptors (BDs), are
distributed throughout the memory system. The data transfer organization and
requirements of a Trapped-Ion Quantum Computer (TIQC) possess characteristics
similar to those targeted by SG-DMA. In particular, the ion qubits in a TIQC
are manipulated by applying control sequences consisting primarily of modulated
laser pulses. These optical pulses are defined by parameters that are
(re)configured by the electrical control system. Variations in the operating
environment and equipment make it necessary to create and run a wide range of
control sequence permutations, which can be well represented as BD regions
distributed across the main memory. In this paper, we experimentally evaluate
the latency and throughput of SG-DMA on Xilinx radiofrequency SoC (RFSoC)
devices under a variety of BD and payload sizes as a means of determining the
benefits and limitations of an RFSoC system architecture for TIQC applications.
