Three-dimensional simulations of ion dynamics in the plasma of an Electron Cyclotron Resonance Ion Source

Abstract

The ion production in an ECRIS is modelled using a particle-in-cell Monte-Carlo collision code in a three-dimensional geometry. Only the heavy particles (ions and atoms) are tracked, with the electron density determined from the requirement of quasi-neutrality, and the electron temperature is a free parameter. The electric fields in the plasma are assumed to be negligibly small, and the ion confinement due to a "potential dip" is neglected. It is found that experimentally observed features of ECRIS plasma are closely reproduced by the code, including the charge-state-distributions of extracted ion beams and sputtering patterns inside the source. The isotope anomaly is observed for the mixture of 20Ne + 22Ne isotopes, and some explanation for the effect is given. Possible connection between the wall-coating effect and parameters of the fast atoms created in collisions of the ions with the walls is discussed.

arXiv comment29 pages, 13 figures

References in corpus (1)

• Ionization balance for optically thin plasmas: rate coefficients for all atoms and ions of the elements H to Ni

Cited by in corpus (4)

• PANDORA a New Facility for Interdisciplinary In-Plasma Physics
• Numerical model of Electron Cyclotron Resonance Ion Source
• Method for estimating charge breeder ECR ion source plasma parameters with short pulse 1+ injection
• Optimization of a charge-state analyzer for ECRIS beams