METHES: A Monte Carlo collision code for the simulation of electron transport in low temperature plasmas

Abstract

We present a freely available MATLAB code for the simulation of electron transport in arbitrary gas mixtures in the presence of uniform electric fields. For steady-state electron transport, the program provides the transport coefficients, reaction rates and the electron energy distribution function. The program uses established Monte Carlo techniques and is compatible with the electron scattering cross section files from the open-access Plasma Data Exchange Project LXCat. The code is written in object-oriented design, allowing the tracing and visualization of the spatiotemporal evolution of electron swarms and the temporal development of the mean energy and the electron number due to attachment and/or ionization processes. We benchmark our code with well-known model gases as well as the real gases argon, N2, O2, CF4, SF6 and mixtures of N2 and O2. Program summaryProgram title: METHESCatalogue identifier: AEZY_v1_0Program summary URL:http://cpc.cs.qub.ac.uk/summaries/AEZY_v1_0.htmlProgram obtainable from: CPC Program Library, Queen’s University, Belfast, N. IrelandLicensing provisions: GNU General Public License, version 3No. of lines in distributed program, including test data, etc.: 28945No. of bytes in distributed program, including test data, etc.: 515278Distribution format: tar.gzProgramming language: MATLAB R2014 (very likely compatible with earlier versions).Computer: Any which supports MATLAB.Operating system: Any which supports MATLAB.RAM: Variable, depending on number of electronsClassification: 19.11.Nature of problem: Simulation of electron transport in arbitrary gas mixtures in the presence of electric fields.Solution method: Monte Carlo Method.Running time: Depending on the computer and the desired precision of results between several minutes and several hours.