Numerical Modeling of Plasma Devices by the Particle-In-Cell Method on Unstructured Grids

Abstract

The paper considers methods and algorithms providing the basis for a computer program implementing an axial-symmetric electrostatic version of the particle-in-cell method on unstructured triangular grids. In the presented implementation, the Poisson equation is approximated using the finite volume method. A discrete analog of the Poisson equation is solved by the multigrid method. Charged particle trajectories are calculated using the Boris method. Methods for interpolating electrostatic fields on unstructured grids and obtaining the charge density in the computational domain are considered. Special attention is paid to the specifics of implementing these methods in axisymmetric geometry. The developed computer code is tested on the problem of a flat diode operating in the space charge mode.