Three-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations of ion diodes on PBFA II

Summary form only given. The 3-D particle-in-cell code QUICKSILVER is being used to simulate applied-B ion diode configurations on the PBFA II (particle beam fusion accelerator II) accelerator. These simulations are done in cylindrical coordinates, using realistic diode geometries (with "stair-stepped" conductors), together with the externally applied magnetic field actually used for the given geometry. The external field itself is azimuthally symmetric, since it is computed with a 2-D magnetic diffusion solver, but the dynamic field solver and particle kinematics are fully three-dimensional. Preliminary results of these simulations indicate that the overall performance of the diode is sensitive to the magnetic field shape.