Modeling Ion extraction from an ECR Ion source

Electron cyclotron resonance ion sources (ECRIS) that generate multiply charged ions reduce the cost to produce radioactive ion beams by reducing the accelerating voltage needed to achieve the desired beam energy. FAR-TECH, Inc. is developing an integrated suite of numerical codes to simulate ECRIS ion capture, charge breeding, and ion extraction. Ion extraction is modeled with a particle in cell (PIC) type code. Since the ion dynamics are strongly dependent on the shape of the narrow plasma sheath (plasma meniscus) at the boundary between the ECRIS plasma and the ion optics, the PIC code uses an adaptive Poisson solver to accurately resolve the sheath.