Abstract of MAGPICP Project

Radio-frequency sheaths are a well-known phenomenon in low-temperature plasmas, but they also occur in magnetically confined plasmas designed for fusion applications, particularly when electromagnetic heating techniques are employed. The behaviour of the sheaths in this context is of interest both because of the effect on erosion of plasma facing surfaces by sputtering and possible effects on the stability of the plasma near the wall, with possible consequences for the efficiency of plasma heating. The MagPic code is a newly developed Particle-in-Cell Monte-Carlo code that simulates radio-frequency sheaths in the presence of external magnetic field. It is currently being used to study the effect of magnetic field angle on sheath behaviour in conditions that are suitable for comparison with experiment and relevant to those found in fusion devices. The kinetic approach adopted by MagPic can potentially reveal behaviour not accounted for in current fluid and analytical models used to represent the effects of the sheath. This can improve the reliability and effectiveness of simulations used in the design of radio-frequency heating systems and aid in the development of future simulation tools.

The MagPic code does not currently include any MPI capabilities and so is restricted to relatively small problems in one spatial dimension, limiting its applicability to real world radio- frequency antenna designs. The support of an expert in parallel processing to develop full MPI capability will allow efficient operation of the code on High Performance Computer systems leading to simulations in two dimensions. This will allow the behaviour of sheaths in realistic radio-frequency antenna geometries to be studied.