High-Performance Three-Dimensional Simulation Code for Laser Plasma Accelerators and Plasma Processing of Integrated Circuits, with a Graphical User Interface--Tech-X Corporation, 5541 Central Avenue, Suite 135, Boulder, CO 80301; 303-448-0727
Dr. David L. Bruhwiler, Principal Investigator
Dr. John R. Cary, Business Official
DOE Grant No. DE-FG03-99ER82903
Amount: $749,922

Plasma wakefield accelerators can produce accelerating gradients many orders of magnitude higher than those of conventional structures, opening exciting possibilities for shorter and higher-energy electron linacs. However, in order to maximize the potential of these accelerators, new particle simulation codes, incorporating new concepts in physics, are needed to support on-going experiments and improve beam quality. This project will develop a suite of 1-D, 2-D and 3-D particle-in-cell (PIC) simulation codes, with relativistic collision models. The 2-D and 3-D codes will simulate plasma accelerator experiments and new concepts, while the 1-D code will simulate radio frequency sheaths for industrial processing applications In Phase I, alternative approaches were evaluated, after which an existing PIC code was chosen. This code was run on the Cray T3E supercomputer, and a variety of new features were added, allowing for successful 2-D simulation of an on-going plasma wakefield experiment. In Phase II, a 3-D version of the code will be further developed to make it suitable for laser-plasma accelerator simulations. Parallel input and output of large data sets, with sophisticated 3-D visualization of fields and particles, will be added to the 2-D and 3-D codes. These codes will be used to model plasma accelerator experiments and to study new accelerating concepts. A 1-D PIC code will be developed to simulate plasma sheaths in plasma processing experiments.

Commercial Applications and Other Benefits as described by the awardee: The codes developed may find utility in plasma processing and microwave electron tube industries. The 2-D and 3-D codes will be suitable for simulating a variety of plasma accelerator and microwave tube systems.