Whole Ion Optics Simulations of a Subscale Gridlet Using a Hybrid-Grid IFE-PIC Code

A fully three dimensional ion optics simulation model is developed based on the recently developed immersed–finite–element particle–in–cell algorithm (IFE–PIC). The new model is called the Hybrid–Grid IFE–PIC. This model uses two different meshes for the IFE field solver and the PIC code. While the PIC mesh is a uniform Cartesian mesh, the IFE mesh is a stretched Cartesian-based tetrahedral mesh. This new meshing technique is used to enhance the computational efficiency of the IFE–PIC code. The HG–IFE–PIC code is applied to study the whole ion optics of a subscale ion optics gridlet. All simulations were performed on regular PCs in a reasonable computational time.