Modelling RF-plasma interaction in ECR ion sources

Abstract

This paper describes three-dimensional self-consistent numerical simulations of wave propagation in magnetoplasmas of Electron cyclotron resonance ion sources (ECRIS). Numerical results can give useful information on the distribution of the absorbed RF power and/or efficiency of RF heating, especially in the case of alternative schemes such as mode-conversion based heating scenarios. Ray-tracing approximation is allowed only for small wavelength compared to the system scale lengths: as a consequence, full-wave solutions of Maxwell-Vlasov equation must be taken into account in compact and strongly inhomogeneous ECRIS plasmas. This contribution presents a multi-scale temporal domains approach for simultaneously including RF dynamics and plasma kinetics in a “cold-plasma”, and some perspectives for “hot-plasma” implementation. The presented results rely with the attempt to establish a modal-conversion scenario of OXB-type in double frequency heating inside an ECRIS testbench.