The Combined Boris-Cyclotronic Integrator for Axially Symmetric Penning Ion Source Simulation

<p class="Abstract">A combined Boris-Cyclotronic particle integrator scheme has been implemented in a 2D axially symmetric Penning ion source simulation program. The particle-in-cell based simulation program was intended to be used for Penning ion source optimization. The combination was done by using cyclotronic integrator in cylindrical coordinates for electrons while ions were integrated using Boris algorithm (Boris-Cyclotronic scheme). To benchmark the improvement of the program, the results were compared with the results obtained when electrons were integrated using Boris algorithm (All-Boris scheme), which is a simpler and more common scheme for the integration of the equation of motion. The results showed that Boris-Cyclotronic scheme had a better long-term accuracy compared to All-Boris scheme, as indicated by the absence of non-axial velocity damping. The damping would effectively decrease the kinetic energy of the particle, which would affect the rate of close-range interactions such as elastic collisions, excitation, and ionization. It was shown that the plasma simulated using All-Boris scheme could not be sustained, while the one simulated using Boris-Cyclotronic scheme achieved a steady state after large iterations.</p>