Simulation Study of the ECRIPAC Accelerator Concept

The Electron Cyclotron Resonance Ion Plasma ACcelerator (ECRIPAC) is an innovative accelerator concept proposed in the nineties able to produce very energetic pulsed ion beams, suitable for a wide array of applications. The simple and well mastered techniques involved in the system (magnetic field and radiofrequency), along with the compactness of the device, are a strong motivation to further investigate the concept. Due to the lack of literature regarding the topic, the realization of a complete and self-consistent simulation of this device is of great interest to better understand its working principle and assess its feasibility. This work proposes a summary of the ECRIPAC accelerator investigations carried out recently. First, the ECRIPAC system and its working principle are presented. Next, a summary of the theoretical investigation results is presented, leading to the definition of a compact machine design able to accelerate fully ionized helium ions up to 9.5 MeV per nucleon within a 1.8 m long accelerating cavity. Finally, the electron population behaviour inside the proposed accelerator design is studied using a Monte Carlo Particle-tracking code, already developed and tested on ECR ion sources. The simulations allowed to validate the theoretical treatment of ECRIPAC and to investigate the effect of several physical parameters on the electron behaviour during the operation of the accelerator.