Studies of the ECR plasma using the TrapCAD code

TrapCAD is a PC-code available for simulating both the lost and non-lost electrons moving inside an ECRIS (electron-cyclotron-resonance ion source) plasma. At GANIL and elsewhere, many types of ECRIS exist, and with this code it is possible to simulate the behaviour of the electrons within different plasma conditions and to make comparisons for a better understanding of the range of performance of these ion sources. Furthermore, studies of the spatial and energy evolution of the trapped electrons in a magnetic mirror configuration should provide more readily available information on the performance of ECR ion sources. This work has shown that reliable results can be obtained from such a simulation, especially for comparison purposes. Furthermore, each ion source can be characterized by qualitative values such as energy content or energy distribution of both the lost and non-lost electrons. In addition the results provide a method of finding the optimal frequency for a particular type of ECRIS and can also be useful for designing new ion sources.