Chapter 1 – Introduction¶
Welcome¶
Welcome to CST Studio Suite for Particle Dynamics Simulation, the powerful and easyto-use electromagnetic field and charged particle dynamics simulation software. This program combines a user-friendly interface with high simulation performance.
Please refer to the CST Studio Suite Getting Started manual first. The following explanations assume that you have already installed the software and familiarized yourself with the basic concepts of the user interface.
How to Get Started Quickly¶
We recommend that you proceed as follows:
- Read the CST Studio Suite - Getting Started manual.
- Work through this document carefully. It provides all the basic information necessary to understand the advanced documentation.
- Look at the examples provided in the Component Library (File: Component Library Examples). Especially the examples which are tagged as Tutorial provide detailed information of a specific simulation workflow. Press the Help button of the individual component to get to the help page of this component. Please note that all these examples are designed to give you a basic insight into a particular application domain. Real-world applications are typically much more complex and harder to understand if you are not familiar with the basic concepts.
- Start with your own first example. Choose a reasonably simple example, which will allow you to quickly become familiar with the software.
- After you have worked through your first example, contact technical support for hints on possible improvements to achieve even more efficient usage of the software.
CST Studio Suite for Particle Dynamics Simulation¶
CST Studio Suite for Particle Dynamics Simulation is a fully featured software package for the design and analysis of electromagnetic components for accelerating and guiding charged particle beams. It simplifies the structure generation by providing a powerful solid modeling front end based on the industry-standard ACIS modeling kernel. Strong graphical feedback simplifies the definition of your device even further. After the component has been modeled, a fully automatic meshing procedure (based on an expert system) is applied for the electromagnetic computation before the simulation engine is started.
The simulators support the Perfect Boundary Approximation (PBA) feature, which increases the accuracy of the electromagnetic simulation significantly in comparison to conventional simulators. To calculate electromagnetic fields and analyze particle dynamics this software contains four different solvers: a time domain Wakefield simulator, a time domain Electromagnetic Particle-in-Cell solver, an Electrostatic Particle-in-Cell solver and a Particle Tracking solver.
Additionally, CST Studio Suite for Thermal and Mechanical Simulation allows subsequent multiphysical analysis.
If you are unsure which solver best suits your needs, contact your local sales office for further assistance.
Each solver's simulation results can be visualized with a variety of different options. Again, a strongly interactive interface will help you to achieve the desired insight into your device quickly.
The last – but not least – outstanding feature is the full parameterization of the structure modeler, which enables the use of variables in the definition of your component. In combination with the built-in optimizer and parameter sweep tools, CST Studio Suite for Particle Dynamics Simulation is capable of both the analysis and design of particle accelerating devices.
Who Uses CST Studio Suite for Particle Dynamics Simulation?¶
Anyone who has to deal with electromagnetic problems that involve the effect of charged particle dynamics will greatly benefit from using CST Studio Suite. The program is especially suited to the fast, efficient analysis and design of components like electron guns, deflecting devices, guiding configurations and more. Since the underlying method is a general 3D approach, CST Studio Suite for Particle Dynamics Simulation can solve virtually any field problem that involves interaction with charged particles.
The software is based on an electromagnetic solving method, which requires the discretization of the entire calculation volume; for this reason the applications are limited only by the complexity of the structure.
Key Features for Particle Dynamics Simulation¶
The following list gives you an overview of the main features for this part of CST Studio Suite. Please note that not all of these features may be available to you because of license restrictions. Please contact a sales office for more information.
General¶
Graphical user interface for Windows 10, Windows Server 2016/2019, Windows 11 and Windows Server 2022
The structure can be viewed either as a 3D model or as a schematic. The latter allows a parametrized approach of coupled simulation with our System Assembly and Modeling workflow.
Various independent solver strategies allow accurate results with a high performance
For specific solvers, highly advanced numerical techniques offer features like Perfect Boundary Approximation (PBA) ® for hexahedral grids and curved and higher order elements for tetrahedral meshes
Structure Modeling¶
Advanced ACIS-based, parametric solid modeling front end with excellent structure visualization
Feature-based hybrid modeler allows quick structural changes
Import of 3D CAD data from ACIS SAT (e.g. AutoCAD®), ACIS SAB, Autodesk Inventor®, IGES, VDA-FS, STEP, Pro/ENGINEER®, CATIA®, Siemens NX, Parasolid, Solid Edge, SolidWorks, CoventorWare®, Mecadtron®, NASTRAN, STL or OBJ files
Import of 2D CAD data from DXF™, GDSII and Gerber RS274X, RS274D files
Import of EDA data from design flows including Cadence Allegro® / APD® / SiP®, Mentor Graphics HyperLynx®, Zuken CR-5000® / CR-8000®, IPC-2581 and ODB++® (e.g. Altium Designer, Mentor Graphics Expedition / PADS / Boardstation®, CADSTAR®, Visula®)
Import of PCB designs originating from CST PCB Studio®
Import of 2D and 3D sub models
Import of Agilent ADS® layouts
Import of Sonnet® EM models
Import of a visible human model dataset or other voxel datasets
Export of CAD data to ACIS SAT, ACIS SAB, IGES, STEP, NASTRAN, STL, DXF™, GDSII, Gerber or POV files
Parameterization for imported CAD files
Material database
Structure templates for simplified problem setup
Particle Tracking Simulator¶
Arbitrary shaped particle source surfaces
Circular particle sources with spatially inhomogeneous current distribution
Particle interfaces for coupling of tracking/tracking or tracking/PIC simulations
ASCII emission data imports based on particle interfaces
Static-, eigenmode- and multiple external field distributions as source fields
Support for hexahedral as well as linear and curved tetrahedral meshes
Import of tetrahedral and hexahedral source fields into simulations
Space charge limited, plasma-sheath, thermionic (Child’s Law and Langmuir-Fry model), fixed and field-induced emission model
Oblique emission
Secondary electron emission induced by ions or electrons as material property
Optically stimulated electron emission
Material specific Monte-Carlo collision modelling:
o Volume ionization due to electron impact
o Volume ionization due to ion impact
o Neutral atom excitation due to electrons
o Elastic collisions between electrons and neutral gas
o Elastic collisions between ions and neutral gas
Definable material transparency of sheets for particles
Consideration of space charge via gun iteration
Consideration of self-magnetic fields in gun iteration
Analysis of extracted particle current and space charge
Monitoring of beam cross-section, phase-space diagram and other statistical data of the beam
Emittance calculation
Thermal coupling (export of thermal loss distribution from crashed particles)
Automatic parameter studies using built-in parameter sweep tool
Automatic structure optimization for arbitrary goals using built-in optimizer
Network distributed computing for remote computations
Coupled simulations with the Thermal Solver from CST Studio Suite
Support of Linux batch mode
Note: some solvers features may be available for hexahedral or tetrahedral meshes only.
Electrostatic Particle-in-Cell Simulator¶
Arbitrary shaped particle source surfaces
Circular particle sources with spatially inhomogeneous current distribution
Volumetric particle source featuring Maxwellian distribution
Particle interfaces for coupling of tracking/tracking or tracking/PIC simulations
ASCII emission data imports based on particle interfaces
Static-, eigenmode- and multiple external field distributions as source fields
Support for hexahedral as well as linear and curved tetrahedral meshes
Import of tetrahedral and hexahedral source fields into simulations
Gaussian-, DC-, field induced- and explosive emission model
Oblique emission
Secondary electron emission induced by ions or electrons as material property
Material specific Monte-Carlo collision modelling:
o Volume ionization due to electron impact
o Volume ionization due to ion impact
o Neutral atom excitation due to electrons
o Elastic collisions between electrons and neutral gas
o Elastic collisions between ions and neutral gas
Definable material transparency of sheets for particles
Analysis of extracted particle current and space charge
User defined excitation signals and signal database
Monitoring of beam cross-section, phase-space diagram and other statistical data of the beam
Particle Monitors on Solids or Boundaries including Energy Histogram
Phase space monitoring
Thermal coupling (export of thermal loss distribution from crashed particles)
Online visualization of intermediate results during simulation
Periodic boundary conditions for particles and the hexahedral field solver
Particle merging
PEC charging due to colliding particles
Automatic parameter studies using built-in parameter sweep tool
Automatic structure optimization for arbitrary goals using built-in optimizer
Network distributed computing for remote computations
Coupled simulations with the Thermal Solver from CST Studio Suite
Support of Linux batch mode
Single-GPU acceleration for hexahedral meshes (not all solver features are supported)
Note: some solvers features may be available for hexahedral or tetrahedral meshes only.
Particle-in-Cell Simulator¶
Arbitrary shaped particle source surfaces
Circular particle sources with spatially inhomogeneous current distribution
Circular particle source in open boundaries
Volumetric particle source featuring Maxwellian distribution
Gaussian-, DC-, field induced- and explosive emission model
Oblique emission
Particle interfaces for coupling of tracking and PIC simulations
ASCII emission data imports based on particle interfaces
Selection of active Particle Sources
Static-, eigenmode- and multiple external field distributions as additional source fields
Import of tetrahedral source fields
Automatic detection of multipaction breakdown
Thermal coupling (export of thermal loss distribution from crashed particles)
Periodic boundary conditions for particles
Support for Single- / Multi-GPU acceleration
Single node parallelization
Support of Linux batch mode
Online visualization of intermediate results during simulation
Calculation of field distributions as a function of time or at multiple selected frequencies from one simulation run
Time domain monitoring of particle position and momentum
Particle Monitors on Solids or Boundaries including Energy Histogram
Time domain monitoring of output power
Time domain monitoring of particle current density
Phase space monitoring
Emittance calculation
Secondary electron emission induced by ions or electrons as material property
Material specific volume ionization due to electron impact based on Monte-Carlo collision model
Definable material transparency of sheets for particles
Isotropic and anisotropic material properties
Frequency dependent material properties with arbitrary order for permittivity and permeability as well as a material parameter fitting functionality
Field-dependent microwave plasma and gyrotropic materials (magnetized ferrites)
Non-linear material models (Kerr, Raman)
Surface impedance models (tabulated surface impedance, Ohmic sheet, lossy metal, corrugated wall, material coating)
Frequency dependent multilayered thin panel materials (isotropic and symmetric)
Time dependent conductive materials
Port mode calculation by a 2D eigenmode solver in the frequency domain
Efficient calculation of higher order port modes by specifying target frequency
Automatic waveguide port mesh adaptation
Multipin ports for TEM mode ports with multiple conductors
User defined excitation signals and signal database
Charge absorbing open boundaries for CPU solver
High performance radiating/absorbing boundary conditions
Conducting wall boundary conditions
Calculation of various electromagnetic quantities such as electric fields, magnetic fields, surface currents, power flows, current densities, power loss densities, electric energy densities, magnetic energy densities, voltages or currents in time and frequency domain
Calculation of time averaged power loss volume monitors
Calculation of time averaged surface losses
Discrete edge and face elements (lumped resistors) as ports
Ideal voltage and current sources
Discrete edge and face R, L, C, and (nonlinear) diode elements at any location in the structure
Automatic parameter studies using built-in parameter sweep tool
Automatic structure optimization for arbitrary goals using built-in optimizer
Network distributed computing for remote computations
Support for Transient Co-Simulation with CST Design Studio™
Coupled simulations with the Thermal Solver from CST Studio Suite
Wakefield Simulator¶
Particle beam excitation for ultra-relativistic and non-relativistic beams
Transmission line injection scheme (improved dispersion characteristics)
Arbitrary particle beam shapes for ultra-relativistic beams
Automatic wake-potential calculation
Automatic wake-impedance, loss and kick factor calculation
Wakefield postprocessor allows to recompute wake impedances
Mesh settings for particle beams
Direct and two indirect wake-integration methods available
MPI Cluster parallelization via domain decomposition
Support of Linux batch mode
Efficient calculation for loss-free and lossy structures
Calculation of field distributions as a function of time or at multiple selected frequencies from one simulation run
Adaptive mesh refinement in 3D
Isotropic and anisotropic material properties
Frequency dependent material properties
Gyrotropic materials (magnetized ferrites)
Surface impedance model for good conductors
Port mode calculation by a 2D eigenmode solver in the frequency domain
Automatic waveguide port mesh adaptation
Multipin ports for TEM mode ports with multiple conductors
High performance absorbing boundary conditions also for charged particle beams
Conducting wall boundary conditions
Calculation of various electromagnetic quantities such as electric fields, magnetic fields, surface currents, power flows, current densities, power loss densities, electric energy densities, magnetic energy densities, voltages or currents in time and frequency domain
Calculation of time averaged power loss volume monitors
Calculation of time averaged surface losses
Discrete edge and face elements (lumped resistors) as ports
Ideal voltage and current sources
Discrete edge and face R, L, C, and (nonlinear) diode elements at any location in the structure
Automatic parameter studies using built-in parameter sweep tool
Automatic structure optimization for arbitrary goals using built-in optimizer
Network distributed computing for optimizations, parameter sweeps and multiple port/mode excitations
Support for Transient Co-Simulation with CST Design Studio™
Coupled simulations with the Thermal Solver from CST Studio Suite
Eigenmode Simulator¶
Calculation of modal field distributions in closed loss-free or lossy structures
Support of hexahedral meshes as well as linear and curved tetrahedral meshes
Isotropic and anisotropic materials
Multithread parallelization
Adaptive mesh refinement in 3D using eigenmode frequencies as stop criteria, with True Geometry Adaptation
Periodic boundary conditions including phase shift
Calculation of losses and internal / external Q-factors for each mode (directly or using perturbation method)
Discrete L,C elements at any location in the structure
Target frequency can be set (calculation within the frequency interval)
Calculation of all eigenmodes in a given frequency interval
Sensitivity analysis with respect to materials and geometric deformations defined by face constraints (with tetrahedral mesh)
Automatic Lorentz force calculation
Introduction of a General (Lossy) solver
Support of Open Boundary conditions for accurate internal / external Q-factors calculation
Support Tetrahedral mesh only with automatic Adaptive mesh refinement
Automatic parameter studies using built-in parameter sweep tool
Automatic structure optimization for arbitrary goals using built-in optimizer
Network distributed computing for optimizations and parameter sweeps
Coupled simulations with the Thermal Solver from CST Studio Suite
Electrostatics Simulator¶
Isotropic and (coordinate-dependent) anisotropic material properties
Sources: potentials, charges on conductors (floating potentials), uniform volumeand surface-charge densities
Force calculation
Capacitance calculation
Electric / magnetic / tangential / normal / open / fixed-potential boundary conditions
Periodic boundary conditions for hexahedral meshes
Perfect conducting sheets and wires
Discrete edge capacitive elements at any location in the structure
Adaptive mesh refinement in 3D
Automatic parameter studies using built-in parameter sweep tool
Automatic structure optimization for arbitrary goals using built-in optimizer
Network distributed computing for optimizations, parameter sweeps and remote calculations
Coupled simulations with the Mechanical Solver from CST Studio Suite
Magnetostatics Simulator¶
Isotropic and (coordinate-dependent) anisotropic material properties
Nonlinear material properties
Laminated material properties
Sources: coils, permanent magnets, current paths, external fields, stationary current fields
Discrete edge inductances at any location in the structure
Force calculation
Inductance calculation
Flux linkages
Electric / magnetic / tangential / normal / open boundary conditions
Adaptive mesh refinement in 3D
Automatic parameter studies using built-in parameter sweep tool
Automatic structure optimization for arbitrary goals using built-in optimizer
Network distributed computing for optimizations, parameter sweeps and remote calculations
Coupled simulations with the Mechanical Solver from CST Studio Suite
Visualization and Secondary Result Calculation¶
Multiple 1D result view support
Import and visualization of external xy-data
Copy / Paste of xy-datasets
Fast access to parametric data by interactive tuning sliders
Automatic parametric 1D result storage
Displays port modes (with propagation constant, impedance, etc.)
Various field visualization options in 2D and 3D for electric fields, magnetic fields, power flows, surface currents, etc.
Animation of field distributions
Particle and secondary electrons vs. time 1D plots (PIC)
Collision event monitors for Monte-Carlo collisions
Current/Power 1D plot of emitted and absorbed particles (PIC)
Wave-Particle Power Transfer (PIC)
Animation of 2D and 3D particle positions / momenta (PIC)
Visualization of 3D particle trajectories (Tracking)
Combined Visualization of 2D/3D fields and particle positions (PIC)
Visualization of thermal loss distribution due to particle collisions with solids
Display of source definitions in 3D
Display of nonlinear material curves in xy-plots
Display of material distributions for materials with nonlinear permeability
Animation of field distributions
Display and integration of 2D and 3D fields along arbitrary curves
Integration of 3D fields across arbitrary faces
Hierarchical result templates for automated extraction and visualization of arbitrary results from various simulation runs. These data can also be used for the definition of optimization goals.
Result Export¶
Export of result data such as fields, curves, etc. as ASCII files
Export of particle data as ASCII files
Export screen shots of result field plots
Automation¶
Powerful VBA (Visual Basic for Applications) compatible macro language including editor and macro debugger
OLE automation for seamless integration into the Windows environment (Microsoft Office®, MATLAB®, AutoCAD®, MathCAD®, Windows Scripting Host, etc.)
About This Manual¶
This manual is primarily designed to enable a quick start with CST Studio Suite for Particle Dynamics Simulation. It is not intended to be a complete reference guide to all the available features but will give you an overview of key concepts. Understanding these concepts will allow you to learn how to use the software efficiently with the help of the online documentation.
The main part of the manual is the Simulation Workflow (Chapter 2) which will guide you through the most important features of CST Studio Suite for Particle Dynamics Simulation. We strongly encourage you to study this chapter carefully.
Document Conventions¶
Buttons that should be pressed within dialog boxes are always written in italics, e.g. OK.
Key combinations are always joined with a plus (+) sign. Ctrl+S means that you should hold down the Ctrl key while pressing the S key.
The program’s features can be accessed through a Ribbon command bar at the top of the main window. The commands are organized in a series of tabs within the Ribbon. In this document a command is printed as follows: Tab name: Group name Button name Command name. This means that you should activate the proper tab first and then press the button Command name, which belongs to the group Group name. If a keyboard shortcut exists, it is shown in brackets after the command. Example: View: Change View Reset View (Space)
The project data is accessible through the navigation tree on the left side of the application’s main window. An item of the navigation tree is referenced in the following way: NT: Tree folder Sub folder Tree item.
Example: NT: 1D Results Port Signals i1
Your Feedback¶
We are constantly striving to improve the quality of our software documentation. If you have any comments regarding the documentation, please send them to your support center: 3DS.com/Support.