Hybrid PIC acceleration schemes for PDPs

A 2d particle in cell code (PIC) with Monte Carlo collisions (XOOPIC(Verboncoeur, et. al., Comp. Phys. Com., 87 (1995))) is used to model breakdown of an atmospheric pressure Ne/Xe gas in 3-electrode ac plasma display panels (PDP). Particle models are required in order to properly resolve ionization rates, electron distribution functions, ion fluxes, and the spatial distribution of charge deposited on the dielectric surfaces. Kinetic simulation of plasmas in which equilibrium occurs over ion time scales poses a computational challenge due to the disparate time scales of the electron and ion plasma frequencies, ion transit and ionization frequencies. In order to retain the spatial and temporal evolution from the early stages of breakdown through the end of glow discharge, it is necessary to employ various methods for accelerating the simulation. Among the methods explored in this paper are hybrid PIC-fluid models such as a PIC/Boltzmann hybrid and parallelizing the particle push. The PIC/Boltzmann hybrid electrostatic algorithms allow the electrons to reach thermodynamic equilibrium with the ions each time step, using the nonlinear Boltzmann relationship for the electrons with PIC ion and electron source terms.