Verification and validation of the open-source code PICLas for radio-frequency capacitively coupled plasma discharges

In this talk, we verify and validate PICLas, an open-source software for simulating rarefied gas and plasma dynamics. It provides a framework for Particle-in-Cell, Direct Simulation Monte Carlo and other particle-based methods, making it a versatile tool for studying complex flow phenomena in low-pressure environments. PICLas has been extensively verified and validated for the simulation of space applications such as spacecraft re-entry and electric propulsion. For industrial applications, the software shall be verified and validated for the simulation of low-pressure capacitively coupled plasma discharges. For this purpose, a step-by-step verification process of the Particle-in-Cell with Monte Carlo Collisions models will be presented, which is based on established benchmark cases available in literature. First, simple 0D test cases with increasing difficulty are utilized to separately verify different parts of the code. Second, the well-known 1D Turner et al. setup of a radio-frequency discharge between two planar plates is used for a code-to-code comparison. Finally, the 2D axisymmetric GEC reference cell is simulated and compared with available numerical results and experimental measurements.