Full-Wave Maxwell Simulation on R-Mode Tunneling in Electron Cyclotron Resonance Heating Study

A new numerical scheme for electromagnetic wave tracing is presented in place of the standard ray-tracing method in studies of electron cyclotron resonance heating. The new method solves the full-wave Maxwell equation, and can take into account wave diffraction, mode conversion (or, cross-polarization scattering), and wave tunneling across an evanescent region between resonance and cutoff layers, in addition to estimating energy absorption due to wave-particle resonances. One and two-dimensional simulations of electromagnetic wave tunneling are also demonstrated.