SIMION 2020 Supplemental Documentation¶
This “Supplementary Documentation” covers SIMION topics in addition to those in the SIMION User Manual. Content is organized in a wiki-like format. Note: this online version of the documentation is abridged from the full documentation included in SIMION. See the “Help > Browse Documentation” menu in SIMION for the full version of this documentation.
- Starting points
- For new users
- SIMION® - What is SIMION?
- SIMION brochures: six-page PDF brochure | two-page PDF flyer - provide general background
- Examples (view screenshots)
- Read the first two chapters of the SIMION manual, available online. SIMION User Manual
- A Tour of the SIMION Demo - try out the demo version and follow along
- Screencasts
- For users of older versions of SIMION, what changed:
- SIMION Advances - all major changes
- SIMION® 8.2 - changes from 8.1 to 8.2 (2019)
- SIMION® 8.1 - changes from 8.0 to 8.1
- SIMION® 8.0 - changes from 7.0 to 8.0
- SIMION® Roadmap (8.2 and Beyond)
- SIMION Software Change Log - very detailed list of differences between SIMION versions
- Major resources:
- Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
- SIMION User Manual
- SIMION Info - latest online copy of a subset of this documentations
- Installation
- SIMION® Quick Start Notes - start here
- License for SIMION
- System Requirements | Linux | Mac OS
- For new users
- Background Topics
- Accuracy - warnings about simulations
- Light Optics - how does electron optics compare to light optics
- practical matters
- Basic Physics
- Chapter 2 “SIMION Basics” in SIMION User Manual
- Lorentz Force Law
- Electric fields
- Bird’s Eye View / Files Composing Simulations
- A Tour of the SIMION Demo - try out the demo version and follow along
- Chapter 2.6 “Building your First Simulation from Scratch” in SIMION User Manual
- Chapter 3 “Roadmap and Directions” in SIMION User Manual
- ION File / FLY File / FLY2 File
- GEM Geometry File
- Potential Array | Potential Array File Types (Comparison) | Writing PA0 Files
- Workbench .IOB File
- Lua
- Defining geometries
- Chapter 4 “Creating, Loading, and Saving Potential Arrays” of SIMION User Manual
- Geometry Input Methods
- Potential Array | Potential Array File Types (Comparison)
- Modify screen - Chapter 5. Modify in SIMION User Manual
- GEM Geometry File
- Read appendix in SIMION User Manual on GEM files.
- View example GEM files SIMION Example: geometry
- Explore new GEM2 syntax GEM Geometry File (advanced)
- Manipulating SIMION Potential Arrays Programmatically (advanced)
- SL Tools | SL Tools Tutorial | Converting from 3D CAD (STL) Format to PA Format
- Refining geometries
- Chapter 6 “Refining and Fast Adjusting Potential Arrays” in SIMION User Manual
- Refine
- Anisotropically Scaled Grid Cells in SIMION [8.1]
- Electrode Surface Enhancement / Fractional Grid Units - [8.1]
- PA Antimirroring
- Additional Fast Proportional Scaling Solutions - [8.0.3]
- Multiple PAs
- Poisson Solver in SIMION
- Magnetic Potential
- Field Emission
- Putting PA’s in a Workbench
- Chapter 7.1-7.2 “The Ion’s Optics Workbench” of the SIMION User Manual
- Visualization and field plotting
- Chapter 7.3. Accessing SIMION’s View Function
- Chapter 7.4. Controlling the View
- Chapter 7.5. Controls on the Bottom
- Chapter 7.6. The Eight View Control Tabs
- Plotting Fields
- SIMION Example: contour - field plotting library
- Defining particles
- Chapter 8.4 “Defining the Ions to Fly” in SIMION User Manual
- Particle Initial Conditions
- ION File
- FLY File
- FLY2 File
- Monte Carlo Method
- Secondary Particles
- Calculating Particle Trajectories (Fly’m)
- Chapter 8.5 “Flying Ions” in SIMION User Manual
- Chapter 8.6 ‘Flying Ions with User Programs” in SIMION User Manual
- Appendix H Computational Methods in SIMION User Manual
- Particle Trajectory Calculations
- Time Step Size
- Data recording, Analysis, Postprocessing
- Chapter 8.6 “Data Recording”
- Trajectory Data Recording
- Markers
- Emittance
- Test Plane | SIMION Example: test_plane | SIMION Example: test_sphere
- SIMION Example: count_transmission
- SIMION Example: lens_properties
- beam_minmax_diameter, confusion_disc - beam measurement
- particle_distance_traveled
- surface_plot
- pq, snell
- zoom_afocal, zoom_lens_curve - aberration coefficients
- (Mass) Spectrum
- Optimization
- SIMION Example: tune - optimization of voltages
- SIMION Example: geometry_optimization - optimization of geometries
- Movie Files
- Data Import/Export
- Importing and Exporting Field and Potential Array Data
- Engineering Tolerance
- User Programming
- Appendix L “User Programming” in SIMION User Manual
- Cookbook of SIMION User Programming Examples.
- Various areas involving programming: Preprocessing (GEM/FLY2), Postprocessing (data recording/excel/gnuplot), Fly’m itself (time dependent voltages, collision models, test planes, etc.)
- For an intro to Lua (separate from SIMION), there’s the book Programming in Lua, 2nd Ed.
- Time-Dependent Field - programming different types of wave forms.
- Reference material
- Programming API for SIMION - Lua, C++, Perl, and Python programming libraries reference. In particular,
- Lua Variables - tips on variable visibility and scope
- simion.pas - manipulate PA’s programmatically
- Calling External Programs
- Command Line Interface
- Programming API for SIMION - Lua, C++, Perl, and Python programming libraries reference. In particular,
- Performance Topics
- Working with Other Programs
- Editing SIMION Text Files - SciTE, VIM, and Emacs text editors.
- Excel, gnuplot, Origin
- Using Poisson Superfish with SIMION, Using QuickField with SIMION
- Virtual Device - Assemble SIMION geometry files and analyze SIMION data
- Matlab / Octave
- Fluent, ANSYS, COMSOL, Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD)
- CAD, see Converting from 3D CAD (STL) Format to PA Format.
- Additional physics
- Collision models Ion-Gas Collisions
- The main ones are HS1, SDS, and Drag. SDS is based on Drag but Drag was recently extended to do more of that SDS does (diffusion) from more first principles.
- Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) importing gas flows from various CFD programs (latest field_array example). Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) Some of this is outside SIMION scope and no so much my expertise.
- Mobility Equation
- Space Charge
- The mathematical equation, Poisson Equation
- Space Charge
- Poisson Solver in SIMION
- Magnets
- Dielectrics, Resistive Electrodes
- Collision models Ion-Gas Collisions
- System Components/Types
- Focusing/optics
- Energy analyzers/electrostatic deflectors
- Cylindrical Mirror Analyzer (CMA) - cylindrical mirror analyzer
- Parallel Plate Analyzer - parallel plate analyzer
- Hemispherical Deflection Analyzer (HDA) - hemispherical deflection analyzer
- Quadrupole Deflector
- Mass Spectrometry
- Other application
- Magnetic
- Detectors
- More Advanced Physics/Math
Previous Courses
- The ASMS beginner course (ASMS Short Course on SIMION) explored the examples. The advanced course explored programming and GEM files especially. See ASMS Courses. Advanced course notes: ASMS Course Notes.
- The 2013 CPOTS course CPOTS2013 outline covered many things SIMION and non-SIMION.
- Hi-Res isotopic ration MS course - HIPIRMS course