The Particle‐In‐Cell Method

Abstract This paper is the first in a series of three papers to summarize the recent work of an European‐wide collaborationwhich is ongoing since about one decade using Particle‐in‐Cell (PIC) methods in low temperature plasma physics. In the present first paper the main aspects of this computational technique will be presented. In the second paper, an overview of applications in low‐temperature plasma modelling will be given, whereas the third part will put emphasis on the specific results of modelling ion thrusters. (© 2008 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)