RF cavity computer design codes

Computer simulation tools for RF cavity design have become a necessity in many laboratories around the world. There is a need for accurate predictions of fundamental frequency, Q factor, accelerating voltage requirements and longitudinal and transverse higher order mode impedances, all of which are of paramount importance when the price of manufacture of these cavities is so great but their influence on beam behavior is critical. There are numerous 2D and 3D simulation codes available at the moment which aid accurate modelling of accelerating structures but this paper focuses on three: MAFIA, URMEL-T and SuperLANS.