Virtual prototyping of directed energy weapons

We give an overview of how RF systems, from pulsed power to antennas, can be virtually prototyped with the ICEPIC (Improved Concurrent Electromagnetic Particle-in-Cell) code. ICEPIC simulates from first principles (Maxwell's equations and Lorenz's force law) the electrodynamics and charged particle dynamics of the RF-producing part of the system. Our simulations focus on gigawatt-class sources; the relativistic magnetron is shown as an example. Such simulations require enormous computational resources. These simulations successfully expose undesirable features of these sources and help us to suggest improvements.