Boundary Conditions - Symmetry Planes

If your model is symmetric, you may define this symmetry planes here.

For particle tracking calculations the symmetry option can only be applied if no space charge and particle current is monitored. Therefore symmetry conditions cannot be applied for gun-iteration calculations.

Important:
It is necessary to create the entire structure first.

Every symmetry plane you find reduces the calculation time by a factor of 2, so it is always recommended to specify symmetries, if any exist. The type of the symmetry can be either electric or magnetic.

If you enter the Symmetry Planes property page the symmetry planes are displayed in the main plot window by a colored frame and the icon of the symmetry type at one corner of each plane (see boundaries). Depending on the symmetry type the planes are colored differently. The picture on the right displays the planes within the calculation domain. No symmetry is selected here. This is indicated by the brown color of the symmetry planes.

You can double-click on the symmetry plane frame in the main plot window to select one plane. By pressing the right mouse button in the main plot window, you can set the type of the symmetry for the selected plane using the popup menu.

If you specify a symmetry plane, the calculation domain is cut in half. The picture on the right shows a calculation domain symmetric to the YZ plane. The symmetry type is electric.

The calculation domain is cut in half twice more if a symmetry type for the XZ and XY can be found.