A two-dimensional particle-in-cell (PIC) model considering secondary electron emission (SEE) as a function of ion instantaneous incident energy is developed for describing ion trajectories and shadow effects in mesh-assisted plasma immersion ion implantation (PIII) of insulator. The simulation results indicate that mesh-assisted PIII can improve the equivalent surface potential, suppress the emission of secondary electrons and provide better implantation dynamics for ions implantation on insulator. On 5 mm thick polymer substrate, an aluminum plasma implanted coating is achieved with excellent adhesion strength by mesh-assisted PIII with 10 mm mesh height. Consistent results are obtained from experiments and numerical simulation disclosing that shallow effects can be eliminated, and ions incident energy is enhanced. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.