Plasma immersion ion implantation with auxiliary heating: application to SS304 stainless steel

In the present experiment, we heated the sample holding fixture using a shielded resistive wire wound around it and the SS samples were subjected to nitrogen glow discharge plasma PIII with moderate voltages of 10 kV, in different temperatures (250 °C, 270 °C, 350 °C and 390 °C). Then, we compared them to the samples obtained by PIII in which the final temperature of 350 °C was reached, solely by the bombardment of accelerated ions. X‐ray diffraction results indicated a much higher efficiency of auxiliary heated PIII mode com‐ pared to the ordinary PIII. Very prominent γ N peaks were observed for the first mode, indicating large concentration of nitrogen in thick layers, confirmed by the nitrogen profiles measured by GDOS technique. Improved mechanical and tribological properties were obtained for SS304 samples treated by the PIII with auxiliary heating, more than for ordinary PIII. Corrosion resistance of treated samples was maintained or it was slightly lower compared to the reference sample. (© 2008 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)