Formation of Wear Resistant Steel Surfaces by Plasma Immersion Ion Implantation

Plasma immersion ion implantation (PIII) is a versatile and fast method for implanting energetic ions into large and complex shaped three‐dimensional objects where the ions are accelerated by applying negative high voltage pulses to a substrate immersed in a plasma. As the line‐of‐sight restrictions of conventional implanters are circumvented, it results in a fast and cost‐effective technology. Implantation of nitrogen at 30 – 40 keV at moderate temperatures of 200 – 400 °C into steel circumvents the diminishing thermal nitrogen activation encountered, e.g., in plasma nitriding in this temperature regime, thus enabling nitriding of additional steel grades. Nitride formation and improvement of the mechanical properties after PIII are presented for several steel grades, including AISI 316Ti (food industry), AISI D2 (used for bending tools) and AISI 1095 (with applications in the textile industry).