Comparison of AISI 316L Plasma Nitriding Behavior in Low and Medium Temperature

Plasma nitriding is a widely used technique to improve the mechanical properties and tribological properties of AISI 316L steel because it has many advantages over other surface treatment techniques. One of this advantage is plasma nitriding allows nitrogen introduce to steel at low temperature (below 500°C).In this study, nitriding of an AISI 316L was performed in high density plasma nitriding system using 70%N2:30%H2 gas mixture at 400°C and 480°C for 2, 4, and 8 hours. Optical Emission Spectroscopy (OES) with optical probe was used for plasma diagnosis. The properties of nitrided sample were investigated through microhardness measurement. The results show that N2 ions and radicals are species predominantly formed in plasma.