Nitrogen and boron implantation into austenitic stainless steel

Nitrogen and boron double implantation into austenitic stainless steel were performed to enhance further the beneficial properties of nitrogen implantation, especially to reduce the brittleness of the near surface region. Nitrogen was implanted using plasma immersion ion implantation while boron was subsequently implanted in this first experiment using a conventional ion implanter. The effects of the boron implantation were measured against expanded austenite samples annealed for the same duration as the boron implantation. No significant diffusion of the boron is observed, whereas the preimplanted nitrogen shows additional diffusion during the boron implantation. The boron implanted specimens exhibit an even higher wear resistance correlated with a slightly decreased surface hardness, than the already excellent values for expanded austenite.