Nano-indentation testing for plasma-based ion-implanted surface of plastics

We have developed a technique to modify the surface of plastics to improve the hardness. Carbon ions were implanted with 20 and 10 keV energy into the plastic surface using the conventional ion-implantation and the plasma-based ion-implantation methods. The modified surface was loaded to 1 mN and unloaded using the diamond tip of the nano-indentation equipment. We found that the deformation of the modified surface was elastic deformation. According to the surface Youngʹs modulus FEM simulation of plastics, surface Youngʹs modulus was improved from 1.8 to 25 GPa using the plasma-based ion-implantation process.