A comprehensive nitriding study by low energy ion beam implantation on stainless steel

In this paper we report nitriding studies of stainless steel 316 using a broad ion beam source. Experiments performed by changing the ion energy (0.2–1.5 KeV), ion current density (1.4–5.7 mA/cm2) and implantation times (1 and 8 h) at a temperature around 380°C are reported. The microstructure and morphology are studied by glancing angle X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy. For constant ion energy, higher nitrogen ion flux increases the hardness. At higher ion energies the sputtering process prevents the formation of a thick-nitrated layer, even for longer implantation times. The results are examined in the light of recent studies on physical models for ion implantation.