Surface nitridation of nickel using hydrazoic acid (HN3) and nitrogen ion implantation

Auger electron spectroscopy (AES), in conjunction with argon ion sputtering/depth profiling have been used to study the nature of nickel substrates nitrided by chemical modification with hydrazoic acid (HN3) and nitrogen ion implantation. Nickelnitrogen bond formation was evidenced from both treatment strategies, although a thicker nitrided overlayer was observed during nitrogen ion implantation. For ion implantation, the rate of surface nitridation was found to be independent of ion energy in the range of 2–5 keV, although at higher beam energies thicker nitride films were produced. The NiN bond was stable under vacuum conditions until ≈650 K. The influence of the surface chemical composition on the N(KLL) AES transition in metalnitrogen (MN) containing compounds is also illustrated for Ni, Al, and NiAl substrates exposed to HN3.