Surface treatment of titanium by Nd:YAG laser irradiation in the presence of nitrogen

This work presents the surface treatment of commercial titanium alloy by means of a Nd:YAG (1.064 mu m) laser in the presence of nitrogen. The treated surface was characterised by using scanning electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy, X-ray diffraction, secondary ion mass spectrometry, UV-visible spectrophotometry and microindentation. Experimental results show the formation of a nitrogen-rich layer, 500 nm thick, with a surface morphology characterised by the presence of polygonal structures which suggest that melting occurred under the action of the laser. The delta phase of titanium nitride was identified, in addition to a nitrogen in alpha-titanium solid solution. The reflectance spectrum of the yellow-golden sample is similar to that of deposited titanium nitride thin films. The hardness of the treated surface was measured by microindentation and found to be 14 GPa, a value three times higher than that of the titanium alloy. In scratch tests the nitrided layer detached at a load of 0.9 N.